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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
I hope you had a good weekend? Those of you still ruled by term times (it’s just one never-ending ride for the rest of us) may already be enjoying some time off.
But that’s not the case for the Prime Minister, who spent the first day of recess up here in Greater Manchester defending Brexit, batting off questions about BBC chairman Richard Sharp and talking about spy balloons.
We’ll be discussing the reason he was actually here in today’s newsletter. But first, we’re taking a look at three stories that give a fascinating insight into three very different Greater Manchester communities.
‘It’s like Last of the Summer Wine meets Royston Vasey’
The idyllic hamlet of Hey Top is nestled in the Pennines hills, resting just above Dovestones Reservoir.
The row of terraces that make up this area - known locally as ‘Forty Row’ - look like something snatched from the pages of The Famous Five.
One resident told reporter Damon Wilkinson - who has been speaking to locals about life on the tops - that she had never lived anywhere where she felt safe letting her kids ‘play out’ before moving to the remote spot.
"The kids are all out on the front riding their bikes and playing on pogo sticks, or they're out in the woods and the grown-ups are sat out front having a glass of wine or a beer. It's like growing up in the 70s. The other day we counted there were 22 children in just our half of the row. It's brilliant,” says Louise Donnelly.
Originally a row of 40 back-to-back homes built in the early 19th Century for mill workers, the homes were later knocked through to make 20.
Debbie Tompkins loves the place but says the climate came as a bit of a shock after growing up in South Africa. “My first winter up north we were snowed in for five days! I thought is this what my life's going to be like now?” she says. "We're always a few degrees colder up here than in the village. And there's a howling wind that sweeps through."
But those tough conditions only add to the sense of community in the ‘micro society’.
Claire Ramsden says life on Hey Top is ‘like Last of the Summer Wine meets Royston Vasey’ with ‘a real old fashioned tight community’. "We have tons of walkers passing, all look in your kitchen window, lots ask for directions to the res and some even ask to come in and look around, as the houses are a bit of a local novelty," she says.
But living so close to one of Greater Manchester's most popular beauty spots also has its drawbacks. Dovestones is notorious for parking and traffic problems, especially on weekends, and residents often find themselves trapped.
"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 Louise.
"You don't go to Tesco on a Friday," adds Debbie. "You stock up in the week then stay in all weekend. That's what most people do, because it takes 45 minutes to get to the main road. We get loads of walkers coming past gawking in the window. I'm getting quite rude in my old age, so I say to them 'It's five for a look, 10 for a stare'."
But it’s a small price to pay as far as the locals are concerned. "I love it here,” says Debbie. “I couldn't live anywhere else."
‘They should brighten up the place but no one bothers’
About 15 miles south west of Hey Top, the landscape is very different. But the sense of community in Manchester’s most deprived area is just as strong.
Reporter Paige Oldfield has been chatting to people in Longsight about life in the area and during the cost of living crisis. As local Maria Traziza told her: “It’s not a bad area. But it’s very rough and very dangerous.”
Maria has lived in Longsight for 17 years after moving from Australia. She says there is crime and it is badly in need of more local amenities. Pointing to a nearby gambling shop, she said: “That used to be a bank, now it’s a bookies.”
And she’s also struggling to keep her head above water as the cost of living crisis continues to cripple the nation. “It’s terrible. It’s extremely hard."
That’s a view Colin Wood echoes. He owns Colin’s Cafe, on Longsight Market, but says it can’t survive much longer. “If the area was done up more – the market – we would have more customers coming. On my days off, I’ve seen people I haven’t seen for years. They say they can’t park so they don’t come to this area,” he says. “It’s not just a normal café, it’s a community and it’s vital.”
Great-granddad John Lengden has lived in Longsight for four decades. He says some parts are better than others. “You come here and you only have to walk around - it’s like a dustbin. Housing wise, it’s better. They should brighten up the place but no one bothers.”
Manchester Council say they are consulting with Longsight traders regarding costs to trade at the market.
‘It's a difficult market’
It’s quite a different story down the road in Withington, where many residents regularly frequent the local pubs, bars and restaurants.
The suburb is populated by students, long-term residents and an increasing number of young professionals. As such, it should be a good location for new hospitality businesses. But for some, things just haven't worked out.
Venues like The Orion, The Victoria, Red Lion, Fuel, Toast and Southside have all become staples for residents. But Wilderness Records closed last year, with owner Lyndon Higginson explaining: “We tried our very best to create a cool community hub in a great little area, but if people are buying records from Amazon and coffees from Costa, then it’s really difficult to compete.”
And last week, the owners of Libertine - an all-day restaurant, bar and music venue - announced it has temporarily closed due to rocketing energy costs.
The venue is run by the team behind Cottonopolis and the Edinburgh Castle, so many were shocked when it closed its doors just before Christmas after less than six months. Retired couple Debbie and David told reporter Sophie Halle-Richards the venue may have been ‘a bit too expensive’.
“It's a difficult market and it's divided between Didsbury [and here]. I couldn't imagine people coming from Didsbury to eat there,” they said. "It's a shame though because it really did offer something different for people living here and we were willing it to succeed. “We went three or four times and really liked what they'd done with the place. We wanted to support places in Withington instead of always going to Burton Road."
Student Liv, meanwhile, wondered if the venue was ‘a bit out place’. “Most of the places round here are really affordable. I think in the Orion it's about £2.50 a pint,” she said. "I think Withington at night time is very busy with students so they tend to gravitate to the cheaper places. I'd probably go to Fuel, the Orion, or somewhere in Chorlton. Town is really expensive so I don't really go."
Community health…but is it in the community?
Rishi Sunak met staff at the new £10m Oldham Community Diagnostic Centre during his visit to Royton earlier today. The clinic is a one-stop shop for cancer checks, scans, and tests, estimated to be used by more than 30,000 patients a year.
The new facility is one of 150 being rolled out to streamline diagnostics and treatment in community settings rather than through multiple hospital visits.
And the Prime Minister saw the visit as a chance to reiterate his pledge to cut NHS waiting lists. “These centres bring together all the different tests, checks and scans that people need, take them out of hospitals, closer to people’s homes in the community, making it easier for them to access that treatment, and get it far quicker. It’s really working,” he said.
However, just one in five operational CDCs are actually ‘in the community’, according to analysis from The King’s Fund in October last year. They found 47 of the 92 up-and-running CDCs were in existing healthcare facilities and only 17 were in the ‘community’ - such as shopping centres or football stadiums.
The Department of Health and Social Care say the existing 92 CDCs have so far carried out more than three million potentially life-saving checks, tests and scans in England since July 2021. Centres have helped in ‘virtually eliminating’ the number of patients waiting over two years for treatment and cutting 18-month waits by more than 50 per cent, they claimed.
Just a reminder
If you’ve just remembered it’s February 13 and you’re scrabbling around for somewhere to book for tomorrow, have no fear.
What’s On editor Jenna Campbell has compiled this list of romantic places to eat on a budget this Valentine's Day.
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Weather etc
- Temperatures: Clear changing to partly cloudy by early evening. 12C.
- Road closures: One lane closed due to carriageway repairs on M56 in both directions between J7 A556 Chester Road (Bowdon) and J5 (Manchester Airport) until February 18.
- A6144 Eagle Brow in both directions closed due to roadworks between A56 Church Road and Brookfield Road until February 21.
- Trivia question: Which of these groups has Johnny Marr not played with? The Pretenders, Pet Shop Boys, Talking Heads, Simply Red, The Killers, M People, Oasis, Crowded House, Blondie?
Manchester headlines
Rescue: A firefighter from Leigh has helped rescue a woman who had been trapped in the rubble for almost a week after the Turkey-Syria earthquake. Steve Pennington was part of a UK rescue team who spent 17 hours tracking the woman's voice through the wreckage in the southern province of Hatay in Turkey. He can be seen in footage as the woman is pulled from the ruins of a collapsed building and carried to safety on a stretcher. She was one of two people rescued in the operation on Saturday. Phil Irving, from Pembrokeshire, was part of the team. "They were trapped in there for over five days and it will stay with me, their incredible capacity to keep going, hope and believe,” he said.
Tributes: The family of Brianna Ghey have paid tribute to their 'strong and fearless' daughter after she was stabbed to death in a Warrington park. The 16-year-old’s body was found on a path in Linear Park, in Culcheth on Saturday afternoon. A boy and a girl, both aged 15, have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Brianna's family have described her as 'beautiful, witty and hilarious' and say a 'massive hole' has been left in their family following her death. More here.
Best friends: Film star Will Ferrell made a surprise appearance at the Etihad to watch Manchester City’s match against Aston Villa on Sunday. The actor previously stunned Wrexham fans by watching them beat Wealdstone 3-1 on Saturday in the National League tie. He even headed for a pint at a Welsh pub before kick-off. The comedian, who co-owns American soccer team LA Galaxy, later posed for a selfie with Blues star Jack Grealish. More here.
Change: Acclaimed Greater Manchester pasta restaurants Sugo Pasta Kitchen have changed their name to Sud Pasta, it’s been announced. Owners - and brothers - Michael and Alex de Martiis confirmed the news to fans on Instagram. In a post headed ‘Same us, same mission, same pasta kitchen’, they said: “From today our new name will be Sud Pasta.” The name change follows a years-old row over the use of the name Sugo with a Glasgow restaurant called Sugo Pasta.
Worth a read
Through her new play, writer Isabella Leung has given a platform for Hong Kongers who have made a new home in the UK and Manchester.
A Bouffon Play About Hong Kong was a finalist for the 2021 Women's Prize for Playwrighting and will debut in the city as part of the Push Festival at HOME next week.
Isabella’s play started to take form while she was attending the school of Philippe Gaulier - a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. There she learnt about Bouffon - a modern French style of performance art focusing on mockery.
She says it provides the 'perfect way to explore the absurdity of our struggle as a marginalised group of artists'.
You can read more about it 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: Simply Red
