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Hello
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this week (I don’t blame you), you’ll be more than aware that Parklife is taking place this weekend.
Festival boss Sacha Lord has been speaking to the M.E.N’s Ben Arnold about what’s in store for the 80,000 people expected to grace Heaton Park for music and fun.
One of the big discussions around Parklife each year is how bosses keep people safe during the weekend, especially revolving around drug use. The festival, as well as the Warehouse Project, has a long-standing partnership with non-profit drug testing organisation The Loop, which tests drugs on site and can feed back information to the public in real time.
It led to details being released during last year’s festival of fake ecstasy pills and a range of new MDMA pills that were ‘1.5 times the average adult dose’. Lord says that this type of drug testing, alongside ‘common sense’, is the best way to deal with drug use at the festival.
“I believe the way we deal with [drugs] is the right way,” he says. “We have drug testing on site, and if we see something that concerns us, we’ll put it out on social media. I’m adamant, and I’ll die on the hill saying this, that is the right way to do it.”
What’s On writer Ben has also been given a first-look around the Parklife site, which you can take a nosey at right here.
In today’s Mancunian Way, we’ll be looking at bus gates, Gene Simmons, and a simple tap in and tap out.
All tapped out
While contactless payments are now the easiest and quickest way to pay for the Metrolink, there are many (like myself included) that have forgotten to tap out after their journey - and it’s costing people a bit of extra money.
Fares are automatically calculated and capped based on where you start and end your journey but if you forget to tap out as you leave, you are charged the incomplete journey fare of £4.60. This means that even though the daily cap for travel in all zones is £7.10, or £4.90 during off-peak hours, Metrolink passengers could end up paying more if they forget to tap out. The weekly cap for tram travel across all zones is £31.
In six months alone, Metrolink passengers have been caught out nearly half a million times, according to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). A Freedom of Information request revealed there were 469,370 incomplete journeys between October 2022 to March 2023 that cost passengers £4.60 each time – even if they reached the daily cap.
Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan states that this means almost 8 pc of all contactless journeys - which make up nearly a third of all tram trips in total - are incomplete journeys.
"It does my head in," Abbey Robinson, who says she 'always' forgets to tap out, tells Jo. "I think it would be better if it was like in London where you have a barrier."
Meanwhile, Yvonne, who travels into town from Shaw a few times a week for work, believes the system is 'brilliant'. She started paying by contactless card because the ticket machines would sometimes not work. "I'm very happy using it," she says. "It's perfect for me."
TfGM says the number of incomplete journeys as a percentage of trips paid with contactless cards or devices has fallen from 10.2 pc in 2021 when it was introduced to 7.6 pc in the first five months of this year. The organisation says it recognises that customers will occasionally forget to touch-out and will look to amend charges or issue refunds if it is clear that a mistake has been made.
A TfGM spokesperson said: "With the introduction of capped fares, customers no longer need to work out the total fares for their journeys and will never pay more than the daily cap when touching-in at the start and touching-out at the end of each journey, making contactless travel on Metrolink even more accessible.
"We are continuously reminding customers to touch out and are working to improve customer information on stops, as well as putting out education campaigns to remind people to use the same device when touching in and out.”
Read more on people's thoughts on tapping out here.
A week for Wakeford
It’s been an interesting few days for Bury MP Christian Wakeford. When he’s not rubbing shoulders with rock and roll stars (and then apologising for it), he’s getting into bitter disputes with other rock stars.
Earlier this week, KISS frontman Gene Simmons very randomly made an appearance in Parliament for the Prime Minister’s Questions. Quick to grab a selfie with the star, Wakeford tweeted: “Was going to say @AngelaRayner stole the show at #PMQs this week but I’m afraid it wasn’t to be…
"Sorry Ange, there isn’t anyone able to upstage Gene Simmons! Great to have him watching in the Chamber today and to meet him too!"
But the excitement soon dampened after Wakeford came under fire over comments Simmons had previously expressed where he described Islam as a 'vile culture'. The musician later said his comments were in reference to extremists.
The Bury South MP quickly deleted the selfie with the rock star, tweeting: “I have since been made aware of his political views and comments towards Muslims. Now I know this I wish to disassociate myself from those views he has expressed and apologise for any harm or offence caused by having a picture with him."
But, the drama-filled week was far from over as Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters then took aim at Wakeford in a separate dispute over ‘concerns’ the MP had raised over his show at the AO Arena this Saturday.
Waters has already drawn criticism for reportedly sharing antisemitic views during his shows, with the likes of Sir Keir Starmer calling for his shows to be cancelled - a view echoed by Bury South MP Christian Wakeford.
In a video posted on YouTube, Roger Waters responded by saying: "Some f***ing Labour MP in Manchester, Christian Wakeford...you are trying to get me banned from performing in Manchester. Me, the [bloke who] wrote Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here and Animals and the Wall and the Final Cut.”
Waters says the narrative that he's an antisemite and that he's promoting fascism by wearing a leather coat and carrying symbols 'which are crossed hammers, by the way, not swastikas, or anything that is literally Nazi Third Reich German' during his show is incorrect.
He added: “If we shout the lie loud enough 'Roger Waters is an antisemite', we'll be all right, we'll get people to believe it, we can vilify him, we can probably destroy him and we will get him in the end.”
I’ll get the popcorn ready for the next Wakeford drama…
Gated off
More than 27,000 fines were issued between April 2022 and the end of March this year at just one ‘bus gate’ in Stockport.
General traffic was banned from the stretch of Heaton Lane running between the A6 Wellington Road North and Travis Brow last February with only buses, cyclists and licensed taxis now allowed through.
Those caught using the gate are issued £60 fines - which are reduced to £30 if paid within a fortnight - taking the potential haul from the 27,552 fines upwards of £1.6m.
One driver who was issued a fine told Local Democracy Reporter Nick Statham: “I believe the signage in the area does not give adequate warning to drivers on the main road prior to the turn warning of the bus lane nor is there adequate signage stating the route that should be taken to get to the M60. However my appeal on this basis not surprisingly failed.”
Stockport council said the temporary signage is currently under a planned 12 month review, which will determine if additional permanent signage is required. The council said the bus gate is to help the temporary bus station on Heaton Lane, which is set to become a key route in and out of the new multi-million-pound transport interchange when it is completed.
A council spokesperson said: "The introduction of the bus gate was promoted on the council’s website and social media channels.
"The issue of adequacy of signage has been considered at a number of Traffic Penalty Tribunals where people have appealed. The decision at the tribunals have been that the signage is satisfactory and complies with all relevant legislation."
'With a heavy heart'
Bosses at Levenshulme Market, which was named the Best Small Outdoor Market at the Great British Market Awards 2020, have announced plans to ‘take a break’ from trading.
The organisers of the hugely successful market, which has been running since 2013, say the decision comes following blows from the cost of living crisis, problems with fly tipping on its site, and people leaving cars in the car park where it takes place.
The food and craft market is organised by local volunteers and takes over Levenshulme’s railway station car park every weekend from March until December. But, as What’s On writer Ben Arnold reports, organisers now say it feels like ‘everything has been thrown at us and it’s really taken its toll’.
“With a heavy heart, we’ve made the difficult decision to take a break from trading from mid July this year,” a statement said. “It’s clear we need some time to figure out how we move forward in a sustainable way. We need to reset, take a step back.
“We want to future-proof the market, so you can enjoy it for many years to come. So our final market of this year will be Saturday 15th July. We know you'll be disappointed and this news will come as a shock, but we fear if we don’t do this now we may find ourselves in a position where we can’t bounce back.”
A petition has already been set up by local residents urging Manchester council to help save the market.
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Weather etc
Temperatures: Yellow weather warning for thunderstorms. 28C.
Heat warning: A heat health alert has been issued for Greater Manchester at the weekend. Details here.
Road closures: Moor Lane in Bolton closed southbound from Marsden Road to Ormrod Street until June 13 due to roadworks.
Manchester headlines
- Rosé: Aldi has erected a huge billboard in St Ann's Square that pours out free rosé wine when it's sunny. The taps will pour out free glasses as temperatures hit 19.2C or above. It coincides with everyone's favourite holiday, National Rosé Day. Details here.
Breach: The University of Manchester is dealing with a cyber security incident after detecting unauthorised activity on its network on Friday morning. The university has launched an investigation and is working with in-house experts and external support to resolve the incident and to establish what data may have been affected.
Funny: A four-day comedy festival is coming to Manchester. Laughterama at the Castlefield Bowl will feature the likes of Adam Buxton, Alan Davies, Sara Pascoe, Ardal O’Hanlon, Phil Wang and Fern Brady. Info here.
‘Heartbroken’: Bistro Marc, the French bistro which opened in the historic Winters building in Stockport in April 2022, will be closing. Owners Marc Molé and Rachel Winter Jones said they were ‘heartbroken’ over the decision, which has been sparked by business costs now being five times what they were last year.
Worth a read
Exclusive private members club Soho House will be opening its first Manchester location later this year.
Located in the former Granada Studios building off Quay Street in the city centre, the ‘selective’ club will feature an exclusive members' gym, steam room and sauna, fine dining restaurant and bar and a stunning rooftop pool across five floors.
There will also be 133 bedrooms, a live music bar, a deli bar, diner, and an events space. But those wanting to get access will have to make their way through a lengthy application process and spend some serious money….
The M.E.N’s Dianne Bourne has been given a first look inside the venue as it preps for its launch towards the end of the year and it looks just as flashy as it sounds.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email adam.maidment@reachplc.com.
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