“Trees Not Cars group are occupying the Central Retail site every Saturday. Next Saturday (7th), they have organised for skateboarding company, HUF, to bring a big H to the site for people to skate.

“The broader campaign around Central Retail Park is, of course, highly relevant to climate activism and our skateboarding project also plays a part in this. The building of new skateparks is not a sustainable practice for future societies in the UK due to the use of large amounts of concrete in their production and in being ’destination’ places that many people have to travel to, often by car. Manchester City Council has a bylaw against skateboarding in many parts of the city centre, with penalties of £500 for anyone committing this offence. We believe that skateboarding provides a safe and active form of transport, and a means of playful activity for children and adults. We also believe that public space should be democratically available to citizens, which includes the provision of space within the city for play and other forms of ’non-productive’ and commercially-inert activities.

“A group of us have recently started a collective of skateboarders who would like to change perceptions of skateboarding, to campaign against criminalisation, to encourage inclusivity in Manchester’s skate scene(s) and to create, develop and repair new and existing skate spots and public parks.”