Manchester

Greater Manchester is aiming to be the first region to deliver a carbon neutral transport network

"The benefits of a carbon neutral transport network are huge."

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 8th November 2021

Greater Manchester has set out a new ambition to become the first city-region to deliver a carbon neutral transport network.

The ambitious goal was announced this morning by Mayor Andy Burnham and Transport Commissioner Chris Boardman, ahead of travelling to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow.

Under the plans announced by the pair and published today on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) website, the city region’s bus fleet will be 50% electric by 2027 and 100% electric within a decade – a move that GMCA said would “singlehandedly reduce carbon emissions by 1.1 million tonnes”.

The Greater Manchester Ring and Ride fleet is also aiming to transition to zero emission technology by 2027.

The city’s tram network, the Metrolink, already runs on 100% renewable energy, and GMCA said funding has recently been secured to the develop the next stage of plans for expanding the network.

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Since Greater Manchester launched its ambitious active travel vision in June 2018, around £70 million worth of schemes have been completed or are under construction, and to encourage more walking trips, GMCA and TfGM has also today published a report that shows strong evidence for zebra markings to be authorised for use on side roads to increase safety and the number of people walking to school, work, and the shops.

The city region is also introducing the UK’s largest Clean Air Zone outside of London covering almost 1,300km2 and coming into effect in May 2022.

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The first fleet of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network cycle hire bikes – which will be one of the largest hire schemes outside London – will also be launched later this month, and will be carbon neutral. 

Speaking on the launch of the plans today, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Greater Manchester is already leading the way in transport decarbonisation through our light rail network, the largest in the country, that runs on 100% renewable energy, [and] today we’re going one step further and setting out a new ambition to be the first UK city-region to deliver a carbon neutral transport network, including full electrification of our buses in the next decade.

“We’ve already started building the UK’s largest cycling and walking network, with £70 million worth of active travel schemes either completed or now under construction.

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“This investment has helped enable thousands of people to change their daily lives, residents who’d previously not have considered walking or riding can now travel without cars for everyday trips in safety.

“The benefits of a carbon neutral transport network are huge [as] we’ll be boosting our health and improving air quality, and at the same time creating better places to live.

“We’re ahead of the curve on Metrolink, now we need to apply that carbon neutral aim to everything we do.”

Greater Manchester has set out a new ambition to become the first city-region to deliver a carbon neutral transport network / Credit: TfGM

Chris Boardman – Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester added – added: “Full electrification of our buses, continued delivery of the UK’s largest active travel network and the introduction of the largest clean air zone outside London will be a massive boost to Greater Manchester’s green credentials.  

“I’m absolutely delighted that our world class active travel network is now taking shape. This year is a game changer for Greater Manchester – the plan is becoming a reality.

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“Our spend per head on active travel in Greater Manchester is currently around £18 per year – that’s almost at the levels enjoyed in Denmark and The Netherlands – and I’m hugely proud of what we’ve delivered so far to make our city greener and healthier [so] today’s commitment for a carbon neutral transport network is proof yet again of our unwavering dedication to a 10-year mission of making the city-region one of the best places in the world to travel on public transport, on foot and by bike.”

“This is a scheme designed for and with the communities of Greater Manchester and it’s been great to get out on one of the bikes today for a test run to see exactly how they work,” Chris Boardman added.

The first fleet of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network cycle hire bikes will also be launched later this month / Credit: TfGM

“The new hire cycles will play a key role in the integrated transport network we are establishing in Greater Manchester and will not only help to tackle carbon emissions, they will also help to reduce congestion.

“We’ve taken the time to look at exactly how the scheme should work and have invested in ensuring the bikes and infrastructure are high quality and there are the resources available to manage it effectively on a day-to-day basis, delivering a great level of customer service.”

The public trial of the bike scheme begins on 18 November, when people will be able to access bikes along Oxford Road in Manchester city centre, at the University of Salford and at MediaCityUK. The trial and use of the bikes will be closely monitored and fed into the approach for the full scheme when it launches in June 2022. 

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You can find out more about Greater Manchester’s plans for a carbon neutral transport network, and about how the Bee Bikes will work via the GMCA website here.

Featured Image – Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)

Manchester

Authentic pizza restaurant Proloco to open inside luxury Manchester apartment building

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo

A new modern pizza restaurant is coming to town – say hello to Proloco.

Opening inside One Port Street in the city centre, Proloco is set to have a seasonal menu and a weekly rotating selection of sharing plates, gelato made in-house daily, and pizzas crafted with ingredients from local suppliers across the North West, as well as the best quality tomatoes and oil imported from Italy – naturally. Have we said all of your buzz words yet?

Sharing a chef with Honest Crust Sourdough Pizza too, it’s guaranteed to be good. 

Priding themselves on fantastic food, unfussy drinks, outstanding hospitality, and a love for music – which is at the heart of everything – Proloco will be a welcomed addition to the city.

Some of the seasonal dishes currently available include succulent grilled lamb chops with anchoïade, salt-baked beetroot with ricotta and dill, and radicchio agrodolce with stracciatella.

CGIs of Proloco, set to open in Manchester city centre / Credit: Supplied

The main event – being their selection of 18-inch pizzas, of course – includes one with porchetta, whipped potato, and fennel pie, charred seasonal greens with anchovy pie and a tomato butter pie with marjoram.

Finally, the question on everyone’s lips – the drinks list. You can expect honest wines, locally sourced quality beer, aperitivi, and the star of the show, their £7 Negronis. No, we can’t wait either.

“Proloco is about cooking food I genuinely love with the best people and produce around me,” commented co-founder, Richard Carver. “I want it to feel effortless – warm, a little bit fun, and always worth coming back to.”

Read more:

Manchester’s food scene truly does just keep getting better and better.

You can sign up for Proloco’s soft launch information at www.proloco.uk, or follow their progress at @proloco.mcr.

Featured Image – Supplied

Manchester

Pair jailed after filming themselves driving over 130mph before killing man in fatal Manchester collision

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Two men who filmed themselves driving at speeds of over 130mph before a fatal collision earlier this year have now been jailed.

20-year-old Uways Hussain, of Marley Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison, while 23-year-old Usmon Mahmood, of Buller Road in Manchester, has been sentenced to 12 years and nine months.

Their sentences follow a night of what Greater Manchester Police (GMP) called ‘dangerous driving’ around the South Manchester area, which started at around 11pm on the evening before the collision.

The vehicle – a Volkswagon Golf – belonged to Mahmood, but he allowed Hussain to drive the vehicle at high-speed throughout the night.

On the evening prior to the collision, beginning at around 11pm, Hussain and Mahmood were driving recklessly around the South Manchester area.

According to police, the pair filmed themselves consistently travelling at speeds of over 100mph on 30mph roads, and in several cases, theyvreached over 130mph and seconds before impact, were recorded at 139mph.

Recorded footage also showed them running red lights and weaving through traffic with no regard for the safety of other road users or pedestrians.

At one stage during the night, the pair stopped at a petrol station, where footage shows Mahmood inhaling from a balloon in the passenger seat, while later o Hussain can be seen doing over 100mph and also appearing to be inhaling from a balloon while driving.

The fatal collision happened at around 4:36am on Monday 9 March 2026 at the junction of Green End Road and Kingsway, where the victim – Sylvester Abayomi, 50 – was on his way to work and entered the junction on a green light, believing it was safe to proceed, but was then struck by the car being driven by Hussain, which had travelled through a red light at extremely high speed.

Sylvester Abayomi / Credit: GMP

Immediately following the collision, GMP received several emergency calls and an automatic alert from Hussain’s Apple Watch saying he had been involved in a collision.

During this alert, both men could be heard discussing plans to flee the scene and attempting to decide what evidence they needed to remove from the vehicle. They were also heard discussing reporting the vehicle as stolen, and shortly afterwards, they booked an Uber to escape.

Emergency services attended the scene, but sadly, despite their best efforts, Sylvester sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead.

GMP says it received its first report of the incident at 4:37am,, and within 12 minutes the pair had been located, caught, and arrested by officers.

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DC Thomas Johnson, from GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, described the incident as ‘one of the most extreme cases of dangerous driving we have encountered’.

It’s also believed that this is one of the first times in the country where a passenger has been convicted for aid and abetting causing death by dangerous driving.

Featured Image – GMP

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