East Manchester was once part of the industrial heartland of England; together with the lack of investment in Housing, Education and Transport infrastructure and high unemployment, it’s sadly been in decline for the last twenty years.
I lived in Clayton during the 1980s and saw a steady decline in the area, witnessing factory closures and many residents moving away from the area. In 1999 the establishment of the New East Manchester Partnership (comprising of English Partnerships, the North West Development Agency, Manchester City Council, and local communities) led to the formulation of a long term plan to attract both people and business back to the area.

The Commonwealth Games 2002 was considered to be key driver in the regeneration of east Manchester generating £25m worth of investment into the area.

The regeneration of east Manchester is one of the largest regeneration projects since post-war Britain; this is history in the making I feel that these major changes to the area should be documented and I feel I have the privilege to witness and to photograph these changes in both positive and negative views and I have based this project on a reflection of life in East Manchester during the time of regeneration. Brian Stark