Ani : We wondered if we could ask you a few questions.

Rich : Yeah, sure.

Ani : Could we get your name first?

Rich : Rich.

Ani : How safe do you feel as a local resident?

Rich : Very safe, I'm not as such a local resident I spend more time here than I do at home.

Ani : What activities do you engage yourself in?

Rich : I use a lot of the space cycling, doing a bit of cycling so sometimes I’ll bring my bike to work and just cycle round the local paths, down the canal. Interestingly, that’s the only canal in the UK which doesn't have locks, it’s flat and that goes connect to the union, the Shropshire union canal and goes to Leeds that is also on my *laughter*. So yeah, I use the cycle and do paddle boarding, so I use the canal for that as well.

Ani : In your opinion, what can be done to improve the site?

Rich : More retail units, coffee houses, I know there’s a couple of shops in the area but they’re quite far away, bit of a- well the McColl’s around the corner is like 5 minutes but it’s just a newsagent because we’ve got just in this building maybe 400 residents. So, and they have to go into town.

Ani : Do you see homeless people around?

Rich : Yeah, there's a few as is in every city, I know Manchester have got a bit of a problem with housing and homeless and that, but here there's, not many, really. There's a few hanging around, but not many.

Zafeera : How do you feel about the upcoming development of the Pomona Island, is going to be an extension of the residential building?

Rich : The one that's being built right now, that's an extension from here, not an extension as such, but it's same company. The one right down the bottom you can see, it was going to be a casino, but now it's going to be residential. My opinion of that is, it's just a way of life, it's a - we need housing. You know, and as a city it's good because it brings people to Manchester.

Zafeera : So, understanding the history of Pomona Island and how it used to be a palace and also used for social activity. So, how do you feel like now it has become like an edgeland abandoned site.

Rich : It's quite interesting because, this used to be sort of the epicenter of Manchester and now it's not. It's the way it's been built sort of thing. So, that in those days that palace was only 1800s. In them days, that's what people used to come to and then all of a sudden it disappeared, so people stopped coming and then all of a sudden development and now we've got Manchester.

So, my opinion of that is, it's nice now that it's going to be used for something, I know in the past it's been used for, there's been a lot of film work, a lot of films have been made, documentaries and stuff like that. So yeah, I'm glad it's being used for something now.

Zafeera : What describes best about Pomona, in five words?

Rich : Location, it's close enough to be city but not close enough to be actually in the city, so a lot of people I speak to live here they like the location because it's quiet and if you want it busy, walk 10 minutes and you're in city center.

So yeah. Yeah, like location, I like the location, yeah.

It's nice to see folks doing having a little bit of local interest.

Becky : Yeah, it's a really interesting site all the history. It's crazy to think there was like a massive palace here isn't it? From the graffiti in Pomona Island, there's like stuff that’s been written about Peel LTD, yeah saying their greenwashing, so basically you know doing all this sustainable stuff that's not really sustainable so.

Rich : Right, right. Right, I know that side the graffiti you can see there.

Becky : Yeah.

Rich : They encourage people to come and graffiti there.

Becky : Oh, right.

Rich : But obviously in not, not abusive terms.

Becky : Yeah.

Rich : So, what will happen somebody from the Council will come along blank one section of the wall off and then a few days later some guys will come round and just put their artwork on.

Ani : Oh, that’s interesting.

Becky : Oh, that’s quite nice though.

Rich : Yeah, if you if you want to take some photos.

Becky : Thank you.

Rich : As well what we're trying to do make this into more environmentally friendly, so we had wildflower Meadow built, just here. So, it's more sustainable, and it’s sort of bringing in nature back into cities.

Ani : Yep.

*Looking towards the graffiti work by the canal side walls*

Rich : I wouldn't say it's graffiti as such but great artwork because this is like the sort of like a little, there's a few that have got a little subliminal message on and that the ones that you can read. There's one you can't see it from here, but there's one right down there.

Ani : Yeah.

Rich : There's a light, just an actual street lights on the wall. And the artist came along painted yellow and did like a scene so that it looked like the sun.

Ani : That is cute.

Becky : Well, thank you so much for your time.

Rich : You're welcome, you're welcome.

Becky : Really interesting.

Rich : It's fine, yeah, no problem.