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Here is today's Mancunian Way:
by Beth Abbit
Hello
Today, we'll be discussing the shocking news that police are digging on Saddleworth Moor for Keith Bennett after remains were found in the area. You can find all the latest on that story here.
We'll also be taking an in-depth look at the future of our cinemas, the new Factory arts centre and it's Matrix-themed opening event and the plea to keep a Lowry painting in Salford.
Officers on the moors
This poignant image of 12-year-old Keith Bennett is known to everyone in Greater Manchester.
He was one of five innocents abducted and killed by moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. Their monstrous crimes are some of the most horrific the country has ever seen.
Keith was buried on Saddleworth Moor, but his remains have never been found.
While Hindley began to cooperate with prison authorities and eventually tried to help find the body of Keith, Brady refused the desperate appeals of the child's grieving mother, Winnie Johnson.
She and Keith’s brother Alan never gave up hope of finding him, but tragically, Winnie died before that could happen.
The news that police are now digging on the moor for Keith after the reported discovery of remains in the area will come as a shock to everyone. Not least Alan, who has previously had his hopes raised by similar reports.
His solicitor, John Ainley, today said his client is ‘keeping an open mind’. "Naturally, the family are hoping that Keith has been found after all these years and their tireless efforts to find closure,” he said.
Police are, understandably, taking a cautious approach. After being contacted by author Russell Edwards yesterday - who says he has discovered what he believes are potential human remains in a remote location on the moors - officers began searching the area.
They are in the ‘very early stages’ of assessing the information and say it is ‘far too early to be certain whether human remains have been discovered’.
But if police do make a significant discovery on the moors, it could finally bring one of the most horrific chapters in Greater Manchester’s history to a close.
How does the future look for our cinemas?
Cinemas, both independents and multiplexes, have endured a tough time recently. The pandemic saw customer numbers plummet and few picture houses are back to the numbers they enjoyed before the pandemic. Cineworld, the world’s second biggest cinema chain, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States as it looks to restructure. While the Odeon, in Manchester city centre, could soon be torn down to make way for a huge redevelopment.
But at least some of our region’s cinemas are bucking the trend. What’s On editor Jenna Campbell has taken an in-depth look at those doing things differently.
The beating heart of the town
The Regent Cinema in Marple first opened its doors at 6.45pm sharp, on Monday, 22 August 1931. It’s not been without its problems, but the Lillis family have helped the local treasure weather the rise of video, the move to digitisation and the pandemic.
These days queues stretch around the building as punters patiently wait to take their seats. Bosses cite a careful selection process tailored to suit the local demographic, and the cinema’s social aspect, as the reasons for its success.
Manager Edwin admits the feeling ‘despondent’ when lockdown began, but says the latest Bond film brought The Regent’s mainly older audience back. “We’re all social beings and the cinema is another place to socialise,” he says. “Last year alone we had around 40,000 customers. If you talk to people around here they will say ‘it is our cinema’. I would say it’s the beating heart of the town, in fact.”
A reason to visit
It’s a similar story at Chapeltown Picture House, in the Red Bank area of the city centre. Owner Jason Bailey tries to make movies ‘as affordable and inclusive as possible’ meaning ticket sales are up.
Chapeltown celebrates the best in cult cinema, TV, and video games, and regularly runs quiz nights, film festivals and an amateur video game league. “Here, we’re giving people other reasons to come to our cinema, and part of that is making it a live experience as much as we can, and also showing them films they can’t see anywhere else.”
Diversity
For The Light Cinema, in Stockport, diversification has been key to maintaining healthy audience numbers. It has ten luxury bowling lanes, an arcade, interactive darts and karaoke. Affordability is also a factor.
"Recently we took part in National Cinema Day; where guests could buy a ticket to see a film for £3. We saw from increased attendance that there is a strong appetite to return to the cinema," says cinema operations manager Jamie Atherton.
Closer to home
Though it may sometimes seem like an either/or situation, Mike Mundin, director of The Savoy in Heaton Moor, says indies and multiplexes need each other. “We need the multiplexes to be thriving as much as they need us to be busy, because we’re all in it together - there’s no winners and losers, we either all win or we all lose,” he says.
However he admits it has been a good summer for his string of independents with customers keen for an ‘intimate’ venue with good service. “We have some customers who will only go to our cinemas, they’re not interested in travelling to multiplexes or going into town.”
Andy Burnham has
that he’s secretly happy that Manchester didn’t win the bid to host Eurovision, as it means the city can ‘protect our reputation as the home of cool music’.
"I'm alright about it," he insisted, unconvincingly, during a Q&A session with my colleague Rob Parsons, who writes The Northern Agenda politics newsletter, last night.
Hugely empowering
Manchester’s £186m new arts space will be opened with a huge event directed by Danny Boyle. The Radcliffe-born Oscar winner will coordinate an official opening production, based on The Matrix films, in October 2023.
The immersive performance will be presented across the building's ‘ultra-flexible spaces’ and will be a retelling of the film through ‘dance, music and visual effects’, writes Dianne Bourne.
"In my lifetime, to see a new space like this open is hugely empowering, and I hope the new generation of artists feel that power,” the director said at an opening event.
However the huge new building, which sits on the former Old Granada Studios site, will first open in June, for the Manchester International Festival.
Got a spare £8m?
Salford’s mayor has
appealing to Gary Neville and other public figures to buy LS Lowry's celebrated Going to the Match painting. The artwork is due to be auctioned off next month and Paul Dennett fears it could disappear from public view for good.
It’s thought the painting - which shows fans going to watch a Bolton Wanderers match at Burnden Park not far from the painter's home in Pendlebury - could fetch up to £8m.
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Weather etc
- Saturday: Heavy showers changing to cloudy by early evening.
- Roads closed: A57 Eccles New Road eastbound due to roadworks from Gilda Brook Rd to Stott Lane until Oct 8. A57 Snake Pass in both directions for roadworks between Ladybower Reservoir and Hurst Rd until Oct 23. A6 Manchester Rd in both directions for water main work between Moorside Rd and Clifton Drive until October 14. A6017 Stockport Rd southbound for water main work from William St to Grosvenor St until October 3.
- Trains: No service across the network on Northern due to strike action on Saturday Oct 1. Passengers advised not to travel.
- Trivia question: Can you name the three pubs in Manchester which have a front entrance and a rear exit? Meaning you can go in one way and leave on other side.
Manchester headlines
The number of people living in temporary accommodation in Salford has soared by 238 percent in the last four years with a further 'homelessness tidal wave coming', caused by the cost of living crisis. That stark warning has come from the city's head of supported housing Rachel Connelly. Her report on temporary accommodation and rough sleeping found the number of families and single people in temporary accommodation rose from 125 to 423 over four years.
The most complained about roads in Greater Manchester for potholes and damaged surfaces have been named. The Federation of Small Businesses’ study reveals a surge in reports made to councils from angry motorists. A number of councils failed to spend their full allocated budget for road repairs, despite rising numbers of complaints. Read the report by Paul Britton here.
Stockport MP Nav Mishra is behind a ‘hard left’ plot to take control of the council’s Labour group, according to explosive new claims. As Nick Statham reports, the accusation has been made by two Labour councillors blocked from standing for the party at next year's local elections. It is fiercely denied by allies of Mr Mishra, who is co-founder of Stockport Momentum. Coun Matt Wynne - together with colleague Coun Amanda Peers - claims the MP is behind a ‘weaponised’ selection process to replace moderate councillors with leftist ‘yes men’. He also claims that his appeal - held by Labour North West - was akin to a ‘Soviet show trial’. Mr Mishra and Labour North West declined to comment on internal party matters but said complaints are investigated in line with the party’s rules and procedures.
The ice palace
Manchester Ice Palace was the largest indoor ice rink in Britain when it first opened in 1910. The building still proudly stands in Cheetham Hill, although it closed as an ice rink in the 1960s.
This image from the archives shows young skaters outside Manchester Town Hall as they wait to hand in their petition to save the attraction.
Worth a read
“I'm walking along Shudehill, heading towards 'The City',” writes Damon Wilkinson. “But underneath my feet there's a dirt track, not the pavements of the city centre.
"The only sounds are of birds darting in and out of hedgerows and up ahead I can see a flock of sheep grazing in a field, rather than the bars and shops of the Northern Quarter. That's because I'm in New Manchester, a tiny former pit village on the outskirts of Wigan and Salford.”
Damon has visited the tiny pit village near Wigan, known as 'The City' because its streets are named after districts of Manchester. You can read his 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: The Rising Sun, Old Nags Head, and City Inn.
Email: beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk if you have stories you would like us to look into. If you enjoyed this newsletter, why not tell a friend how to sign up?
