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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
“Is it 'eckers like!” I declared on hearing the Toast Rack had been voted one of the ugliest buildings in the UK. I have my Gran to thank for the Yorkshirism.
I happen to think the Toast Rack is a bit of a Brutalist gem. It’s a dollop of architectural experimentation on a road of otherwise dour buildings. And, if you’re travelling on the bus, it’s a good reminder that you’re entering south Manchester.
The latest ugly buildings poll which dropped into my inbox this morning ranks the Toast Rack alongside Liverpool’s Pier Head ferry terminal, Scottish Parliament and Central Church in Torquay. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - but I for one would be sad to see the unique Toast Rack shape erased from the skyline.
As for its future, developer Generation announced plans for the Grade-II listed site back in 2018. The company acquired the building almost a decade ago and gained planning permission for apartments in 2016. Previous reports stated the revamped site could be completed in 2020. The Mancunian Way has contacted the developer to find out more about the progress.
‘How dating scammers stole my identity’
I found this piece by reporter James Holt - in which he explains how his identity was stolen by online fraudsters - truly fascinating.
He was on holiday with his mum when he first discovered that an Instagram account using his name and pictures had been created and was offering exclusive, paid-for, adult-only content.
“A good friend of mine had spotted the account and sent me a screenshot,” he writes. “I instantly felt sickened. This was unbelievable. How could this be happening? In this technological era, how could somebody be able to freely set up a profile posing as me without any form of verification?”
After reporting the account, it was removed. But the problem persisted. Shortly after, a profile using James' images and details cropped up on the dating app Grindr.
He describes the experience as ‘a complete invasion’ and though he reported it, it has happened twice again since and on Facebook.
“It has happened so much now that I feel somewhat immune to it. I just tell people to report it and try to forget about it altogether, and I will continue to do so,” writes James.
I can tell you that as the M.E.N’s late breaking news reporter, James is pretty unflappable - but he’s not exactly confident the problem has been solved.
Meta - which runs Facebook and Instagram - apologised, pointed to their Community Guidelines and advised that any fake accounts should be reported. Grindr says they take user safety and privacy extremely seriously and are ‘always working to create a welcoming environment for all our users’. They say fake accounts will always be investigated if reported.
But as James says, it is impossible to know how many people are affected by this new form of catfishing. Indeed he has two friends himself who have had similar battles in the last year.
Go well, Betty
The news of Baroness Betty Boothroyd’s death was met with sadness by Maxine Peake this morning. The Bolton-born actress portrayed the first female speaker of the House of Commons in a play at the Royal Exchange Theatre earlier this year.
Betty! A sort of musical told the story of Dewsbury-born Mrs Boothroyd’s life in a show within a show. And it seems from this picture that the politician approved.
Bosses will need professional qualifications
Social housing bosses will be required to study for qualifications as part of a drive to professionalise the sector in the wake of Awaab Ishak's tragic death in a mouldy flat in Rochdale. Housing Secretary Michael Gove has announced the changes after recognising that social housing residents were being 'inexcusably let down', as Damon Wilkinson reports.
The Cabinet minister said the shift would 'drive up standards' across the board after the death of Awaab - who died in December 2020 from a respiratory condition caused by mould at his home on the Freehold estate.
In response to his death, ministers have proposed that landlords will have to investigate and fix damp and mould in social housing within strict time limits under what would be known as Awaab's Law.
Mr Gove on Sunday announced new rules that will mean around 25,000 managers across the sector will be required to have an appropriate level housing management qualification from a provider regulated by exams watchdog Ofqual, equivalent to a Level 4 or 5 certificate or diploma in housing. Alternatively, they can have a foundation degree from the Chartered Institute of Housing.
The changes will be made through amendments to the Social Housing (Regulation) Bill, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Should police be given powers to charge suspects?
Greater Manchester Police’s chief constable is among the heads at three forces who say police should be given the power to charge suspects in most cases.
Stephen Watson and his counterparts at West Midlands and West Yorkshire Police forces say the Crown Prosecution Service should be stripped of having the sole power to authorise charges in most cases, The Guardian reports.
They say the move - which would relate to crimes such as domestic abuse, harassment, burglary, robbery, theft, knife crime, and violent crime - would help the justice system out of a deepening crisis.
They say the Crown Prosecution Service should concentrate on the most serious cases as its ability to give timely charging advice is ‘broken’ due to lack of resources.
But Jo Sidhu KC, a barrister and former chair of the criminal bar association, told the paper giving the police more responsibility for charging suspects will do little to reduce the ‘unprecedented delays and huge backlog’ and wrong decisions would have to be reversed by the CPS.
‘Last month it was £340 for the heating’
It’s a year since reporters visited the tenants at Salford’s Malus Court and found them wrapped up in dressing gowns all day and worrying about the cost of bills.
As Ethan Davies reports, residents put their sky-high energy bills down to the NIBE heating system - which relies on insulation from cladding that currently doesn't exist, and costs them a lot even when the heating isn't on.
The block is among nine in Pendleton that are waiting for insulation work to be completed, years after cladding was removed in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire disaster. The surge in energy prices means residents have been hit by a triple-whammy of increased utilities costs, a ‘confusing’ heating system, and a lack of insulation.
Eddie Farrell, 61, claims the NIBE system costs him up to £90 per week without the heating on - or £340 with. “If other people have it on all the time, how do they cope?” he asks.
“Nothing’s changed. It’s got a little bit worse in that nothing’s been done. We just want a place that we can call home. We don’t want a s***hole.”
Pendleton Together, which manages the building, says they are supporting residents with energy support payments whilst blocks remain un-clad. Residents can also access a hardship fund as well as videos and face-to-face support on how to use their heating systems effectively.
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Weather etc
- Saturday: Overcast. 8C.
- Road closures: M67 Eastbound entry slip road closed due to long-term roadworks at J2 St Annes Road (Denton) until December 1, 2025.
- A627 Dowson Road Northbound, Hyde, closed due to water main work from Thornley Street to B6468 Market Street until March 3.
- A669 Lees Road, Oldham, in both directions closed due to emergency water main repairs between B6194 Cross Street and The Fire Station until March 2.
- Trivia question: Peaky Blinders is set in Birmingham, but many of the canalside scenes were filmed in which part of Manchester city centre?
Manchester headlines
- Drug warning: An urgent dangerous drugs warning has been issued over ecstasy tablets said to be in circulation across Greater Manchester. The yellow-coloured tablets are embossed with the letter B, said to stand for 'Bitcoin'. Experts say tests show they contain a 'variable type and content' of dangerous 'psychoactive drugs' including 4-Chloromethcathinone, or 4-CMC, which has reportedly been previously mis-sold across the city region as MDMA. The Manchester Drug, Analysis and Knowledge Exchange urged anybody feeling unwell after taking any drug to seek urgent medical attention. More here.
Mice: Cabin crew staff at Manchester Airport say they are being driven to distraction by a ‘mass infestation’ of mice running rampant in their duty room. Around 500 members of Ryanair staff are thought to be affected by the vermin outbreak, which is confined to a room where on-call cabin crew wait for long periods on their daily shifts. A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “We are aware of a pest issue in a briefing area used by Ryanair. We are working with the airline and appointed pest control specialists to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Cycleway: Funding for improvements to the Manchester Cycleway have been approved. The route, which goes through Chorlton, Fallowfield, Levenshulme and Gorton, has been granted £300,000 from the Government's Safer Streets Fund. Improvements will include the creation of a more open route, upgrading access points, improving the connection of the routes to different neighbourhoods and improving the landscape to attract more people to use the routes. More here.
Cinemas: Nearly 130 Cineworld cinema locations all across the UK - including seven in Greater Manchester - are at risk of closing down after the chain went into administration. The US company that also owns Arts Picturehouse chains filed for bankruptcy last year after failing to recover from Covid-19 and is continuing to struggle to find someone to take over. On Friday, the chain said it is reviewing a number of bids - none of which involve ‘an all-cash bid for the entire business’. They said it is ‘not expected that any sale transaction will provide any recovery for the holders of the company’s equity interests’.
Worth a read
The 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme has helped more than 100,000 refugees settle in host homes. Reporter James Holt has been talking to families about the rewards and struggles they have faced hosting families from the war-torn country.
Lisa Raynes, her husband and their three children offered up their home to Angelika and Valerii Zonzova and their two children last year. They stayed until October and Lisa says she has no regrets, but admits there were some significant challenges.
"Angelika and Valerii were both earning. I started off by helping them to get jobs and used my contacts to help get them in work, which was amazing - but very time consuming," she says. "It would have been useful to have a liaison from the council in helping them get set up with work, the language, schools, doctors, dentists and all of their needs. Instead, it was sort of just given to us to do, which was quite tricky."
You can read the full 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: Castlefield.
