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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
I think we can rule out Kirstie Allsopp moving to Stockport any time soon, even if it has just featured in The Sunday Times' Best Places to Live list.
The Location, Location, Location presenter says she was sitting in a car at traffic lights in the town recently when ‘a banana skin flew out of the window of the car in front’. Kirstie says she leapt out, picked it up and ‘threw it back’ into the offending driver’s car - who then threw it back out again.
"But that’s not how to solve the problem,” she tweeted. "What is the solution……£££ fines? In some places police take litter very seriously, I don’t feel that in the UK though."
The property expert says she has noticed more littering recently as she has been travelling around the UK. “I’ve been horrified by how bad roadside litter has become," she said. "Why is litter so much worse, who thinks chucking an empty red bull, for example, out of a moving car is acceptable?"
Stockport Council recently launched an eight-week campaign to ‘get our borough gleaming’. Council leader Mark Hunter said at it’s launch: “Unfortunately, a small minority of people can cost the Council hundreds of thousands of pounds yearly to clean up their mess.”
On to the rest of the day's news. We'll be discussing the Housing Ombudsman’s report into Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, the school where girls can’t wear trousers and plans for a huge new bus depot in today's newsletter. Let’s begin.
Refugees 'lucky to have a roof' - landlord said
The landlord responsible for the flat where Awaab Ishak lived said refugees were 'lucky to have a roof' over their heads, according to a damning report.
Two-year-old Awaab died after being exposed to mould and damp at his home on Rochdale’s Freehold Estate - which is managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH). A report by the Housing Ombudsman found the Ishak family were 'not seen at all' by staff at the housing association and said 'their entire treatment was based on assumptions as to who they were and how they lived'. One former member of staff reported that a manager said living with mould was 'ok and acceptable'.
The Ombudsman released the findings of a special investigation into RBH today. It was initiated after the inquest into Awaab's death highlighted a 'disturbing picture of residents being judged entirely by staff members' held prejudices, lazy assumptions and an attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees that is wholly unacceptable'.
Paul Britton has been looking at the contents of the report and writes that the Ombudsman found a tenant's lifestyle was 'often used as a reason to dismiss their concerns and apportion blame without any real focus on the limitations residents faced with modern day living'.
Awaab died in December 2020, just days after his second birthday, following prolonged exposure to mould and damp. His parents, Faisal Abdullah and Aisha Amin repeatedly raised concerns about the state of their home with the landlord, but nothing was done. The Manchester Evening News has campaigned for Awaab's Law in the toddler's memory.
Four months after Awaab's death, the Housing Ombudsman asked RBH a series of questions to gather evidence for a review. Asked what they considered to be the main causes of damp and mould, RBH replied: “Tenants lifestyle eg not heating the property adequately, insufficient use of ventilation provided, drying clothes and cooking in the home, not venting tumble dryers, ritual bathing.”
“In the case of Awaab's family, when the mould issues were reported, the landlord focused entirely on the way his parents were using their home without considering if there was anything about the home that was contributing to the problems,” said the report.
The report, shockingly, said the Ishak family were 'not seen at all' by staff working for the landlord, which has 12,521 properties.
RBH has now written personalised letters to residents encouraging the reporting of damp and mould and has started a stock condition survey. In a statement, RBH said the findings in the report are ‘sobering but not unexpected’ and pointed to ‘significant learning’ from the toddler’s tragic death.
Labour’s shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy says the report 'lays bare a culture that repeatedly failed’ Awaab and his family and lifts the lid on ‘the lack of respect, care or response to far too many tenants’. “This report must be the wake up call that propels this to the top of the political agenda,” she says.
You can read the full details of the report here.
'We're just bringing a bit of food out for people'
Volunteers at Street Treats have been helping Manchester’s homeless communities for the last eight year. But their future is under threat.
The group gather on Piccadilly Gardens each Thursday evening and hand out dozens of free meals, providing a lifeline to those forced to sleep rough. But last month, they were told they could no longer operate there. The council also says Piccadilly Gardens is an ‘unsuitable place’ to run the operation from.
Daryl Pollitt, who co-founded Street Treats, said a police officer warned her they would be 'booked' if they parked their van in the public city centre spot. The warning has left her angry - but she intends to stay.
“We're not doing any harm,” she told reporter Tom George. “We're just bringing a bit of food out for people. The issue is they don't want us to park here but how do we do it without the vehicles? We have so much stuff.
"When the Christmas markets are there they are allowed to park up all day and bring their goods. They're getting revenue for that, they're not getting any money out of us. I think you'd have a riot [if we moved]. You'd have loads of complaints. Loads of people are up in arms about it."
Manchester Council say Piccadilly Gardens they can’t make exceptions to parking rules, ‘however well-intentioned’ the operation is. "We encourage all street kitchens to link in with homelessness services which can provide wider and long-term support for the underlying issues which the people accessing their food are facing, such as help with any health, addiction or debt issues. We all want the same thing - to help people out of the situations which mean they need to access street kitchens in the first place,” they said.
The rigid rules dictating female dress
The mum of a youngster due to start at St Damian's RC Science College, in Tameside, has slammed the 'outrageous' uniform policy after being told girls must wear skirts.
“I find this totally outrageous and not sure how this is allowed with the equality laws,” she told Parents editor Emma Gill. “Girls are at a disadvantage dealing with freezing weather and even upskirting. I can't believe such sexist attitudes are still prevalent in high schools.”
Emma spoke to Francesca Cambridge Mallen, at Uniform Reform, who says the school should reconsider. "Schools also have a public duty to promote the 2010 Equality Act, and really need to consider how they can legally defend forbidding girls from wearing trousers when it clearly contravenes conventional dress standards," she said.
"For example, the UK Government Equalities Office notes that requiring women to wear skirts at work is 'likely to be unlawful' - why are girls and young women subject to such rigid rules dictating female dress?"
The school and the Diocese of Salford declined to comment.
'It was wonderful'
Marianne Philipps was just a teenager when she travelled alone on the Kindertransport to England in August 1939. After the war, the family chronicle was recovered from Berlin, where it had been left when her father Martin was deported in 1943. He was murdered at Auschwitz along with her younger brother.
Marianne still has the chronicle and recently posed with it and members of her family for an exhibition of photographs currently on display at the Imperial War Museum North.
This month, Marianne met world-renowned sculptor Frances Segelman who created a bust of the 99-year-old Holocaust survivor. Most famous for her sculptures of royalty, including Queen Elizabeth II, Frances has sculpted personalities from across the worlds of entertainment, politics and sport. But Marianne is the first Holocaust survivor from Manchester to be sculpted by the artist.
The visit was arranged in partnership with Yad Vashem UK by Jewish social care charity The Fed as part of their My Voice Project - which allows Holocaust survivors who settled in the North West to tell their stories.
Marianne described the experience as ‘wonderful’ and praised Frances for her skill and talent. “We didn’t talk much as she had to concentrate whilst she was working, and I had enough sense not to talk either and let her focus. There were lots of photographers around, but I took no notice and stayed frozen,” she said.
Plans for huge electric bus depot in north Manchester
A huge new electric bus depot is being planned for Greater Manchester, with a potential site in north Manchester already earmarked for the 'state of the art' development, as Paul Britton reports.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester hope to buy a sprawling plot of land from Manchester Council in what's said to be a £10m deal, with its purchase set to be confirmed by the end of this month.
The Government has so far pledged £7.5m for the project, which leaves a funding shortfall of £2.5m - which GMCA say is 'expected to be funded from borrowings as part of the overall bus reform programme'.
A 'vacant site' over 13 acres currently owned by the council in the 'Central Park' area of north Manchester has been identified as a 'suitable' location, although its exact location hasn't been revealed by TfGM. Negotiations with the council for the site are said to be ongoing, with the depot planned to have capacity for up to 250 new electric buses.
The plans would bring 'significant job opportunities to the region' and generate new, highly-skilled construction jobs said in the report to be 'critical for the GM region and beyond'. A strategy aims to consolidate the 10 existing bus depots around Greater Manchester into larger depot sites serving larger geographical areas, with GMCA saying the electric depot plans would also allow current diesel depots to be 'retired' and 'reprovisioned for further development and regeneration'.
Strong feelings
Just over two years ago, chaos erupted in Levenshulme when Manchester Council installed ‘modal filters’ in a bid to ease traffic. The 14 planters popped up across the suburb as part of a six month trial for an Active Neighbourhood project - and caused no end of confusion.
Just hours after their installation, some were moved or knocked over with murmurs of a forklift truck being used under cover of darkness. Nevertheless, they remain in place to this day.
Now a similar drama is unfolding in Rochdale. In fact, planters closing a number of roads there were set alight last Thursday. As a result, the active neighbourhood trial has been paused and a further consultation will now take place.
Rochdale Council say while there will be ‘strong feelings’ about the scheme, ‘violence and threats will not be tolerated’ and the police are investigating.
The Bloomtown trail
The National Trust has launched an interactive map to help people find the best blossom across the city. The Bloomtown trail features 30 places to see blossom in Manchester - from Magnolias on the Rochdale Canal to cherry trees in Hulme Park. There are some unexpected locations on the route too, such as Cutting Room Square in Ancoats and Whitworth Street West.
A pop-up blossom display in Sadler’s Yard has been created especially for the trail, with 12 different types of apple and cherry trees. The trees will be planted at Angel Square later in the year. The free digital trail map will be live from Saturday April 1 to Sunday April 30.
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Weather etc
- Temperatures: Cloudy changing to heavy rain by early evening. 15C.
- Road closures: M67 Eastbound entry slip road closed due to long-term roadworks at J2 A57 Hyde Road (Denton). Until 1st December 2025.
- A662 Pollard Street Westbound closed due to roadworks from Pollard Street to A665 Great Ancoats Street. Until 13th April.
Manchester headlines
- Always sunny: US ambassador Jane Hartley met with Mayor Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig as well as business leaders in her first UK visit outside of London. It follows the mayor and Coun Craig's visit to the US earlier this month where they struck an historic trade deal with the state of North Carolina and met with a US banking giant in New York to discuss its Manchester office expansion plans. Ambassador Hartley visited the statue of Abraham Lincoln, in Lincoln Square - which she described as a great ‘illustration of US and UK shared history and values'. She then joined a business round table in Spinningfields. "I'm thrilled to be here, it's always sunny in Manchester!" she said. More here.
- Homes: Manchester Council has announced the next steps towards creating the UK’s first purpose built apartments for LGBTQ+ older people by choosing its preferred housing provider. The homes will be built on the site of the former Spire Hospital, on Russell Road, in Whalley Range. The plans, which have been in development since 2017, are set to include around 100 one and two-bedroom apartments alongside a restaurant/bistro, lounge areas, treatment rooms and a landscaped outdoor community space. Great Places Housing Group has now been announced as the preferred housing provider for the scheme - which will be developed by the council alongside the Russell Road Community Steering Group and LGBT Foundation.
- CAZ cameras: Councillors in Oldham have demanded answers over how hundreds of mothballed number plate recognition cameras installed under the Clean Air Zone plans will be used in future. Leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition group, Councillor Howard Sykes, said there should be a public consultation on their purpose, as well as scrutiny from elected members of all parties. “The future usage of these cameras must not be decided in a back room somewhere,” he told members at a full council meeting. More than 400 ANPR cameras were erected ahead of the planned implementation of the charging zone in May last year, which was then delayed and the future of which is still uncertain. Police can access information but must request permission from Transport for Greater Manchester. “These cameras are no longer needed for their original purpose. So, what will they be used for? Are they going to be turned over to Greater Manchester Police? Is there going to be any public consultation on their use?” Coun Sykes asked. More here.
- Incident at school: Footage has been shared which appears to show a teacher at a Stockport school allegedly pushing a student out of a classroom. The clip was filmed inside a classroom at Harrytown Catholic High School, in Romiley. Stockport Council said staff in its schools department are 'aware of the incident' and are 'following all appropriate due processes'. The school declined to comment.
Worth a read
The cost-of-living crisis has been financially crippling for Alex and Mike Chadderton. The couple previously both had full time jobs in Manchester and a combined income of £56,000 a year. But Alex had to give up her job as a teacher when their twins were born with complex needs resulting from autism.
She now works from home as a freelancer for several small businesses, as well as working part-time for a PR agency. But despite now working up to 60 hours a week, her wages still aren’t enough to cover the young family’s mortgage, utility and food bills.
”The cost of childcare in one year was actually more than I earned as a teacher,” she tells reporter Paige Oldfield. “Some weeks we get by okay but there are weeks where it is really hard and we’re having to scrimp and save as much as we can."
As well as working full time she gets Universal Credit, but says the £200 she receives a month doesn’t really help with rocketing energy bills. The family are waiting for a decision about Disability Living Allowance for both children.
“I’m now earning more than I ever have in my life and we’re still classed as a low-income household,” Alex says. “It just baffles me that you can be working a full-time job but still qualify for government help, because a standard wage just isn’t enough to support a family in the current economic climate.”
You can read more about the family and how they are managing their money here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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