Gorton

The neighbourhood of Gorton covers a vast area, encompassing 683 hectares. Just a few miles from Manchester City Centre, Gorton is perfectly situated for access to all of the shops and bars that the city offers.

Gorton boasts a conservation area filled with large Victorian terraces and parks all within close distance to the improved shopping facility proposed for Gorton district centre. The area is also home to three of east Manchester’s high schools – Cedar Mount, St Peters and Wright Robinson.

Close to the heart of Gorton is the Monastery of St Francis, a 19th Century Church currently undergoing a £6.5m restoration to turn it into a conference centre and community facilities.

Leisure

Gorton offers a number of sporting facilities that cannot be found anywhere else in east Manchester. Debdale Park is situated in the heart of Gorton and co features a number of unique sporting opportunities including a large reservoir which facilitates sporting activities such as sailing and canoeing.  There are also a number of other sporting facilities including tennis and basketball courts, skateboarding ramp and football pitches.

The Debdale Outdoor Centre, situated on Hyde Road, organises water sports at Debdale Park and also runs a number of external excursions including abseiling, rock climbing and orienteering. The centre caters for people of all ages and abilities.

Crowcroft Park is a true community park. Covering 6.6 hectares it offers a basketball court, toddler play area and roller skating and skateboard ramps. There are also a number of smaller parks scattered throughout Gorton.

The Gorton Gymnastic Centre offers Olympic standard apparatus and a wide range of gymnastic courses for young people of all skills levels.

West Gorton is the location of The Manchester Climbing Centre in a restored Church and offers a wide range of climbing events and walls of varying difficulties. The centre also hosts a number of other activities including yoga.

Belle Vue race track in Gorton hosts a number of grey hound races on a regular basis. With a 4100 capacity it also caters for parties with dining services available.

Debdale Park
Hyde Road, Gorton, Manchester

Debdale Outdoor Centre
1073 Hyde Road, Gorton, Manchester M18 7LJ
Telephone: 0161 223 5182

Gorton Gymnastics Centre
Hyde Road, Gorton M18
Telephone: 0161 223 5705

The Manchester Climbing Centre
St Benedict’s Church, Bennett Street, West Gorton M12 5ND
Telephone: 0161 230 7006

Belle Vue Stadium
Kirkmanshulme Lane, Gorton M18 7BA
Telephone: 0161 223 8000

Crowcroft Park
Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester
Telephone: 0161 223 8278

Lees Street Recreational Ground
Lees Street / Ogden Lane, Gorton

Gorton Park
Hyde Road / Queensland Road, Gorton

Greenbank Park
Mount Road / Manor Road, Gorton

Sunnybrow Park
Howarth Road, Gorton

Education and Learning

Gorton is home to the only two high schools in east Manchester, as well as a large number of primary schools and the Wright Robinson Sports College.

Cedar Mount High School is situated on Mathews Lane and offers places for almost 900 pupils from the east Manchester area and was announced as the most improved school in the UK in 2005. In October 06 a £24.5million Education Village was given the go-ahead, which will bring together Cedar Mount and Melland Special Education Needs on one campus. A new sports hall, community wing, ICT facilities are all part of the ambitious plans for Gorton.

Melland High School is currently the only special needs high school in east Manchester, accommodating over 100 pupils from north, east and central Manchester. The school has recently received a number of awards including Investors in People, School Achievement award and Healthy Schools award.

In 1999 St Peters High School opened in Gorton to re-house the pupils from the former school in Openshaw that was demolished to make way for new housing in Openshaw. It has an intake of 1,000 students aged between 11 and 16 from across east Manchester.

Wright Robinson Specialist College specialises in sport and arts for pupils aged 11 to 16. In 2005 MCC announced £25m funding through a PFI initiative to build one of the best resourced schools in the UK. The first phase of construction is due to complete in September 2007. Pupils will move into this building while the old school is demolished to make way for the new state-of-the-art building.

Cedar Mount High School
Mathews Lane, Gorton M18 7SP
Telephone: 0161 248 7009

St Peters High School
Kirkmanshulme Lane, Gorton M12 4WB
Telephone: 0161 248 1550

Melland High School
Holmcroft Road , Gorton  M18 7NG
Telephone: 0161 223 9915

Wright Robinson Sports College
Abbey Hey Lane, Gorton M18 8RL
0161 370 5121

Community

Gorton has a rich and vibrant community life, supported by a wealth of community and faith organisations.  Highlights include Gorton Community Centre on Highmead Street, the Angels Community Centre near the monastery, Gorton's two UK Online Centres, and drop-in and support sessions at The Oasis Centre on Wellington Street, and at Rainbow Haven in Abbey Hey.  The area also contains a number of active churches. Gorton library is situated in the town centre, and hosts various activities in addition to lending services, such as story-telling and computer facilities.

West Gorton Youth Centre is open five days a week, offering fun activities for children aged seven to sixteen. Activities include football, cooking, art dance and quizzes. A teenage parents’ group also operates every Tuesday afternoon with a variety of interesting activities including art and photography. A crèche is also available.

The Angels Centre
Endcott Close, Gorton M18 8BR
Telephone: 0161 223 3211

Rainbow Haven
St Paul & St John’s Church, 113 Abbey Hey Lane M18 7EN
Telephone: 0161 229 5819

Oasis
Collier House, Wellington Street, Gorton M18 8TX

Gorton Community Centre
Highmead Street, Gorton, M18 8PE
Telephone: 0161 231 7870

Gorton Library
Garatt Way, Gorton M18 8HE
Telephone: 0161 223 0775

West Gorton Youth Centre
Gorton Lane, West Gorton M12 5JT
Telephone: 0161 223 5299

The Evolution of Gorton

Plans for a new district centre for Gorton are currently underway and developers Ask have been selected to develop the 3.5 acre site. Leading supermarket Tesco will build a large store on the site, as well as further retail opportunities. The existing market in Gorton will be re-housed alongside the new development.

Developer consortium BASE, made up of Artisan and housebuilder Barratt, has been select to regenerate the West Gorton neighbourhood. Consultation began in January this year and a masterplan is expected by June 07.

The restoration of Gorton Monastery began in 2006 by securing £6m of funding. Close to the hearts of many residents of Gorton, this fantastic 19 Century building will become a conference centre and community facility.

In February 2007 Gleeson was appointed as the preferred developer for the site adjacent to the Monastery. Proposals currently include plans for over 60 family homes that will be built sympathetically to the Monastery’s architecture.

Population

The population for the Gorton area (including Gorton West) is 29,776.

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