Over 400 homes in areas of south Manchester have now been evacuated over flooding risks as Storm Franklin continues to batter the region.
After the arrival of Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice meant that Greater Manchester and widespread parts of the country were to hit by two storms within three days last week, with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ‘blizzard conditions’ in some areas, travel chaos on roads and train lines, and thousands of homes left without power, Storm Franklin was named over the weekend.
The Met Office confirmed the naming of the storm on Saturday morning, and forecast that it would bring “strong winds and heavy rain to the UK on Sunday and Monday”.
A yellow weather warning for wind has been issued for much of the country.
As per the warning, the Met Office says that people could see some damage to buildings, trees/branches being brought down, transport services affected by delays and cancellations, some roads and bridges required to close, and power outages.
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Injuries and “danger to life “could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads, and properties, the Met Office also said.
Following the naming of the storm, the North West branch of the Environment Agency yesterday issued alerts – which indicates “a possible danger to life” – for 430 properties in Didsbury and Northenden after he River Mersey reached record levels.
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The Environment Agency said the flood gates were opened.
Police went door-to-door asking people to evacuate, and people left their homes to stay in hotels or with relatives, while Didsbury Mosque also offered shelter – however, despite the River Mersey reaching a record high, water levels were said to have peaked at midnight, before receding in the early hours.
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Two severe flood warnings are still in place.
Footage from EA Field Operatives as they operate #Didsbury Flood Basin on the #Mersey
Severe Flood Warnings are in place, please follow advice from Emergency Services, and evacuate if asked to do so
This is by no means the first time this area of the region has had to be evacuated due to flood risks, as last January, more than 2,000 properties in Didsbury and Northenden were evacuated after during Storm Christoph.
Homes in the area did however escape serious flooding when river levels came “within centimetres” of breaching defences.
Following last year’s storm, volunteers at Fletcher Moss Park – which is near flood basins for south Manchester – called for better environmental management after parts of the area flooded and benches were knocked over by rushing water.
Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council, has provided an update on the situation in south Manchester this morning, explaining on Twitter that: “Thankfully after the peak at 4am, emergency evacuation operations on the ground were stood down and we got through the night without any flooding or damage to properties.
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“Thanks again to everyone involved and to the hundreds of residents who were impacted.”
She also thanked representatives from the Council, the Environment Agency, GMP, Manchester Fire Service, and local volunteers “who have been at it all day and into the night”.
Thankfully after the peak at 4am, emergency evacuation operations on the ground were stood down and we got through the night without any flooding or damage to properties. Thanks again to everyone involved and to the hundreds of residents who were impacted. https://t.co/cMYhKlYa8u
Elsewhere across Greater Manchester, road and rail services in some parts of the region have been affected this morning due to heavy rains, strong winds, and in some cases, obstruction to the lines, which has prompted a number of local transport providers to urge people not to travel, or delay journeys until after 10am.
Several south Manchester A roads are currently experiencing delays, while he M60 is closed in both directions near J10 due to an overturned lorry, and a tree is currently said to be blocking the railway lines between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport.
Some Metrolink services have also been affected for similar reasons.
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The yellow weather warning amid Storm Franklin is set to end at 1pm today (21 February), with rain expected to lighten off and stop by 12pm.
Royal Mail fined £21m by Ofcom failing to meet its delivery targets
Emily Sergeant
Ofcom has fined Royal Mail a whopping £21 million for failing to meet its delivery targets in the last financial year.
Each year, it’s the watchdog’s job to look at and measure Royal Mail’s delivery performance against nationwide annual delivery targets, and for the 2024/25 season, the company was required to deliver 93% of First Class mail within one working day of collection, and 98.5% of Second Class mail within three working days.
If Royal Mail misses its annual targets, Ofcom will first consider evidence of any ‘exceptional circumstances’ beyond the company’s control, and whether it would have achieved its targets had those events not occurred.
However, even after accounting for extreme weather events, Royal Mail was still found to have fallen short of its targets… and this time, they’ve been fined their highest sum so far.
We have fined Royal Mail £21m for missing its 2024/25 delivery targets, without justification.
The company must now urgently publish, and deliver, a credible improvement plan.
This is the third time in a row that Ofcom has found the company to be in breach of its regulatory obligations, after it was first fined a substantial £5.6m in November 2023, and then a further £10.5m in December 2024.
Royal Mail only delivered 77% of First Class mail and 92.5% of Second Class mail on time between April 2024 and March 2025.
Ofcom says it has therefore decided that the company breached its obligations by failing to provide ‘an acceptable level of service’ without justification, and took ‘insufficient and ineffective’ steps to try and prevent this failure.
“Hiding behind the pandemic as a driving factor in failures at Royal Mail does not cut it.”
Royal Mail has been fined £21m by Ofcom failing to meet its delivery targets / Credit: Royal Mail
The watchdog says this is likely to have impacted millions of customers who did not get the service they paid for.
“Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp,” explained Ian Strawhorne, who is the Director of Enforcement at Ofcom.
“These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better.
“Royal Mail must rebuild consumers’ confidence as a matter of urgency, and that means making actual significant improvements, not more empty promises.
“We’ve told the company to publicly set out how it’s going to deliver this change, and we expect to start seeing meaningful progress soon. If this doesn’t happen, fines are likely to continue.”
Featured Image – Royal Mail
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Thousands of elderly and disabled people to get free 24-hour bus travel across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of thousands of elderly and disabled people in Greater Manchester are set to benefit from round-the-clock bus travel for free.
Currently, as part on an ongoing pilot scheme, people with a Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM)-issued concessionary travel pass have free unlimited travel on Bee Network buses between 9.30am and midnight during the week, and all day on weekends and public holidays.
The rule was lifted in August on a trial basis for a month, meaning older and disabled residents in Greater Manchester had access to unlimited free bus travel any time between the allocated hours.
During the August trial, more than 100,000 journeys were made by older and disabled people – with up to 6,000 people a day making use of the pilot.
But now, after proving to be a huge success, the pilot is being extended even further, so that 400,000 eligible residents will now get free bus travel 24-hours a day, seven days a week, starting from 1 November.
If you travel with a TfGM-issued concessionary travel pass, from 1 November you’ll be able to use it on #BeeNetwork buses before 9.30am as part of a second month-long trial.
As well as free early-morning bus travel, during the trial starting in November, eligible residents will be able to board the Bee Network’s night buses for free too.
TfGM says allowing concessionary pass holders to travel at any time will ‘better connect’ them to healthcare, leisure, and retail opportunities.
“The last trial in August was a brilliant success, which saw more than 100,000 journeys made by our older and disabled people before 9.30am,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
“We are now carrying out this second trial, at a busier time of year, to see whether we can safely remove the restriction permanently and help our older and disabled people to get to work, go shopping, and get to medical appointments.
“We want the Bee Network to be the best public transport system possible and this means it needs to support all of our residents and communities to make the journeys they need to make and use the bus more.”
Emily Sergeant -
21st February 2022 
