A new play tours Greater Manchester this month, spreading a message of HIV positivity and helping to break down the stigma surrounding the now controllable virus. ‘I Am Because We Are‘ will bring theatre out into the community, using churches, community centres and drop-in centres for refugees and asylum seekers. Seven of the ten boroughs […]
At least 449 people died while homeless in the UK, over the last twelve months
As homelessness and the misery it entails increases across the United Kingdom, a collaboration by local journalists, charities and outreach groups has for the first time recorded the numbers of homeless deaths over a year. A figure which national and local authorities scandalously fail to calculate, collate and publish, despite the growing homelessness crisis. The […]
Trafford Housing Trust install faulty heating system, overcharge by double for years then only pay partial refund
A refurbishment program which promised an improved heating system for Stretford House in Trafford, turned into a lengthy ordeal for the tenants who have shivered their way through the fitting and subsequent multiple repairs that took years to complete, and then were forced to pay way over the odds for a still problematic heating system. […]
What links ISIS, the al Nusra Front and genocide in Darfur to the Manchester property market?
The housing development boom in Manchester is gathering pace. Skyscrapers are rearing up across the city, with many more in the pipeline, while a housing crisis continues for many. An increasing number of these luxury high rise apartments are being snapped up by overseas companies, the ultimate owners of which are often shrouded in the […]
Carbon Co-op pulls out of Manchester Science Festival in protest at Shell sponsorship
Guest article from the Carbon Co-op. A Greater Manchester based community benefit organisation combating climate change by utilising innovative methods to make homes more energy efficient: The Carbon Co-op announced their withdrawal from the 2018 Manchester Science Festival after the Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) announced that part of the festival would be sponsored […]
Developers are turning our heritage into profit, and we’re paying them for the pleasure of it
Flats at Crusader Works, one of the largest surviving textile mills and new luxury property venture by Capital & Centric where one bedroom apartments are going for heady sums upwards of £189,000, are on sale again. Since the project began the MEN has released a slew of articles gushing about how the development, on Chapeltown […]
Tax haven company owns £27m of Manchester property, but who owns the company?
One company registered in the British Virgin Islands tax haven owns property in Manchester with a value of around £27 million. The company name is Wisdom Max Group Limited, but who is the ultimate owner of this company and how did they make their money? These are questions that commonly go unanswered due to the […]
Manchester bands rock German festival in intergalactic style
The long-standing, alternative, anti-capitalist and strongly anti-fascist Fusion Festival was this year graced by storming sets from two of Manchester’s most beloved underground electronic music bands. Held on a former soviet air base in Lärz, North East Germany, Fusion Festival is billed as four days of ‘holiday communism’. With a strong ethos of diversity and inclusion, […]
Dramatic rise in tax haven companies owning property in Manchester mimics the city’s growing skyline
Property in Manchester is not only reaching for the sky: its ownership is extending across the globe. With investors keen to cash in on the lucrative high rise luxury housing boom in Manchester city centre, the number of properties owned by companies registered overseas has risen by 8.8% in just eight months. Tower blocks are […]
Immigration detention centres have no place in Manchester or the UK
Refugee Week takes place every year across the UK, and is a nationwide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourage a better understanding between communities. This year on it’s 20th anniversary it ran from 18 to 24 June, yet over this same 20 years […]