A history of the association - Please note that this page is still under construction

The Beginning

The WDRA was originally formed in 1983.  Roy Grainger, then the local county councillor, was approached by residents on Northen Grove and some businesses on Burton Rd to help them oppose the building of Kwiksave.  The residents were concerned about traffic and the shopkeepers feared for their trade.  Roy encouraged them to form a Residents’ Association and he became its chairman.
Obviously, the supermarket went ahead but, pressure from the newly formed WDRA resulted in a more sympathetic building design and adequate parking arrangements.


Roy and his some-time ‘assistant’,  Cllr Arthur Maloney

Shortly after the formation of the WDRA, the GMC was abolished and Roy, a well-known local political figure who held court with the Labour Party in the back room of the Red Lion, retired as an active politician.  However, as he lived on Barlow Moor Rd and had a great love for the local area, he continued to chair the WDRA until his death in 1997. 


We first held our meetings in the Teachers’ Centre on Barlow Moor Rd and were soon an active and well-supported local group.  The secretary, Tony Johnson, lived on Burton Rd and a little drawing of his house became our logo.  He would send out a regular newsletter with very tiny writing and, if anyone still has a copy of one we would love to see it.

Conservation Area

In those days the developers were running riot – buying up the big detached houses, letting them fall into disrepair, then demolishing them to build flats.  Trees were being felled wholesale, and entire gardens were concreted for car parking.  To maximise the space for tiny flats in fine Victorian buildings, builders would brick up front doors, divide rooms in the centre of windows and remove key architectural features.


The WDRA, determined to save the character of West Didsbury, fought very hard to have it designated a conservation area.  We finally succeeded with Albert Park in 1988.  This covered the area bounded by Palatine Rd, Barlow Moor Rd and the old Midland railway line behind Lapwing Lane, and some of the roads on the west side of Burton Rd.  Unfortunately, in spite of much effort, we’ve never managed to get it extended to south of Barlow Moor Rd.

The Crofts

It was also in 1998 that WDRA member Kathy Smith put in a massive amount of work to get the crofts landscaped.  The areas behind the roads such as Stanton and Leamington Avenues off Burton Rd were just rough patches of grass where people hung their washing out.  Kathy got all the residents together and applied for a grant to have each of these areas landscaped to the specifications chosen by local residents.


Most of these areas are still treasured by the householders today and can be seen if you walk up the alley from the top of Northen Grove down to Walsingham Avenue.

Other Achievements

Over 27 years we have contributed to the area in many ways.  We campaigned to retain a post office when the big one (now Pizza Express) was sold.  Both the old Railway Line and Burton Rd have benefitted from massive clean-ups organised by us.  We have, with Manchester City Council, planted hundreds of street trees and placed benches and planters.


We’ve negotiated over countless planning applications with both the Planning Department and developers to retain trees and to prevent overdevelopment and eyesores. Hot food takeaways and bars who keep the shutters down all day have felt our wrath as much as independent restaurants and shops have received our encouragement.


Things haven’t always gone our way – the loss of so many trees on the Withington Hospital site was a terrible blow as we thought many more were going to be retained as a part of the new developments.  Some lovely old buildings (eg Fielden House) have been lost in spite of our efforts.  However,  the campaign we led to prevent an appalling development in Marie Louise Gardens was massively supported and resulted in the applicant abandoning his plans.

The Local Community

The strength of the WDRA has been in the loyalty of our members.  There were many young families at the beginning and, while Roy Grainger was alive, we had an annual barbecue in his garden, on the corner of Barlow Moor Rd and Northen Grove.  It always seemed to involve a lot of small children and a hose pipe but was remarkably popular.  After Roy’s death we moved the barbecues  to Beech House and then the Shawgrove field by which time, the event had turned into a sort of sports day.

Who’s who in the sack race?

Another annual event was our stall at Didsbury Festival.  It was our main fundraiser and we ran all sorts of locally based games and competitions as well as selling sandwiches and the inevitable bric-a-brac, much of which emerged again and again from Barry’s cellar each May.  There was always the drama of getting the tent up and fighting off the dealers who were trying to buy up the whole stall for nothing as we did so.


Some people may remember the Burton Road Music and Arts Festival in 1997.  Instigated by the WDRA with Vanessa Hartley at the helm, it was a brilliant occasion when residents and businesses worked together for a real community event.  Torrential rain spoiled the all-day concert on the stage in Cavendish Road Park but all the events and exhibitions on  Burton Rd and Lapwing Lane worked really well and inspired all those involved to hold a follow-up Christmas event.

People Remembered

Over the years we have sadly mourned the death of some members who made a great contribution to the local community.  Apart from Roy Grainger, we were so sorry to lose Rosemary Chamney, Diana Worman, Dorothy Jeffree, Edna Warren, Bernie Dwyer and Doreen Smithson.  Each of them brought colour, enthusiasm and a degree of eccentricity to the Association, helping to make it the unique organisation it is today.  We also had the sad loss of Neil Trafford, local councillor and WDRA supporter.

Other Memories

Hopefully, some people reading this may have a little gem of a memory to add to this section.  A small ‘snapshot’ of life in the WDRA of the past.  Please email them in and I’ll add them to the website.  I’ll start with mine.....


Sometime in the eighties, at one of our meetings at the Teachers’ Centre, a manager from Withington hospital had come to discuss the hospital chimney.  The WDRA were concerned that fumes and debris were polluting the area and particularly children in the playground of Cavendish Rd School.  As we harangued this poor man about air quality and the sanctity of our children’s lungs I looked round the room.  Over half of us were smoking!