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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
It’s been known as Factory International up until now, but Manchester’s brand new arts centre will officially be called ‘Aviva Studios’. We’ll see how long that lasts in a city where people almost belligerently stick to what they know.
A case in point - the AO Arena, which hasn’t been sponsored by the Manchester Evening News for decades, yet is still somehow known to most as the 'M.E.N Arena'. And let’s not forget 'G-mex', 'Strangeways', 'Urbis' and 'Kendals' - not the right names for any of them. But despite the best efforts of PR teams, some habits die hard.
On to the news. In today’s edition we’ll be discussing why northern trains are 'rubbish', the councillor who says the cost of living crisis has put him in debt and the urban oases brightening up Manchester's ginnels and alleys.
'It shouldn't be my job'
Earlier this week we looked at the tragic case of Karen McBride, an anti-poverty campaigner who died 'frustrated to the point of desperation' after years of struggle and fear over money and 'uninhabitable' living conditions. She lived in a house run by Jigsaw Homes.
Reporter Damon Wilkinson has been speaking to tenants at other homes run by the housing association and found people frustrated by ongoing problems with damp and black mould.
Among them was David Collins, 68, who cleans black mould from his lounge walls and repaints them himself. He says there are similar problems in his bedroom in the one-bed flat on Dukinfield's Central estate.
"As long as I keep cleaning it I'm not that bothered [about the risk of mould], but it shouldn't be my job to keep cleaning it. It should be their [the landlord's] job to sort it out,” he says.
Damon spoke to several other tenants experiencing similar problems - like Sharne Whittaker, who is tackling a sizable patch of black mould in her bathroom at Lyme Terrace. "I'm trying to make it a nice place to live, but every time I do everything just starts peeling off again. There's no chance,” she says.
Another resident told how she's had to replace three carpets due to damp in the 13 years she's lived there. "I've reported it and reported it, but all they do is come out and paint over it. The whole building needs a new damp proof course,” she says.
Several tenants however, told Damon they had no problems with their flats and said the estate was a decent place to live. Jigsaw Homes Group say they respond quickly to reports of damp and/or mould, the cases mentioned have been dealt with and they provide guidance to tenants on preventing and dealing with damp, mould and condensation.
Councillor blames cost of living crisis for debt
Many people are struggling amid the cost of living crisis - and elected officials are no exception.
Councillor James Fish is among those struggling and says debt is now ‘the norm’ for many. He owes Wigan town hall £1,237 in council tax. "Not everyone can afford immediate bills. I have had residents asking about arrears - and I say I have the same issues,” he says.
Local Democracy Reporter George Lythgoe used a Freedom of Information request to find that Coun Fish last made a payment on October 15, 2022. He said he has struggled to keep up with payments in recent years, resulting in a build-up, but has vowed to get straight later this year.
A payment plan will see his debt cleared by October 2023. "This is because there is a cost of living crisis, but it needs to be paid in the 12-month period," the Tyldesley and Mosley Common councillor says.
He adds: “The majority of that money is from previous years. When you put yourself up for election, you are in the public eye and there is nothing to hide."
'Quite frankly absolutely rubbish'
Lucy Powell didn’t mince her words when she spoke to MPs about the north’s rail problems this week.
"Trains in the north and rail connectively in the north is quite frankly absolutely rubbish," she said. "Unreliable, poor rolling stock and poor connections. It really hampers our whole region.”
The Manchester Central MP told the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill Select Committee existing HS2 rail proposals for Manchester Piccadilly are a 'suboptimal solution' that fall 'well short of our ambitions for our region and for levelling-up'.
She also revealed that long-standing plans for two extra platforms at the station were 'dropped' by the Government 'just a few weeks ago’.
Referencing London without naming the capital she said one of the reasons for ‘stark inequality’ is geography. “We have got one global, level city in the UK and that city sits in the southern corner of our geography,” she said.
"It has more and more money spent on it. It gets all the infrastructure - growth, whether that's the Jubilee line, Crossrail or whatever. It's got a transport connectivity befitting of its global status. But other major economies have more than one global city, they have at least two."
China, she said, has 'nearly 20, and we still only have one'. "That's the whole basis of the Northern Powerhouse economic plan, it is based on that agglomeration effect."
Ms Powell said a 'global, level economic node in the north of our country' would create a large talent pool.
She referenced the distance between Burnley to Manchester as 29 miles, saying it was less than the Central line. "Yet the connectivity between Burnley and Manchester is woeful by comparison," she added.
Manchester leaders are continuing to press a case for a four-platform, underground HS2 rail station at Piccadilly - rather than an overground, turn-back 'station on stilts'.
Petitioning against the Bill, Ms Powell said the efforts of the committee were important and 'really appreciated', telling the MPs: "This is probably the single biggest and most important issue that your Bill will be looking at." But she said she wanted to invite HS2 to 'engage' with Greater Manchester to look at the plans again.
Transport reporter Paul Britton has been following the committee hearings and you can read his report here.
‘Blood on her hands’
Government plans to enforce licences for drug testing at clubs and festivals were bound to cause some comment. But Parklife boss Sacha Lord has gone so far as to claim the Home Secretary will have ‘blood on her hands’.
The Home Office has said the festival cannot test drugs confiscated from festival goers, as it has done with drug testing charity The Loop since 2014, without a special licence. A licence has not previously been required, as Ben Arnold reports.
Mr Lord has called the move ‘senseless’ and ‘a huge miss-step’ and took to Instagram to make his feelings clear. “This is coming from the Home Office, the home secretary Suella Braverman. Drug testing saves lives. It is that simple. It’s going on, we don’t condone it. But let’s take the sensible approach,” he said.
“And I’m telling you now, if there are any drug-related deaths at festivals this summer that we think could have been prevented by drugs testing, well blood on your hands Suella Braverman. Bang out of order.”
The Home Office denied that it has changed its policy on back of house drug testing and said drug testing providers must have a licence to test for controlled drugs, including at festivals.
The village where you struggle to leave on busy days
When the sun shines especially, Dovestones reservoir seems to have a magnetic pull. The beauty spot attracts thousands of visitors throughout the year, but it’s never busier than in the summer months and during bank holidays. And that often causes a headache for the villagers of nearby Greenfield.
The reservoir car park often overflows, meaning visitors are left to park on side streets and outside homes - or, as is often the case, illegally on grass verges or double yellow lines.
"Every time it's nice weather, it's busy," a Holmfirth Road resident told Damon Wilkinson. "They park on the side roads, on Hollins Lane. It's just gridlocked. And there are quite a few accidents with people slowing down trying to find a parking place. But it's a nice place for people to enjoy. I think people should be able to come and enjoy it, we just need better facilities."
Though police and traffic wardens occasionally patrol the area dishing out tickets to anyone caught parking illegally, the gridlock has led to angry rows. Meanwhile, some visitors risk moor fires by having barbecues and dog walkers have been known to let their pets off the lead worrying livestock.
"It can take 30 to 40 minutes just to get to the main road some days because of the people trying to get to Dovestones," says local Louise Donnelly. "People think it's a one way road, so they're shouting and swearing at you as you try to get out."
You can read the full piece here.
From dumping ground to urban oasis
All around us there are people working to help their communities. Patrick Smikle and Mark Edwards are among those putting in the hard yards for the benefit of others. They have both transformed dirty and disused alleyways into garden paradises.
Patrick, 63, has spent the last 16 years transforming and maintaining the ginnel on the border of Greenbank Park and Mount Road, in Levenshulme.
Once a ‘dumping ground’ covered in broken glass, Patric filled it with plants that even attracted the attention of BBC’s Gardeners World. “There were no grants so building the garden took time, but with the support of my wife and neighbours, my enthusiasm was encouraged enough to build a community garden,” he says.
Meanwhile, over in Moss Side, Mark is among those who have turned the alleyway off Acomb Street and Crofton Street into an urban oasis. Design studio DR.ME have added artworks made up of perspex typographic mirrors featuring lyrics and quotes from notable Mancunians like Anthony Burgess, Cleopatra and Erinma Bell.
Mark has used fly-tipped items like baths, sinks and toy cars to house plants and says: “I decided to try and make a change by building planters around the bins so there was less space for fly-tipping to occur - it worked so I simply carried on."
Reporter Maisie Lawton has been speaking to both men and you can read her interviews here and here. You can also read about the M.E.N’s competition with the RHS to get communities to transform their ginnels.
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Weather etc
Thursday: Sunny changing to light showers in the afternoon. 26C.
Road closures: M67 eastbound entry slip road closed due to long-term roadworks at J2 A57 Hyde Road (Denton). Until December 1, 2025.
Trivia question: Which Manchester festival takes place at Heaton Park in June?
Manchester headlines
Containers: Counterfeit goods worth 'tens of millions' is believed to be lurking in metal storage containers in Manchester. Seven months since launching Operation Vulcan, Greater Manchester Police has blitzed Strangeways' infamous counterfeit trade. From 206 known dodgy shops in the area around Bury New Road and Great Ducie Street commonly known as 'counterfeit street', police believe there to be just one or two remaining - with goods worth £62m seized. GMP is now working at a self storage compound on Honey Street, off Redbank in Cheetham Hill. At least 50 tonnes of items were seized on their first day. More here.
Data: There are more than 200,000 families in Greater Manchester with grown-up children still at home. Data from the Census revealed a 13.8 per cent country-wide increase across England and Wales between 2012 and 2021. In our region, the highest number of adult children still living with the family is in Manchester. More here.
- Rent strike: Students at the University of Manchester say they will continue a rent strike into next academic year after increases in the cost of university-owned accommodation. Strikers have been refusing to pay their accommodation fees since January as part of an ongoing dispute between students and University management over the cost of halls. The UoM Rent Strike group are demanding a number of measures, including a 30 per cent rent rebate for the year, and rents to be frozen at that level for the next three years. More here.
Events: Manchester International Festival returns across the city from next week, promising a raft of world exclusive arts and cultural events with it. And this year's events include a host of attractions for all the family to enjoy. That includes a city-wide treasure hunt, stunning art events and bold new theatre. MIF 2023's opening event will also bring families and young and old together to enjoy at Mayfield Park - the huge new public park in the city centre. You can read about all the upcoming events here.
Worth a read
“The most shocking thing for me was seeing the baddest of people – even people I used to look up to when I was younger – cry by themselves after prison visits,” says Hermenegildo Dange of his time at Strangeways.
The former drug dealer was jailed for more than six years and witnessed some terrifying sights while behind bars at HMP Manchester.
He’s been speaking to reporter Paige Oldfield about his time in the Manchester Boys gang, running heroin and crack cocaine and eventually turning his life around.
You can read the full 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: Parklife.
