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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Happy Halloween. If you’re planning to go trick or treating tonight the best advice I can give you is to take a mac. Your spooky makeup might end up more frightening than intended if you get caught in one of the predicted downpours.
I’m afraid an attempt to beat the Guinness world record for the amount of people dressed as ghosts - staged in Fallowfield over the weekend - came up short. But don’t fear, they’ll be trying again next year.
In today’s newsletter, we’ll be looking at exactly how Greater Manchester Police managed to drag themselves out of special measures and claims that flattening 'Counterfeit Street' will drive the problem ‘underground’.
‘Some things are quicker than others’
Greater Manchester Police is now out of special measures after inspectors found the force had made 'clear, demonstrable progress'. But how did it get there in the first place? And what’s changed?
Reporter Damon Wilkinson has been looking at what went wrong for GM P and how the new chief constable, Stephen Watson, got things back on track.
Repeated warnings
Calls for improvements came long before the force was plunged into special measures.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate, MPs and councillors raised serious concerns about crime recording and the protection of vulnerable people. The Inspectorate flagged these issues in May 2019, but they were rejected by the force in a move indicative of a culture of denial that went right to the top.
An M.E.N. investigation into the failures at GMP quoted several former police officers who pointed to poor leadership, weaknesses in the promotions system, lack of external scrutiny and a series of bad organisational decisions.
Meanwhile, difficulties with the much-maligned £27m computer system iOPS led to problems recording hundreds of crimes, potentially putting victims at risk. Again the leadership's approach was to deny there was a problem.
In December 2020 inspectors uncovered the 'poor service the force provides to many victims of crime' with 80,000 reported crimes unrecorded. GMP was placed in special measures and Chief Constable Ian Hopkins lost his job.
What's changed?
Chief Constable Stephen Watson promised a 'back to basics' approach when he took over in May 2021. The grandson of a hospital matron ‘of the old school' and a self-avowed traditionalist, his no nonsense attitude appears to have trickled down.
Some of the changes will be clear to the public. Avro, a monthly operation to target crimes highlighted by locals, has been trumpeted across the region. And the chief last week vowed to flatten the strip of Bury New Road known as ‘Counterfeit Street’ - a nest of criminal activity for decades.
Waiting times have been slashed, especially for vulnerable people, response times to 999 incidents have been cut dramatically, more than 1,000 burglaries are being solved and tens of thousands of investigations have resulted in a charge or summons.
Internally, inspectors found the force now has a better understanding of its performance and the capability and capacity of its workforce; has improved support for officers and staff and has halved the number of open investigations.
More is needed
Andy Cooke, from the HMI, says there is still more for the force to do. And Mr Watson concedes that the quality of investigations needs improvement.
"There are frankly still too many occasions where we don't get it quite right," he said at a press conference on Friday. “I have no doubt those things will come, but some things are quicker to turn than others."
Going underground
Plans to bulldoze a number of buildings along the stretch of Bury New Road known as Counterfeit Street were widely publicised last week.
But, as Tom Molloy reports, it was business as usual for those who sell their wares in the area. The men who try and beckon passers-by inside shuttered shops appear undeterred. So far.
But those running legitimate businesses on the strip find the ‘twice a week’ police raids put customers off. “This used to be the best place for markets. In the 90s it wasn’t like this,” one trader told Tom.
Another said plans to knock down some of the buildings is ‘probably for the best’ but says the situation exists because of demand. “We don’t sell fakes in here but the whole thing is supply and demand. It isn’t necessarily just people you’d expect visiting the shops either; I’ve seen people pull up in fancy cars like Mercedes and I even know a barrister who goes shopping along here,” he said.
“It’s up to the landlord to vet the people they let in. I don’t think it would spread elsewhere, it’ll probably just move online, or people’s houses, or car boots, it’ll just go underground. People will still want to buy it.”
The equivalent of two new boroughs
Places for Everyone, the successor of the ill-fated spatial framework - which Stockport pulled out of in late 2020 - sets out a vision for the next 15 years. The controversial masterplan maps out where almost 165,000 new homes would be built in the remaining nine Greater Manchester boroughs by 2037.
Critics of the plan say this is the equivalent of creating two new boroughs. They disagree with the data used to calculate the number of new homes needed in the city-region, claiming the estimates are 'massively excessive'.
Despite the amount of development proposed being dramatically scaled back, they maintain that no green belt land needs to be released to build new homes. And they claim that implementing the policies in the plan would see Greater Manchester blow its carbon budget by exceeding its fair share of emissions.
As Joseph Timan reports, hundreds of campaigners will have the opportunity to make their case over the next few months as the plan is examined in an independent inspection.
Public hearings begin tomorrow and will last until the end of March.
HS2 derailed? (again)
Michael Gove has suggested HS2 could be derailed as the government considers up to £50bn in spending cuts. Capital investment for the high speed railway line will be reviewed ahead of the autumn budget, he warned.
Asked on Times Radio about the raft of spending cuts, the Levelling Up Secretary said: “I am sure everything will be reviewed” before adding “I do think HS2 is a significant investment.”
On whether the project is still worth it, even without its eastern leg to Leeds, the Levelling Up Secretary said: "In a way your question is the answer, which is that we’ve already had to make economies.
"But I think long term capital investment in making sure this country is better connected is a good thing. And ideally, you don’t want to cut that long term capital investment because it helps contribute to economic growth and greater opportunity.
"But when we face the particularly economic problems that we have at the moment, I'm sure that some capital spending will be cut."
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Weather etc
- Tuesday: Light rain changing to cloudy by late morning. 14C.
- Road closures: A665 Bolton Road in both directions closed due to resurfacing work between Wordsworth Avenue and Unsworth Street until November 4.
- A575 Walkden Road Southbound closed due to gas main work from Mesne Lea Road to Kingsway until November 6.
- A665 Devonshire Street Northbound closed due to gas main work from A6 Stockport Road to Hellidon Close until November 4.
- Trains: Special timetable operating on TransPennine Express and Avanti West Coast due to shortage of train crews.
- Trams: Revised service on Manchester Metrolink due to overrunning engineering works at Piccadilly Gardens. Some Metrolink services are operating with changes until the end of November when the works can be finished. Bury and Altrincham services are not operating into Piccadilly station. Ashton services are operating to Crumpsall via Victoria. Eccles services are only operating to Deansgate.
- Trivia question: Which Manchester music venue, featured on the programme Most Haunted, is thought to be occupied by a spirit?
Manchester headlines
Strikes: TransPennine Express (TPE) will be running no trains through Greater Manchester on three planned strike dates next month. Only one TPE service will be operating on November 5, 7, and 9 - between Huddersfield and York. The planned strike dates are the latest action announced by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) unions. Passengers planning to use a TPE train to travel from Greater Manchester to Edinburgh, Hull, or Huddersfield for Rugby League World Cup fixtures on those dates will have to make alternative arrangements.
Crossing the floor: A councillor who quit the Conservatives has joined the Labour group on Bolton Council. Coun Bev Fletcher, who currently sits as an Independent representative for the Breightmet ward, will now be part of the opposition group on the council. Originally elected as a Conservative, Coun Fletcher resigned from the party last year saying she ’didn’t feel the council have stood up to the government enough to support and protect Bolton’. Bolton Labour group leader Nick Peel, said: “It’s great to have Bev on board with us. She joins a dedicated team of people committed to bringing about improvements to Bolton.”
Banned: A drama teacher who ‘groomed and manipulated’ a 13-year-old pupil has been banned from the classroom for life. Kim Connor began an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with the teenage victim after inviting her round to her home for private tuition. She was employed as a performing arts teacher at St Monica’s RC High School in Prestwich at the time. She was jailed for nine months in July 2020 after being found guilty of three offences of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust and a further three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity by a person in a position of trust. She was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. Ms Connor, 48, has now been banned for life from teaching following a misconduct hearing earlier this month.
Worth a read
Facing down an 11-course Japanese tasting menu, our What’s On editor Jenna Campbell wasn’t sure what to expect. What she got was a delightful range of dishes from Michael Shaw and his team ahead of the opening of MUSU next month.
A chawanmushi, sweet red prawn tartare topped with edible flowers and caviar and a fresh plate of sashimi were among the dishes served.
As Jenna writes: “MUSU has been designed to stand out, to spark intrigue and importantly offer a high-end exploration of Japanese flavours, and when the public finally gets to taste Shaw’s carefully crafted menus in a couple of weeks time no doubt they’ll be pinching themselves as well - something very special is coming to Manchester.”
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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The answer to today's trivia question is: Albert Hall.
