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Manchester’s Wild West, Counterfeit Street, is set to be bulldozed. The strip of Bury New Road close to Strangeways prison has been a hive of criminal activity for decades. Now police and the council are saying enough is enough and are pledging to clear up the area - which also happens to be ripe for development.
We’ll be discussing that story with Manchester Evening News chief reporter Neal Keeling in today’s newsletter. We’re also taking a look at problems facing ambulance crews and what the new (old) Levelling Up Secretary could mean for our region. Let’s begin.
As long as it takes
Linked drug dealing, forced prostitution, slave-labour and firearms, Manchester’s so-called Counterfeit Street is the dark heart of the city.
Shoppers who venture onto Bury New Road for a fake designer handbag or a cheap pair of trainers likely have no idea of the misery linked to the warren of shutter-fronted shops. But that misery exists.
Police say 33 organised crime gangs (OCG) are thought to be linked to the district. Illegal immigration, modern-day slavery, women being forced to work as sex workers and the use of empty buildings for cannabis farms are rife in the district, say police.
A prescription drug called pregabalin - linked to a growing number of deaths in the UK - is freely available on the streets and is being sold for just 50p a table t in some places. Meanwhile, women walking through the area have reported being sexually harassed by men.
For a long time, the daily crimes taking place on this stretch of land were thought to be a given. The only assumption you could draw as a Manchester resident, was that nothing much could be done about it.
That’s no longer the case. Greater Manchester Police’s Chief Constable wants to flatten the place - and has pledged resources ‘for as long as it takes’ to clean up the area for good.
Of course it helps that the spot is now at the forefront of plans for major redevelopment. Manchester’s new council leader Bev Craig promised to look at the area closely when she took over from Sir Richard Leese last year. “We have to have more aspiration for that bit of the city than being able to buy a ripped off North Face jacket,” she said at the time.
The opening of a new £93m campus for Manchester College on the site of the old Boddington's Brewery within 200 yards of the stores selling counterfeit goods, plus a Travelodge hotel, have also been a catalyst for action.
M.E.N chief reporter Neal Keeling has been reporting on the slew of problems plaguing Counterfeit Street and the surrounding area for decades.
He has been speaking to Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood - the man heading the operation to clean up the area - and broke the exclusive story about plans to close, compulsory purchase and flattened buildings on the road.
“For decades police and trading standards officers have carried out raids on shops at the bottom of Bury New Road selling hooky gear,” says Neal. “High profile operations which appeared to show law enforcement were on top of the job.
"But, in a frank interview with the M.E.N, Det Supt Neil Blackwood has conceded due to 33 organised crime gangs from across the UK being linked to the district - stocks are replenished within two or three days and 'normal' trading resumes. Now, in a radical new approach, GMP have decided demolition is the answer.
“It will be a long process but, crucially, the region's new Chief Constable is the driving force, and he has pledged resources will be available ‘for as long as it takes’.
“The reason for this change is two-fold. The dodgy perfume, clothes, trainers, and toys, are merely the front of serious organised crime - linked to drugs, forced prostitution, slave-labour, and firearms.
“Secondly, that strip of Manchester is seen as the next ripe for development as Manchester city centre grows.”
On Tuesday, police recovered a Sprinter van used in a burglary, containing thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit goods, as well as a machete and an axe. Inside a building in Lockett Street, Strangeways, where the vehicle was parked they discovered five units containing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit designer clothing, perfume, jewellery and other goods. That job was part of ongoing work to tackle crime in the area.
Chief Supt Blackwood says the order for change comes direct from Chief Constable Stephen Watson who is not prepared to have a ‘criminally hostile’ area in his force patch.
“Counterfeiting has been around for a very long time but the criminality has shifted into prescription drugs; people being exploited sexually and for their labour, and illegal immigration - a microcosm of criminality,” he says.
The officer says there is an ‘established’ red-light district at the back of Strangeways and the area is ‘quite synonymous’ with cannabis farming. There have been 32 referrals to the National Referral Mechanism recently.
He says: "We understand there is a proportion of the community especially in these unstable economic times who are reliant on buying this stuff, especially with Christmas coming. Every time we go down there, there are customers who don't see the problem of buying it. But there is so much more behind the counterfeiting which we want people to understand.
"This is organised crime - counterfeit goods will make them a profit and counterfeit pregabalin which can kill people, makes them a profit.“
There have been hopes of a clean up for years, but Chief Supt Blackwood’s ambitions stretch beyond simply a fresh start. He believes Cheetham Hill could be transformed in a similar way to one of the city’s most gentrified inner-city suburbs.
“Look at Ancoats now, who would have envisaged that 20 years ago - it was just a retail park that no one went to,” he told Neal.
It's difficult to imagine such a scenario currently. But officials are pouncing on the new-found resources to make changes that are desperately needed.
Guess who's back
Michael Gove has been reinstated as Levelling Up Secretary by Rishi Sunak.
It comes just four months after he was dramatically sacked by Boris Johnson after telling the former Prime Minister his time in Downing Street was up.
Mr Gove has a reputation as an effective minister and his return to frontline politics will be welcomed by some. But what does it mean for Greater Manchester?
For what it’s worth, Andy Burnham says he has always had a decent relationship with Mr Gove. After his firing in the summer, the mayor told this newsletter Mr Gove was ‘the one minister who was doing his job properly’ and should be reinstated.
Mr Burnham has today said the region can have 'more confidence' about further devolution. He has already spoken to Michael Gove and has noted that the new Prime Minister mentioned levelling up in his first speech, local democracy reporter Joseph Timan reports.
Read more: Rishi Sunak grilled by MPs in first Commons appearance as prime minister
While he’s asking for things from the government, Mr Burnham might as well add another one to the list.
This morning he demanded that the new Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, sorts out problems with our region’s rail network.
“People are sending me pictures of train chaos from all corners of the North this morning. We need our MPs to push for an Urgent Question in the House. The new Transport Secretary has a deal for rest day working on his desk and needs to sign it off as his very first act,” he tweeted.
Murder investigation
Police have launched a murder investigation after the death of a young man in Fallowfield.
Wilmslow Road remains cordoned off as officers investigate the circumstances of the incident, which happened at 2am on Wednesday morning.
The Manchester Evening News understands the victim suffered stab wounds, but the cause of death is yet to be established.
Superintendent Neil Jones says a dedicated team of specialist officers are investigating ‘at pace’ and officers are patrolling.
Bus services and traffic has been diverted on the road, which is a main artery between south and central Manchester.
Students living in the area have been speaking about their shock at hearing the news, with one saying she doesn’t feel safe following the attack.
Another strike?
Union bosses say paramedics are at A&E for up to seven hours with patients
Hundreds of ambulance workers are being balloted over strike action in a row over pay and conditions.
North West Ambulance Service workers - including paramedics and emergency call handlers - say they are angry that the NHS Agenda for Change pay award of around four percent falls ‘well short’ of the real rate of inflation.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham says: “The impact of this real terms pay cut will result in the flood of overworked and underpaid workers leaving the NHS becoming a tsunami. The government must put forward a proper pay rise or else the NHS will go from being on its knees to being on life support.”
Meanwhile, paramedics in Greater Manchester say they are being forced to pay for their own welfare vans through their union - at a cost of £6,000 a month.
Union leaders claim ambulance crews are going ‘hours’ without food and drink as they queue for hours outside of crammed hospitals.
The welfare vans provide hot drinks and snacks and were initially used during the height of the pandemic.
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Weather etc
- Thursday: Cloudy: 18C.
- 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.
- A560 Gatley Road in both directions closed due to water main work between Wensley Road and Warren Avenue until November 4.
- 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 Metrolink due to over running 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: How many books were in the core of the John Rylands Library collection by the time it was inaugurated in 1899? 40,000, 50,000 or 60,000?
Manchester headlines
Arndale arrests: Police officers swooped on the Arndale centre on Tuesday evening, following reports of a young male armed with a knife. Police were called to the shopping centre at around 5pm and made arrests. No injuries were sustained. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that five males were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder. They have since been released on police bail with conditions, pending further enquiries.
Car meet: Police have branded a car meet in Stockport as 'irresponsible, reckless and illegal' after 'hundreds' gathered in the town. Clips posted to Snap Maps showed high-end cars, including Ferraris and Lamborghinis, parading down roads around the Great Portwood Street area. Footage showed the vehicles parked up near the Peel Centre and Tesco while drivers revved the engines for onlookers. In one clip, dozens of people could be seen gathered near a police van, while in another, crowds gathered and filmed a person in the centre of the crowd. Great Portwood Street had to be closed off as the incident unfolded, with drivers reporting gridlocked traffic in the surrounding areas. Police said cars were made to leave the area and some registration plate details were taken.
Golf course: A planning inspector has approved plans for a Ryder Cup golf course and 1,036 homes on a country park in Bolton. A public inquiry was held earlier this month into the vast development scheme which also includes a hotel and, what developer Peel describe as ‘a hub of inclusive golf’ for the UK. More here.
Overcrowded: Fans at Sunday night’s Paolo Nutini show at the O2 Victoria Warehouse have spoken about alleged overcrowding and people passing out and having to be carried out of the venue. Some have branded the gig ‘disgraceful’ and ‘unsafe’, also citing problems with sound and not being able to see the stage. Venue bosses say venue capacities are independently agreed with the relevant authorities and ‘robust control measures’ are in place and there were no reported incidents, medical or otherwise, at either show.
Stansfield vs Gibb
Which Greater Manchester popstar are you most like? Are you a Noel Gallagher, a Barry Gibb or more of a Lisa Stansfield?
You can find out by using this handy quiz, painstakingly compiled by M.E.N muso Gary Bainbridge. But be warned, you will be asked to consider which Muppet you most resemble and it's harder than you might think.
Worth a read
It's one of the North West's most sought-after postcodes - but people living in Wilmslow say they are plagued by boy racers and supercars.
Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bugattis are a regular sight on the streets of the leafy suburb - part of Cheshire's affluent Golden Triangle - and the jaw-dropping processions of expensive vehicles have turned the area into a hotspot for supercar spotters.
But while crowds of enthusiasts flock to see the flash motors, locals say they have had enough of ‘idiotic’ drivers using the town's roads as a ‘racetrack’, as Tom George writes.
Resident Michael Neal claims it’s not ‘kids’ causing problems, but rather ‘wealthy businessmen in their 30s, 40s and 50s’. "One thousand pound or five thousand, it's nothing to these people. They're multi-millionaires. Take the car off them and crush it in front of them," he says.
Read the fascinating piece 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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The answer to today's trivia question is: 40,000.
