Manchester City Council has offered Mancunians a first look at what Deansgate could potentially look like if fully pedestrianised in the future.
The artist impression image forms part of the council’s Manchester City Centre Transport Strategy 2020.
The strategy – which was published yesterday and was developed jointly by Manchester City Council, Salford City Council and Transport for Greater Manchester – outlines how the city centre’s streets can be best managed, with the goals of further improving the city’s public transport network, making walking the predominant mode of travel within the city centre and reducing dependency on car journeys.
It is also aligned with wider efforts across the city region to develop strong and sustainable recovery strategies in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the local authorities, the strategy’s central aim is for 90% of all trips into the city centre to be made on foot, by cycle or using public transport before 2040, which will “help to reduce air pollution and contribute to Manchester’s ambitious goal of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038 at the latest.”
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A key part of the proposal is to formalise the current trial which has removed traffic along Deansgate to make it a more attractive street for people on foot.
As part of the the plans to expand the city’s current pedestrian priority zones, enhance walking routes, and make it easier to cross the streets, Manchester City Council is therefore “planning for further street improvements on the rest of Deansgate and Whitworth Street to make these key streets better for walking, cycling and spending time in through significantly reduced traffic.”
Deansgate is described as a “priority location” for delivering the council’s Streets For All approach and is intended to be a key destination place within the city centre in the future.
What does this mean though?
Well, Manchester City Council has stated that: “This means creating the highest quality public space, whilst recognising the role this street plays in moving people between locations, especially by walking and cycling. Accordingly, we want to create high quality public realm by giving more space to pedestrians and also improving the junctions to make it easier for people to cross the road.
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“At the same time, we want to retain people’s ability to move to move along this street, particularly on foot and by bike, encouraging general traffic to use alternative routes, such as the MSIRR.”
Speaking on the release of the Manchester City Centre Transport Strategy 2020 Councillor Angeliki Stogia – Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport – said: “As Manchester continues on the road to recovery from the pandemic and plans for growing numbers of city centre jobs and homes, more than ever, a strategy is required to guide the future of transport in the region’s capital.
“This ambitious strategy envisions a well-connected, zero-carbon city centre at the heart of the North, offering residents, workers and visitors a great place to live, work and visit.
“It reflects the thousands of voices – including residents, commuters, and business and interest groups – who’ve contributed to years of discussion and consultation about how they want to travel into and around the city centre.
“What’s emerged is a strategy that reflects the strongest calls – for more and better space for pedestrians and bikes, more sustainable travel options that keep the air clean and cut carbon, less congestion, improvements in public transport, parking and deliveries that don’t choke our streets and air, plus smart use of new technology to help make all of this happen.
“We’re excited to invite everyone to get on board and have their say on this bold, environment-enhancing strategy for a cleaner, sustainable, inclusive Manchester.”
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Manchester City Council
The Manchester City Centre Transport Strategy 2020 is now open for public consultation.
The consultation is designed to give the public their chance to have their say on the plan and is open until Wednesday 4th November, so if you’d like to contribute your thoughts on the proposals, you can do so via the Manchester City Council website here.
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
24th September 2020 
