Prestwich is set to get a new ‘Anglo-Saxon’ style pizzeria on Bury New Road this month.
Brought to the north Manchester suburb by the same team behind popular Ancoats restaurant Elnecot, the new pizzeria Dokes will open its doors in Prestwich early next week.
After originally opening in the Society food hall on Barbirolli Square in May 2021, Dokes will now move over to Prestwich -reinventing its city centre micro diner under a new banner altogether.
At Dokes, chefs will continue to put British produce front and center – drawing on extensive research conducted over the last five years at their sister restaurant, Elnecot.
Chef-Patron Michael Clay has built up relationships with a long list of incredible producers across Britain, so the people of Prestwich can expect to eat cheeses from every corner of the country, alongside salamis and nduja from Curing Rebels in Brighton; creamy British burrata from the home counties and exquisite truffles from Wiltshire.
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The restaurant will also be working with the organic Cinderwood Market Garden in Cheshire, beloved by many of Manchester’s best restaurants, using an ever-changing list of beautiful and locally-grown fruit and vegetables on Dokes’ seasonally-evolving menu.
Pizza dough, meanwhile, is made using extra virgin rapeseed oil from Yorkshire and a blend of flours, using British heritage grains from Gilchesters organic farm in Northumberland, as well as Shipton Mill in Gloucestershire.
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Image: Society MCR
Beyond pizzas, the menu will also feature seasonal salads and pasta (supplied by the wonderful Yorkshire Pasta Company) alongside other regularly-changing small plates. Brunch will also be served on the weekend.
Speaking on the new opening, Michael Clay, Chef-Patron of Dokes Pizzeria, said, “We are really looking forward to opening in Prestwich; it really felt like the perfect location and in the short time I’ve spent there, it seems to have a real community feel and strong spirit.
“We hope that we can provide a welcoming atmosphere for everyone while serving up delicious pizzas on Bury New Road.”
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The new 40-cover Prestwich site offers a mixture of booth and table seating, with an open-plan kitchen allowing diners to look in and watch as Doke’s pizzaiolos fire up the ovens.
It’s not been plain sailing with the build of Dokes pizzeria in Prestwich and the team are opening quite a lot later than they originally intended.
Co-owner, Wesley Downham said, “We took the lease on for the unit just before Covid struck so, finally, two years later it will be very exciting to get the doors open. We have worked with the excellent Phaus interior architects to design the restaurant and we think it is a great looking space for the people of Prestwich to come to.
“Prestwich is a particularly exciting area at the minute, it has some great operators investing in the town and it’s being talked about in the national press as being one of the best places to live in the country. We can’t wait to get started and add to an already vibrant community.”
Dokes Pizzeria in Prestwich will open on 449A Bury New Road for lunch and dinner from 12pm until 10pm from Wednesday to Friday, then 10am until 10pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Whilst walk-ins are always welcome, for those who want to book the diary for reservations will be open from Friday 15 July, 2022.
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Manchester locals appealing for more information over a month after from finding family member’s body
Danny Jones
A Greater Manchester family are still calling for more information now over a month on from the discovery of a man’s body at his Chorlton home.
William Riddell, 49, was found dead in the bedroom of a property on Astbury Avenue at approximately 11:35pm on Sunday, 10 November after being found by his stepdaughter, Sarah Hayden.
Details surrounding his passing are still scarce but a 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder but has since been released on bail “pending further enquiries”, leaving Sarah and the rest of her family still none the wiser as to the exact nature of his death.
Preparing to spend their first Christmas without him, they have issued a desperate appeal for more information, urging anyone who might have information to come forward.
#APPEAL | The family of a man who died last month are appealing to the public for information as they face their first Christmas without him.
Billy Riddell was sadly found dead at his property in Manchester, with enquiries continuing.
Riddell, more commonly known as Billy by those close to him, was described as a “good, caring man with a big heart” and a popular figure in the local area.
Speaking via Greater Manchester Police, Sarah, said: “I want to be Billy’s voice and get answers for him. Billy was a nice and lovely man and all the community knew who he was. He was well-liked and we gave him a good send-off at his funeral.
“I would just ask anyone who knew him or has any information to come forward and tell police. Even if you think it’s a little or small thing – please come forward. We just want to get to the bottom of what has happened.”
Detective Inspector Alex Wilkinson, who serves on GMP‘s Major Incident Team, added in an official statement: “The family of Billy deserve answers following his death and we are working hard to ensure they get exactly that.
“We have closely supported Sarah and the wider family over the last month, and we will continue to provide assistance wherever we can as they face their first Christmas without him.
“While a suspect has been bailed, we are still working flat-out to understand more about Billy’s life, the people he was close to, and events leading up to his death just over a month ago.”
With that in mind, both GMP and Riddell’s family are asking anyone who might know anything or have information regarding people associated with Billy to come forward, reiterating that “even if you consider something to be small – your help could greatly benefit our investigation.”
You can contact police via 101 or by using the live chat function HERE, quoting log 3227 of 10/11/24.
Alternatively, you can contact the UK’s independent charity, Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.
Government aims to ‘turn the tide’ on homelessness with £1 billion funding boost
Emily Sergeant
Nearly £1 billion of funding is being pumped into Council budgets to help “break the cycle of spiralling homelessness” in 2025.
As part of the Government‘s wider ‘Plan For Change’, and in a bid to help tackle, reduce, and prevent homelessness next year, it’s been announced that more resources will be be made available for workers on the frontline who provide essential services to get rough sleepers off the street and into secure housing.
This significant investment means Councils will now be “better equipped” to step in early and stop households from becoming homeless in the first place.
According to the Government’s plans, these funded measures will include mediation with landlords or families to prevent evictions, helping homeless people find new homes, and providing deposits to access private renting.
This government is determined to tackle, reduce and prevent homelessness.
— Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Gov (@mhclg) December 18, 2024
The funding will also be used to address the growing use of B&Bs and nightly-let accommodation, and the streamlining of funding structures to make it easier for Councils to spend their cash.
Areas across the UK can also choose to channel resources into services such as Housing First.
Housing First has been massively successful in Greater Manchester, and has helped house hundreds of our region’s rough sleepers since it was first piloted, being described as “life-changing” along the way.
More than £633 million of the funding will be allocated for the Homelessness Prevention Grant – which is a £192 million increase from this year – while £185.6 million will go to the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant, more than £37 million to the Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme, and £5 million will be for the Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots.
This new £1 billion funding boost comes after it was announced back in September that Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions will be abolished in England next year as part of the landmark Renters’ Rights Bill.
It will also look to support the Government’s ambition to deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation – with an extra £500 million ploughed into the Affordable Homes Programme to build tens of thousands of affordable homes across the country.
Georgina Pellant -
15th July 2022 
