Illegal Immigrants Ejected from Wythenshawe Squat
December 2004
News has reached us about a group of illegal immigrants who have been ejected from a council house in the Hollyhedge Road area of Wythenshawe. Despite the houses being declared derelict several years ago, and in some cases, boarded up and made secure by the council, they have persistently attracted squatters and have been central to the criminal and drug fraternities.
Local Residents: "There's going to be a riot"
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Local residents who pay rent to the council and own new houses in the area have described Crossacres and Brownley Green as becoming "increasingly cosmopolitan" and this feeling of unrest reached a peak when local residents allegedly entered flats and houses near Brownley Road, throwing out the squatters. A number of the people ejected are thought to be Czech and Slovak gypsies. It is not apparent if anyone is currently occupying the squat following the alleged disturbance. The local community has remained largely tight lipped over the alleged incident, but we were told "We're sick of this. There is going to be a riot".
A "dispersal" policy introduced by Labour four years ago resulted in around 65,000 illegal immigrants moved to towns and cities around the country away from the south east of England where more Labour seats are marginal. However, the resulting influx of illegal immigrants into the North West and Wythenshawe in particular, has caused a re-think as the potential risk to safe Labour seats was underestimated. Officially, the government has stopped sending illegal immigrants to Manchester "amid concern over the impact on local communities" and "that the influx of asylum seekers was causing racial tension and outbreaks of violence and disorder".
A senior figure in the Greater Manchester Police Authority, was quoted recently in the local press as saying: "It has been my experience that we have managed the system marvellously in Manchester."
We were unable to trace any gypsies for comment.