The final sections have now been installed to Manchester city centre’s brand new 40m high Tower of Light, but what exactly is the feature for?
The finishing touches to the feature were added overnight to minimise local disruption.
The Tower of Light was officially revealed to the public last week, generating widespread conversation and being met with mixed reactions from Mancunians – particularly with reference to its visual appearance as a new contribution to the city’s ever-changing skyline – but this feature has a much greater significance than may be initially realised.
The finalisation of the Tower of Light is said to mark a significant milestone in the Manchester Civic Quarter Heat Network project.
The tower is made up of nine sections called ‘drums’, each one measuring 4m wide, 6m long and 4m high, and there is 1.8m crown section. Once the Civic Quarter Heat Network project is complete, the Tower of Light will act as the chimney for the low-carbon energy centre. The network will generate low-carbon heat and power for the city to help Manchester reach its ambition of becoming zero-carbon by 2038 at the latest.
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The scheme is projected to save an initial 1,600 tonnes of carbon emissions per year and the energy centre will become even more efficient as additional buildings are connected.
According to architects Tonkin Liu and Manchester City Council, the Tower of Light will initially serve seven iconic city centre buildings and has the potential to grow by connecting further buildings across the city centre in the future.
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The first buildings to be connected to the network will be Manchester Town Hall and Town Hall Extension, Central Library, Manchester Central Convention Centre, The Bridgewater Hall, Heron House and the Manchester Art Gallery.
Containing a 3.3MWe CHP engine and two 12MW gas boilers, the Tower of Light’s energy centre is projected to generate electricity and harness the recovered heat from this process for distribution via a 2km district heating network, which will supply heat for the buildings.
The scheme has been part-funded by a £2.87m grant from the government’s Heat Network Investment Project (HNIP), with Manchester City Council being one of the first local authorities to receive this funding.
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Tonkin Liu
Councillor Angeliki Stogia – Manchester City Council’s Executive Member for the Environment, Planning and Transport – said: “The Tower of Light is an impressive new landmark for Manchester and a symbol of Manchester’s aim of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2038 at the latest.
“On completion, the Civic Quarter Heat Network project will realise significant carbon savings, supporting the council’s current plan to halve its own emissions by 2025, which will be an important milestone on the road to the city meeting its ambitious goal.”
Anthony Shawcross – Senior Construction Manager for Vital Energi – said: “This project is much more intricate than a standard flue due to its complex geometry, but will hopefully become an iconic part of Manchester’s skyline.
“We’re delighted with how smoothly the installation went and we hope the people of Manchester will now enjoy it for many years.”
All work on the Civic Quarter Heat Network project is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2020.
You can find out more via the Manchester City Council website here.
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Family-run Greater Manchester business calls out customers for punching cakes
Thomas Melia
A well-known independent Greater Manchester business has taken to social media to call out customers who were caught on CCTV punching their cakes.
Known for everything from cakes and pastries to hot baked goods and custom chocolate designs, Slattery’s in Whitefield has been serving up their gorgeous cake and chocolate creations for over 50 years, all while keeping the business family-run.
Unfortunately, the reason they’re receiving lots of attention at the minute is due to two customers resorting to violence on their pre-packaged sweet-treat products.
The social media account for this Greater Manchester chocolatier has uploaded two images which show the outcome of the fatal blows which struck two of their Victoria Sponge cakes.
Although this punch may have cost them the price of two of their delicious traybakes, later on in the post, Slattery’s issues a big thanks to “All the wonderful families who’ve visited so far this summer.”
“We know cake can be exciting, but a gentle reminder that little bakers should remain under adult supervision at all times – Thank you.”
This third-generation family-run “chocolate wonderland” has brought a smile to many locals’ and tourists’ faces alike with their wide variety of unique-shaped chocolate bars, lollies, grab bags and more.
All throughout 2021, Slattery’s were serving up their moreish Slattery’s Chocolate Lockdown Platters consisting of shortbread, brownies, fudge, pretzels, marshmallows and Oreos, helping Mancs continue to get our sugary fix even during one of the country’s toughest times.
Just look at them – they do the lord’s work:
Slattery’s chocolate shop and bakery has called out customers on social media for punching their pre-packaged cakes / Credit: The Manc Group
As well as attracting visitors with its grand three-storey bakery and chocolate shop, Slattery’s also has its very own restaurant, Mason’s Dining Room, where people flock to attempt the ‘Chocolate Challenge’.
To win, two chocoholics must team up to finish an American-style chocolate fudge cake with chocolate ice cream, a portion of fresh cream and two chocolate pots filled with liquid chocolate sauce – oh and two delicious hot chocolate drinks too.
Any sweet tooth successor will bag themselves one of Slattery’s chocolate medals and a box of handmade chocolates too – in case you needed chocolate anymore.
Lastly, anyone after supporting this Greater Manchester sweet-treat provider can find the chocolatier and cake makers on 197 Bury New Road in Whitefield or via Slattery’s official website HERE.
Featured Images – The Manc Group/Slattery’s (via Instagram)
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Plans to build tower next to Manchester’s historic Britons Protection pub scrapped
Danny Jones
Punters, rejoice: plans to build a large apartment tower next to Manchester’s Britons Protection pub have reportedly been scrapped after a long, drawn-out process and widespread protests.
What a relief.
One of the city’s oldest boozers, the Britons Protection was due to be dwarfed by a large development reaching 26 storeys tall, which not only would have encroached on the cultural landmark and storied watering hole, but also blocked out its popular beer garden to the rear.
We’ve seen a similar loss of outdoor drinking space with the recent St Michael’s development, which has essentially removed the equally historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub – though it is at least getting a refurb – but in truth, the ‘Protect the Protection’ fight has been going on much longer.
As per a notice published on Manchester City Council’s website this week, it now appears that the plans for 72 new flats have been cancelled, with developers Arrowsmith Management having officially withdrawn their application.
Run by Bahraini businessman Mohamed Abbas Haji, the company is now said to be reassessing its options for the ‘Apex Tower’ proposals.
Speaking to the BBC, Mark Brennan – who took over the pub back in January 2025 – said: “I’m quite happy to be honest, a lot of people say the pub might be busier with more people about, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to people coming in here.”
“It would have looked horrendous… It’s Grade II-listed, so the pub should always be here. It wouldn’t have been a good look, having a big ugly building on top of our building.”
Countless Mancunians have echoed the sentiment over the past few years, with appeals dating back to post-pandemic and a big awareness push in 2021.
Standing for more than two centuries and holding countless awards, it was never going to go quietly.
It also happens to be quite comfortably on our list of the cosiest pubs in Manchester and has been since day dot.
Anyone who’s been in will know the sense of a warm welcome the place always puts out, and we’re overjoyed to hear that years of petitions and campaigning to save it have paid off.
These stories don’t always end with the right outcome (not often enough, anyway), so we’ll definitely be raising a glass to the Britons Protected this weekend.
Unfortunately, we do still have some other sad news from the hospitality sector, as our oldest Manc publican has passed away at a fellow favourite pub.
Emily Sergeant -
17th August 2020 
