Greater Manchester councils agreed to provide a finance package of more than £250m to Manchester Airport Group to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the airport. Open letter signed by eleven organisations asks the Greater Manchester Combined Authority council to reconsider their decision. An open letter addressed to the ten borough councils of […]
Could hundreds of Rochdale’s social rent homes be saved by a regeneration rethink?
Rochdale councillors have risen-up against a regeneration scheme by Rochdale Borough Housing which threatened to demolish over 700 social rented homes, with no promise as to the number of social rent homes to replace them. The councillors and residents of the College Bank and Lower Fallinge estates are calling for the demolitions to be halted. […]
Obituary: Manjeet Kaur – disability and human rights campaigner
Manjeet Kaur’s life is a story of extraordinary adversity and battles. She fought tirelessly and her work led to changes in policy and practice in several key areas. Manjeet Kaur died on Saturday 25 April 2020 in Manchester, aged 41 years. Human rights campaigner and activist Manjeet Kaur was born in Afghanistan in January 1979. […]
Beyond charity: Greater Manchester’s mutual aid response to coronavirus
Like Toto in the Wizard of OZ, the coronavirus crisis has pulled back the curtain to reveal the inner workings of our society. The precarity of the vulnerable and how many of us are much closer to that vulnerability than we realised. The new light has revealed who’s work is truly essential and how deeply […]
Controversial plans for Hulme student flats given green light under delegated powers
Despite calls to reinstate the council planning committee, plans for student accommodation in Hulme were approved by the chief executive. Councillors and campaigners say the council’s emergency arrangements for the coronavirus crisis are undemocratic, with locals feeling excluded and threatening legal action. Last week, Manchester City Council’s chief executive approved controversial plans for a nine-storey […]
‘Community wealth building’ is key to creating stronger local economies post-pandemic, says Manchester based think tank
If we want to own the post-pandemic future we need to concentrate on community wealth building, and embrace the “new Leviathan” state released by the coronavirus crisis, say timely reports released by Manchester based think-do tank the Centre for Local Economic Strategies. The key to creating stronger post-pandemic local economies is ‘community wealth building’ say […]
Film released today documents Mancunians building stronger communities
Local wellbeing organisation Healthy Me Healthy Communities are showcasing their latest project in an online film launch today, and are asking communities across Manchester to share their ideas on what community action could be taken next. Access to the full film available via this article. Healthy Me Healthy Communities, a Manchester based social enterprise, are […]
Four international journalists, who graduated in Manchester, report on their Covid-19 lockdown experiences
Four International Students who graduated at Manchester Metropolitan University discuss the impact of Covid-19 around the world, finding many similarities and a shocking tendency for misinformation and conspiracy theories to spread faster than Covid-19. Four friends from four different countries all graduated as Journalists in Manchester. We may now be living worlds apart, but we […]
Cross-party calls for Manchester planning committee to be reinstated
In response to the coronavirus crisis and lockdown, Manchester City Council suspended the planning committee and delegated planning powers to the Chief Executive. Thanks to new legislation, planning committees can now legally make decisions virtually. With other councils moving to online decision-making – and controversial schemes being decided this week – councillors, the Opposition, and […]
Street Meet soup kitchen reports increased demand for food during lockdown, and not just from Manchester’s homeless
Volunteers running an outdoor soup kitchen in city centre Manchester are reporting increased demand for food during the pandemic lockdown. People using the kitchen include many of the temporarily housed homeless, those still sleeping on the streets, the working poor and those struggling to survive on welfare payments. A band of volunteers responsible for outdoor […]