Gorton West is a small estate about two miles east of the city centre on the north side of Hyde Road, around the junction with Pottery Lane. It's about a mile and a half from the Commonwealth Games site. Hyde Road is a major route into Manchester from the nearby M60 and M67 motorways, so there's good access to other parts of the city and beyond. See detailed map
The City Council is asking tenants in this area to consider transferring their homes and estates out of council ownership to another not-for-profit organisation. This would bring in millions of pounds for things like good, new kitchens and bathrooms, and radically upgrade local estates and environments to make this part of Gorton a brighter, safer place to live.
Living in Gorton West
There are a few local shops in Gorton West, but the nearest major shopping is just over half a mile away at the Longsight district centre, where there is a large Asda Supermarket and a selection of smaller shops. The stalls of busy Longsight market are just a little further away on Dickenson Road. Or it's about a mile down Hyde Road to Gorton market.
The multiplex cinema, bowling centre, and greyhound track at Belle Vue are a short walk across Hyde Road. The recently refurbished Belle Vue leisure centre (on Pink Bank Lane) has two large sports halls, cricket lanes, two hockey pitches, running track and more. Debdale park and outdoor centre is less than two miles away. It's one of Manchester's biggest and best parks with facilities for tennis, pitch and putt, bowling, five-a-side football, netball, boating, fishing, orienteering and more. The local children's playground is on Birch Street, off Belle Vue Street, and there are sports pitches and bowls at Gorton Park off Hyde Road. West Gorton youth centre on the corner of Gorton Lane and pottery Lane has facilities for local youngsters. Gorton West is just a mile and a half from the Sportcity site on Alan Turing Way. The sporting, entertainment and leisure facilities around the City of Manchester stadium are within easy reach.
The nearest libraries are near Longsight district centre, or on Garratt Way (about a mile), or on Grey Mare Lane, Beswick (also about a mile). There are regular buses along Hyde Road to Manchester and to Denton and Hyde - the vibrant city centre, with its shops, entertainment and leisure facilities is just a few minutes journey. The station at nearby Ashburys has frequent trains between the city centre and Glossop in the peak district countryside. See detailed map
A ' local action partnership' is helping cut crime and make Gorton a safer place. It's raised the profile of the area and is building on the strong sense of community. (external site)
Learning in Gorton West
Young children living on the east side of Pottery Lane usually go to All Saints primary school on Endcott Close off Gorton Lane. On the west side of Pottery Lane they go to Armitage CofE school on Rostron Avenue, off Bennett Street. The nearest Catholic primary school is St Francis school on Ellenbrook Street (east of Pottery Lane). The nearest secondary schools are Cedar Mount on Matthews Lane or St Peters Catholic school on Holmecroft Road - both about one and a half miles away towards Levenshulme. Or it's about two miles to Wright Robinson school on the eastern side of Gorton at Abbey Hey.
Find out more about this area's schools and how well they perform. Go to Manchester Schoolfinder.
There is an adult and toddler group and playcentre at Gorton Park towards Belle Vue. The Mancat (Manchester College of Art and Technology) college on Whitworth Street, a few minutes walk up Pottery Lane from the northern part of the area, specialises in new technical and industrial training - including construction craft and building services, motor engineering and computer technology. See detailed map
Find out more about council-run nurseries in this area. Go to Finding a Children's Centre.
Find out more about adult education.
Housing in Gorton West
The wider Gorton area has a mixture of housing - with nearly 60 percent of homes owner-occupied, and good proportions of private renting and housing association homes too. But the small Gorton West community is almost all council housing. There are just over 600 homes. More than half of them are houses - most have two or three bedrooms, although there are 35 bigger homes. Most other homes are flats in small blocks, or maisonettes. It's quite a popular area, with fair demand for most homes. See detailed map
