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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
The police officer who mistakenly pulled over former Chief Crown Prosecutor for the North West Nazir Afzal must have got quite a shock.
But not half as much of a shock as Mr Afzal himself whose tyres were flattened with a police stinger thanks to what appears to be an admin error.
The lawyer - who is chancellor at the University of Manchester - was wrongly targeted in a bungled hunt for a stolen car. He says 'serious conversations' need to happen.
Mr Afzal was driving his son home when he noticed a flashing light behind him at around 11.30pm on Sunday. Before he was able to stop he saw something 'fly' in front of his car and deflate all his tyres.
"I didn't know what was going on," he told reporter Nicole Wootton-Cane. "The car stopped, and I realised there was an unmarked police car in front of us and another police car behind us."
Mr Afzal told his 23-year-old son to keep his hands visible and stay in the car, but when officers approached the vehicle one immediately said: “I know who you are.”
"They obviously worked out quite quickly that this wasn't a stolen vehicle, and also who was driving it."
Officers told Mr Afzal that a vehicle with a similar number plate had been reported as stolen in the West Midlands but that one of the digits had been entered incorrectly - leading to Mr Afzal's car becoming a police target. Officers offered to replace his tyres but well after midnight realised they couldn't get hold of the correct ones until the next day.
A GMP spokesperson said officers were acting on intelligence from another force, which was later revealed to be ‘incorrect’.
A new tower in a 'once overlooked' area
It’s said it will ‘redefine the Manchester skyline’.
And so planners of a new 28-storey apartment block want to create 359 homes on ‘disused’ land behind Manchester Piccadilly at the corner of Sparkle Street and Store Street, as Charlotte Green reports.
JRL Group and development manager Central and Urban say 354 homes would be apartments with five town houses on Store Street. “The 28-floor residential building will redefine the Manchester skyline whilst also blending in and complementing the heritage of the surrounding area,” the consultation website states.
“Once an overlooked area within the city centre, this part of Piccadilly is now at the heart of the action - linking the fast-growing Ancoats and New Islington neighbourhoods with the Northern Quarter and the rest of the city centre,” says JRP development director Paul Cummins.
A consultation will run until Sunday July 23.
'We really care about getting it right'
Greater Manchester Police say they are arresting and charging more people with rape and sexual assault after campaigners criticised the force for 'failing' victims.
Figures revealed by data journalist Richard Ault showed just 2.4 per cent of completed cases resulted in a charge or summons last year after police finished considering the evidence.
Just one in 42 adult rapes investigated by GMP in the twelve months to March 2022 resulted in charge or summons, according to Home Office data.
Detective Chief Superintendent Michaela Kerr, who is head of Public Protection, previously told reporter Sophie Halle-Richards that despite some improvements, GMP’s response was 'still not good enough.'
Experts had previously voiced concerns that the disbandment of specialist rape investigation units had in part been responsible for the drop in results. But other campaigners, including former GMP detective turned whistle-blower, Maggie Oliver, said reinstating the units wouldn't solve the issue, and instead called for better training and retention of skilled officers across the force.
A new rape and sexual offences superintendent has subsequently been appointed at GMP, and the force was selected to work with the Home Office for Operation Soteria - a project bringing together academics and frontline police officers to develop a new national operating model for the investigation of rape.
New figures released by the force show that in the twelve months to June 2023, there was a 4.2 per cent increase in the recording of rape and sexual assault, and a 51 per cent increase in summons and charges - equating to approximately one in ten.
Supt Kerr says GMP recognised that their response to rape and other sexual offences 'really needed to improve.' "We really care about getting it right for those who have suffered rape and other sexual offences – our commitment to continuous development will hopefully give them the trust and confidence in us to allow us to investigate whilst they access specialist support," she said.
You can read the full story here.
Lancashire or Greater Manchester?
First there was ‘Lexit’ - now residents of another Greater Manchester town say they want to leave the region.
Chris Green, Conservative MP for Bolton West, says the town should be returned to the historic county of Lancashire. He told Northern Agenda editor Rob Parsons that Bolton is ‘in Lancashire’ not Greater Manchester.
“The 1974 settlement never erased the character, the nature, the geography of our historic counties, those historic counties are still our actual counties,” he said. "And I often refer to Greater Manchester as the Greater Manchester administrative district, because all of our admin, its paper clips and pens and biros are important. That's where I see the identity of Greater Manchester at that level, Lancashire is so much more important.”
Mr Green said he would be ‘pretty happy’ to see the regional mayor model ‘ditched’. “I'd be all right about moving out of Greater Manchester as a formal organisation. I think there will be some benefits,” he said. "We could act independently on a number of issues, but where we need to collaborate with Wigan borough or Bury or Salford we could collaborate, so I'm not going to push it, but I certainly am sympathetic."
His comments follow a 3,000 name petition recently debated by councillor which calls for Bolton to leave Greater Manchester.
Changes at the art gallery
Manchester Art Gallery has appointed a new senior creative lead as it prepares for a huge refurbishment.
Dr Inbal Livne took up the post this week to steer the gallery and help shape the way its collections are used and understood.
It comes as the gallery prepares to celebrate 200 years since the founding of the Royal Manchester Institution in 1823, through which the gallery's earliest origins can be traced.
Dr Livne has been working at John Rylands Library since 2021 as curator, Diversifying Collections.
“I'm hugely excited to have been given the opportunity to play a central role in the life and history of Manchester Art Gallery. The Gallery's ethos of putting people at the centre of everything it does, improving wellbeing, creating communities of care, and providing inclusive access to culture for everyone are values I personally believe in and have championed throughout my career,” she says.
Alice in Afflecks
We reported yesterday on Alice Cooper’s jaunt to the Northern Quarter to peruse the aisles of Pop Boutique. And it turns out he also made an appearance at Afflecks Palace.
The singer explored the stalls and shops at the iconic multi-floor indie market on Saturday, ahead of his appearance at the AO Arena with supergroup Hollywood Vampires.
Jack Parkinson, who runs Modern Streets, says Cooper popped in to buy a t-shirt for his bandmate Johnny Depp.
“It was a little unexpected to be honest,” he told Ben Arnold. “I kind of recognised him, but at the same time, without all the make-up and showmanship on stage, I was like ‘is that definitely him?’”
He adds: “He was asking me all about the brand and how it started. He just acted like a normal customer. Really down to earth. I offered to throw them his way [for free] to say thanks for coming in, but he said no. He said ‘no, we’re going to pay for them, we always make sure that we support small businesses’.
“He was a gentleman to be honest.”
'You live and grow around your environment'
The ginnel gardens that populate our region’s streets and avenues are a beautiful addition. But they certainly take plenty of hard work to maintain. That’s why the RHS and M.E.N. have teamed up to recognise the best out there.
Reporter Maisie Lawton has been speaking to three of the nominees in the Ginnel Garden Competition, including Nick Roberts, who has helped restore sections of an alley off Furness Road in memory of his close friends Charlie and Percy.
“The area has undergone stages of restoration from clearing out rubbish, uprooting weeds between the cobbles, wall detailing, and power washing. I’ve added dianthus, lavender, tomato plants, lobelia and a Chinese lantern tree - you live and grow around your environment and what you have,” he says.
Meanwhile, partners Chris and Leonie created a plant-filled haven between Lostock Avenue and Broom Lane in Levenshulme after years contributing to a well-established community garden ginnel in Moss Side.
“Living in Moss Side completely changed my mindset on ginnels and alleys, they can be so beautiful, and created as an extended garden and shared space for local residents. It’s great to see all the garden alleys popping up in and around the area now, and we hope we can help Levenshulme become the same,” Chris says.
Also in Levenshulme, Amanda Walsh runs a community space near Hornbeam and Lonsdale Road.
“I have an inspiring vision for this place through engaging the community and making that vision a reality. Cleaning and maintaining is not just about physical cleanliness, it’s a group involvement and helps create a safe, clean and inviting communal space,” she says.
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Weather etc
- Wednesday: Cloudy changing to light showers by lunchtime. 19C.
- 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: Who preceded Nazir Afzal as Chancellor of the University of Manchester?
Manchester headlines
Restoration: Historical slopes and a Georgian water fountain are to be restored in a Rochdale park as part of a £1m heritage project that will bring new life to the town centre. Dating back some 160 years, the Broadfield Slopes provide access to the town hall and St Chad’s Church within Broadfield Park. However, in recent years, Historic England has expressed concern over their current condition, as well as a need for repair work on the Georgian drainage system running underneath them. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has now approved a £1m funding bid to develop plans to restore the slopes and the surrounding area.
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Station South: Manchester City Council has purchased the freehold to Station South, in Levenshulme. Station South is a destination cycle café, bar, workshop, and urban garden just off the Fallowfield Loop greenway. The council agreed to purchase its freehold to maintain the Stockport Road site's long-term tenure in the area and to ensure they can continue to deliver their services within the community. The terms around Station South’s tenancy will not change. More here.
- On schedule: A new development of luxury apartments in Old Trafford is on ‘schedule’ to be completed by the end of the year as part of a huge £22m project. Blueoak Estates is set to hand over phase one of Alexander House, a former solicitor’s office on Talbot Road which will comprise 60 properties. It forms part of a wider 116-unit development. The former 10-storey office building has been partially vacant for several years and was acquired by the property firm in April last year. More here.
Long-term: Development plans for the Millgate shopping centre in Bury include building up to 800 new homes. Bury Council has published an update to its strategy for the town centre shopping complex after it acquired the centre and wider estate alongside joint venture partner Bruntwood in April 2022. The council said the regeneration of the 15 acre Mill Gate estate is a long-term project which will take place over the next 15 to 20 years. The council describe it as having ‘the potential to deliver one of the North West’s most ambitious regeneration projects’. More here.
Worth a read
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the streets of Blackley, parents made a demand to 'protect our children'. “It was the day they fought back,” writes court reporter Amy Walker.
She has been looking at the fear that gripped a tight-knit community following a string of violent robberies and attacks involving school kids. As Amy reports, some parents were so fearful they wouldn't let their children leave home.
Her report follows the jailing of a group of seven young men who were responsible for an armed robbery spree in the north Manchester suburb.
You can read the full report 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: Lemn Sissay.
