Manchester’s famously known as the city that does things differently. From dancing on tables to pioneering vegetarianism, Mancunians (and Salfordians) have always been a little bit rebellious – pushing the boundaries of what’s allowed and what’s not.
It’s something that’s always been celebrated in Manchester. But now that that infamous spirit has started extending itself into the realm of car parking, the council aren’t too happy.
Pictures have emerged of the central reservation underneath the Mancunian Way filled with cars, by way of posts shared on Twitter by cycling campaigner James Stafford earlier this week.
And it seems that this rogue parking has been going on for some time now – with drivers reportedly spotted using the ‘free’ parking spaces since the end of 2020.
Shared with his followers on Monday, Stafford’s caption drily states:
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“Here is a tour of Manchester’s latest new free city-centre car park underneath the Mancunian Way.
“Be careful though, it’s a little dangerous mounting on/off, there are no parking bay or dropped curbs.
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“But it’s close to the city centre and free.”
Stretching from Cambridge Street to the Princess Road roundabout, the piece of land was newly created when improvement works were carried out on the Princess Road/Medlock Street roundabout.
As such, it’s technically neither pavement nor carriageway.
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Whilst the council currently don’t have legal recourse to penalise drivers, they are keen to stress the risks associated with pulling in and out of such a busy junction – raising concerns that, due to the high volume of traffic passing across the junction, there is a strong risk of collision.
An official statement released by the council states:
“We would strongly discourage anyone from parking on the central reservation underneath the Mancunian Way. This area is intended for maintenance of the motorway. Motorists attempting to park on this piece of land run the risk of causing a collision to other road users.
“The Council is considering interim steps to prevent the use of this land for parking and in the long term, installing barriers limiting access to maintenance staff.
“There are many parking spaces in the city centre and we would encourage drivers to use them, or to use public transport to travel to Manchester where possible.”
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Co-op Live confirms cancellations caused by part of air conditioning unit ‘falling from ceiling’
Daisy Jackson
The Co-op Live arena has confirmed the cause of tonight’s last-minute gig cancellation and subsequent postponement of future shows.
Reports said that an object had ‘fallen from the ceiling’ before doors to the public officially opened.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that ‘a component of the air conditioning system’ separated from the ductwork, and stressed that no one was injured.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, the artist who was meant to perform tonight, had said that ‘something happened with the venue while I was at soundcheck today’.
Oak View Group, which owns the venue, said that it had ‘made the necessary call to ensure the full safety of all visitors to the venue to postpone the performance’.
Tim Leiweke, Chairman and CEO of Oak View Group said: “The safety and security of all visiting and working on Co-op Live is our utmost priority, and we could not and will not run any event until it is absolutely safe to do so.
“Today was a very unexpected situation but without a doubt the right decision.
“I deeply apologise for the impact that this has had on ticket holders and fans.”
It’s believed that the issue with the HVAC system was an isolated incident ’caused by a factory defect’.
Co-op Live said: “We were not able to verify that all similar nozzles were free of such defects.
“In conjunction with wider stakeholders, Oak View Group has made the necessary call to ensure the full safety of all visitors to the venue, and to postpone the performance.”
The rest of the nozzles inside the huge arena will now be tested for similar defects.
They said in a statement: “We understand the need to reassure fans over future shows. We are working with artist management and promoters to limit the impact on the opening season schedule.
“Where necessary, we will identify alternate dates, and will continually reassess to provide fans with sufficient notice regarding imminent shows.
“Should shows be cancelled or rescheduled, fans will be contacted by their point of purchase and offered a full refund where preferred.”
Olivia Rodrigo’s two Manchester shows at Co-op Live have been postponed
Daisy Jackson
Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at Co-op Live in Manchester have been postponed after a night of drama for the new arena.
The star was meant to bring her GUTS Tour to the city on Friday and Saturday night.
But the huge 23,500-capacity arena has now confirmed that both of these gigs will be postponed.
New dates will be announced as soon as they’re confirmed.
Co-op Live said in a statement: “Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed.
“Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund from their point of purchase.
“We deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many.”
The massive arena was supposed to open for the first time to the public tonight with a performance by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.
But it was called off at the eleventh hour, with fans turned away from the doors just minutes before they were meant to open.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that the reason for the cancellation was that a piece of the HVAC (air conditioning) system had ‘separated from the ductwork’.
Rigorous testing on the rest of the system now needs to take place before fans can safely be welcomed inside.
Olivia Rodrigo has yet to issue a statement about her Manchester shows on 3 and 4 May being postponed.