The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II is taking place today, and there’s several ways the people of Greater Manchester can come together to pay their respects.
HM Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on 8 September 2022.
During her reign, she served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth – undertaking an important symbolic and unifying role as a head of state, spanning numerous geographical regions, cultures, and religions.
She was not just the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she was also the first-ever monarch to reign in the UK for 70 years.
With the UK in a period of national mourning, it was confirmed by Buckingham Palace and the UK government that the State Funeral would be held at 11am in Westminster Abbey today (Monday 19 September) – with a bank holiday declared, so that mourners nationwide have the time to properly pay their respects to the late monarch.
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Due to the bank holiday, many businesses, companies, and organisations across the country have made the decision to close their doors today as a mark of respect, but for those wishing to watch the funeral in the company of others, there are still several ways that people can come together to do so.
Here’s a round-up of different ways to watch the State Funeral in Manchester today.
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The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II is taking place today at Westminster Abbey at 11am / Credit: The Royal Family
Big Screens
For those who wish to publicly pair their respects, Manchester City Council has confirmed that big screens in the city centre will show coverage of the State Funeral from 9am in these three popular locations:
Cathedral Gardens
Exchange Square
Inside Manchester Cathedral
Each site will be open to the public without the need for tickets.
There will be bag searches in operation and access to the squares will be limited when they reach capacity, but the Council has confirmed that people will be able to move in and out of the big screen areas throughout the day.
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“This Monday will be a historic occasion as Queen Elizabeth II is honoured with a State Funeral,” said Cllr Bev Craig – Leader of Manchester City Council.
“We recognise that many people will take comfort in gathering together to share the moment as they pay tribute to the late Queen and reflect on her long and momentous reign and we are pleased to be able to support this communal remembrance through a public screening of the event.”
Coverage of the State Funeral is to be broadcast nationwide from 9am / Credit: The Royal Family
Cinemas
While Odeon, Cineworld, Picturehouse, Showcase and The Light – most of which have sites across Greater Manchester and the North West – have all confirmed they will be closing theatres nationwide today, others have taken a different approach.
Curzon and Arc are two of the cinema chains that have chosen to screen the funeral for free and cancel the rest of scheduled programming the day.
Vue – which is one of the UK’s largest cinema chains, and the operator of a handful of sites in Greater Manchester – has decided to do a combination of both, by cancelling all of its scheduled screenings today, but opening a select number of venues to screen the funeral from 11am.
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“Seats will be free of charge and we will close our retail stands, but will offer complimentary bottled water during the broadcast,” Vue said in a statement.
With UK government guidance giving hospitality businesses nationwide the option to decide how they operate on the day of the State Funeral, several chains have chosen to keep their doors open and screen the funeral for free rather than shut up shop.
A few of the hospitality chains that have confirmed screenings today include.
HM Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96 on 8 September 2022 / Credit: The Royal Family
Stonegate
This pub group more than 70 sites in Manchester, including The Slug & Lettuce on Deansgate, Walkabout Printworks, the Oxnoble in Castlefield, The Railway in Sale, The Beech Inn in Chorlton, and The Metropolitan in Didsbury.
Another popular chain that operates 20 pubs in the Manchester borough itself – including the Lass O Gowrie, Ye Olde Cock in Didsbury, the Kings Ransom in Sale, the Matchstick Man at Salford Quays and The Trevor Arms in Chorlton – as well as plenty of others throughout the city region.
Wetherspoons has confirmed that “the majority” of its pubs nationwide will be open from 1pm today following the State Funeral coverage, and will operate “normal trading hours after that”, so that means several of the city’s most popular drinking sites – including the Moon Under Water on Deansgate, The Waterhouse on Princess Street, and the Sedge Lyn in Chorlton – will be open for business to celebrate the Queen’s life.
Plans submitted for new £250 million mixed residential neighbourhood in Stockport
Danny Jones
Plans have officially been submitted for a brand-new £250 million neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport town centre.
The new mixed residential mini-village simply dubbed, ‘Stockport 8’, has been put forward by the local LLP of the same name, set up as part of a partnership between Stockport Council and ECF (English Cities Fund – itself a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse).
Set to cost a quarter of a million, the proposed neighbourhood is just the latest step of the ever-growing Stockport Mayor Development Corporation (MDC) masterplan, a wider £500m scheme to transform the specific Stockport Town Centre West area into the most sustainable, liveable town centre in the UK.
With a planning application now submitted, we’ve also been given another look at what the new Stockport neighbourhood would look like if green-lit.
We first heard reports of the new Stockport 8 neighbourhood back in January after CGIs of what the developers envisioned were shared with the public, alongside how it fit into the West blueprints.
The overall goal of the development is to create a high-quality, green neighbourhood featuring a mix of housing tenures to suit existing and new homeowners and tenants.
Aiming to build a grand total of 1,300 high-quality, energy-efficient homes all told as part of a whipping £1bn investment in Stockport town centre, there will also be room for businesses and community spaces on the ground floor level to knit into the existing centre and its community.
There’s also an insistence from those behind the project to create different atmospheres, creating new environments for people to meet, socialise, relax and enjoy, such as residential courtyards and green roofs, as well as the usual modern amenities re: parking, vehicle charging, bike storage etc.
All told, the council and their development partners – which include chief designers, shedkm, and landscape architects, Planit – are hoping to contribute nearly a third of the homes in Stockport MDC masterplan, which is hoping to surpass 4,000 homes over a total of 130 acres.
As well as helping contribute to the busy and vital road network that is continuing to be redeveloped, the goal is to create a safe and sustainable travel environment too, with a pedestrian-only street running through the centre of the scheme.
With one big road (Cook Street) running throughout the neighbourhood, the new builds will also look to knit into Stockport’s existing structure, celebrating the area’s rich heritage and character by even reintroducing historic street patterns and street names.
If you’re interested in the skyline-changing new project, you can find out more HERE.
Planning permission applications in Manchester can sometimes take upwards of 13 weeks due to the various individual stages and processes, so we’re still a while of way from knowing if/when Stockport 8 will begin work but with a summer 2027 completion date, it could be a huge moment for the town.
Hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k exposed by police in Bury
Emily Sergeant
Police in Bury have exposed a drug den worth an estimated £100,000 hidden behind closed doors during early morning warrants.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, earlier this week (9 December), officers from the Radcliffe and Elton and Church Neighbourhood Teams were joined by Bury’s newest district commander, Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, to conduct a warrant at an address on Mitchell Street.
The warrant was conducted by acting on intelligence that was gathered from members of the public within the community.
Officers the address, where they forced entry and discovered what has been described as a “sophisticated cannabis farm” within the property.
A hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k has been exposed by police in Bury / Credit: GMP
The set-up was spread across two floors, and according to police, resulted in around 300 plants being seized overall – with half of them being at the beginning of their growth-cycle, and 100 which had been harvested.
All the plants seized have a combined street value of an estimated £100,000, it is believed.
On top of this, a vehicle was also seized after officers found it suspiciously parked outside the premises, and following further inspection, it was discovered to be outstanding as stolen and had false registration plates.
Early morning warrants uncover a hidden drug den worth an estimated £100,000 in #Bury thanks to intelligence from within the community.
Police believe that the warrant could be linked with West Balkan’s Organized Crime Groups, and are investigating additional lines of enquiry.
Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, Bury’s new district commander, thanked the public for their help in yesterday’s warrant.
“We received information sent in by concerned members of the community who wanted to create a safer environment,” Chief Superintendent Oliver explained.
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“Communities are essential to preventing and solving crime, and I encourage you to continue to report any criminal acts or suspicious behaviour to us and let us know what is happening in your area.”
Emily Sergeant -
19th September 2022 
