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Here's the Mancunian Way for today:
Hello,
As an enthusiastic and sometimes successful gardener I’m always glad of some rain on a hot summer’s day.
What I’m not so keen on were the large balls of ice that came hurtling from the sky yesterday evening. I’m not sure the City fans gathered in town for the victory parade were so keen either - although any concerns seemed to disappear once the festivities got going.
So why does it hail in the summertime? Met Office forecaster forecaster Marco Petagne tells me it’s all a matter of energy.
“We’ve had hot and humid air across the UK recently and it’s a combination of those factors that creates enough energy for these showers and thundery downpours" he says.
“It’s more to do with how much energy is in the clouds. If the air is able to rise rapidly it’s enough to allow hail to develop. The more vigorous they become the more chance of hail. Those very intense conditions are perfect.”
Thankfully Marco says conditions will be a bit calmer over the next few days before the risk of showers increases again over the weekend. The good news is that drier air could make it a bit easier to sleep at night.
On to the rest of the day’s news. We’ll be discussing HS2, the region's new waterpark and sharing some pictures and details from that euphoric City victory parade in today’s newsletter. Let’s begin.
"The perfet one!"
It looks like Jack Grealish might need that massive Chinese meal he’s said to enjoy after every match now more than ever. The City star appears to have REALLY enjoyed the celebrations following his team’s historic Treble success and he certainly provided some of the most entertaining moments of yesterday’s massive event.
First, a topless Grealish was filmed having a beverage poured into his mouth while travelling to the parade with his teammates on a Metrolink tram. Then Erling Haaland soaked him in champagne and much later, he asked for vodka to be poured into his mouth as the players took to the stage in front of thousands of supporters.
“You would say they would remember it forever but given the amount of booze that's been drunk that might not be the case,” reports football writer Daniel Murphy. At least they’ll have some good pictures though ey.
The sea of blue that washed over the city centre yesterday really was a sight to behold. And not even a bit or rain - or rather a tropical storm featuring rain, thunder, lightning and hail - could put a damper on the celebrations.
Pep - who was puffing away on a, probably quite soggy, cigar during the open top bus parade - later told fans he couldn't have been happier with the tremendous downpour.
"We had to be the best parade with this rain or it is not Manchester! We don't want sunshine! We want rain! The perfect one!" he said cheerfully.
It prompted thousands of City fans to sing in chorus: "We'll sing in the rain, we'll sing in the rain. We're Manchester City, we'll sing in the rain."
Don't bring around the cloud to rain on my parade
It was - of course - chaos at Manchester Piccadilly in the hours after the Treble Parade as thousands of fans tried to make their way home.
Spare a thought too for the BBC’s Sophie Raworth, who was dispatched to present the 6 o’clock news from the city centre. There was certainly plenty of atmosphere when her segment finally came up at around 6.20pm, just as the heavens opened. But she saw the funny side posting to Instagram with the message: “It definitely rained on their parade…but nothing was going to dampen their spirits (or ours).”
The best solution for the North?
Local leaders have long been calling for an underground solution at Manchester Piccadilly and this week, they’ve finally got the chance to make their thoughts clear in the Commons. Whether or not it will make a difference is another thing altogether.
Manchester Council leader Bev Craig made it crystal clear that the city needs a ‘realistic’ plan when she spoke to the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill Select Committee yesterday. As Paul Britton reports, the current intention to create a surface HS2 station at Piccadilly, costing £6.9bn, have been slammed locally as unsuitable and short-sighted.
Instead, Coun Craig insisted that a four-platform, underground HS2 rail station at Piccadilly is 'the best solution for Manchester and the north'.
“I don't want people in Manchester, residents or visitors alike, to look around the city and think 'what on earth were they thinking, concrete stilts cutting off sections of the city'," she said.
The future of Manchester’s rail hub is a very big deal. Whatever happens, it will change the face of the city forever. But the wrong plan could be hugely detrimental. Unfortunately, it all feels a little bit intangible while it’s still on paper - unless you have intimate knowledge of the railways, which most of us don’t.
Suffice to say, the wrong decision could swallow up prime land, disrupt a major Metrolink line and blight Ardwick and Beswick with 15-metre high concrete viaducts.
The council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Combined Authority say a four-platform underground station 'alternative' could cost up to £2.64bn more than the Government plans. But, they say it would have huge economic benefit and would benefit Northern Powerhouse Rail trains going from east to west and vice versa. “An underground through station at Piccadilly is the best solution for Manchester and the north," Coun Craig said.
The committee hearings, which will last until next week, are due to get very technical but we’ll be keeping a close eye on proceedings and will report back with the significant updates.
'We'll never know'
Police say Parklife passed 'without major incident' over the weekend as they reported details of 70 arrests - the majority of which were for drugs offences. A number of arrests were also made on suspicion of possession of a bladed article.
However officers were also said to have received 'very credible evidence of gangs carrying machetes and knives' at Heaton Park.
Deputy chief constable Terry Woods told the police, fire and crime panel that stop-and-search powers were stepped up around Prestwich and Heaton Park on Sunday as a result.
He told councillors: "We didn't have what was intended to happen – I would argue that was prevented. We'll never know."
Rippled waves
It might not have the nostalgic charm of the long-lost Gorton Tub, but Greater Manchester’s new waterpark looks like it’s going to be pretty impressive.
Therme Manchester is costing £250 million and will boast 25 pools, 30 water slides and - planners hope - external water slides that shoot out of the building. As Dianne Bourne writes, visitors can expect thermal pools and spas, as well as swim-up bars, saunas and wellness suites as well as the indoor beach.
It’s being built close to the Trafford Centre and bosses have unveiled a new ‘rippled waves’ design that they will put forward to Trafford Council planners in the coming weeks. Also new in the plans is a roof terrace with further relaxation areas, a wellness garden and a multi-storey car park.
You can view and comment on the plans online ahead of the planning submission that will be submitted in the next few weeks.
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Weather etc
Wednesday: Sunny. 26C.
Road closures: A676 Moor Lane, Bolton, Southbound closed due to roadworks from A673 Marsden Road to Ormrod Street. Until June 13.
Trivia question: Which former east Manchester swimming baths boasted several water slides, river rapids, a whirlpool, a beach area and a paddling pool?
Manchester headlines
Strike: This was the dramatic moment a huge bolt of lightning appeared over the Manchester city centre skyline as the region was battered by a huge tropical storm. Roads became flooded and trees were reported to have fallen after balmy temperatures were broken by an impressive display of torrential rain, hail, thunder and lightning on Monday.
Jobs: Delivery service Tuffnells has fallen into administration with thousands of workers across the UK facing redundancy. The Sheffield-headquartered delivery giant officially announced more than 2,200 staff across are at risk. Tuffnells has a delivery depot off Shaw Road in Royton, Oldham, and staff there are thought to be among those at risk. More here.
Closing: One of the Northern Quarter's most iconic coffee and tea shops has announced it will close this week - leaving devoted customers in shock. North Tea Power is described as ‘one of the OGs of the NQ - but will close for good on Sunday after 13 years. The Tib Street cafe is famous for its handcrafted coffee, loose leaf tea and handmade sandwiches and cakes. But bosses say they have had to make some ‘tough decisions’ in announcing the closure. More here.
- Investigation: The Environment Agency is investigating after ‘thousands’ of dead fish were spotted in Salford Quays last night. One expert, Prof Jamie Woodward, tweeted that he believed the deaths were due to a ‘huge flush of sewage combined with failure of aeration system’. However, United Utilities has ruled out sewage as a possible cause. The Environment Agency says the incident is thought to be ‘caused by high temperatures and low atmospheric pressure as a result of thunderstorms, causing low dissolved oxygen levels’. More here.
Worth a read
“It took three years and cost the public purse £32m. The Manchester Arena Inquiry finally came to a close on Wednesday, but instead of back-slapping and congratulations for a job well done, there was palpable frustration and fear that this vast and expensive effort may, in some respects, have been in vain,” writes John Scheerhout.
“That frustration was felt not just by the families who have watched 283 witnesses give live evidence across 201 days of hearings in which the catastrophic failures of our emergency and security services were laid bare.”
In this feature, John - who covered much of the Arena inquiry with reporter Paul Britton - looks at the most pertinent issues that came out of the process and speaks to the families of some of those killed in the atrocity about implementing real change.
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: Gorton Tub.
