Gary Neville to restore historic Manchester pub after locals fought to save it
Initial plans intended to demolish the pub, but after a hard-fought campaign the backstreet Georgian boozer is now set to be restored to its former glory
Gary Neville’s team will restore the historic Sir Ralph Abercromby pub as part of its new £400m St Michael’s development, it has been confirmed, after locals fought to stop the centuries-old boozer from being demolished.
The historic pub, located between Jackson’s Row and Bootle Street, in Manchester, dates back to the 1800s and was considered at risk in the early planning stages of the St Michael’s development.
Back in 2016, a group of locals fought hard against Manchester City Council’s Regeneration Team and developers to keep the pub – launching a Change.org petition to save it that amassed over 5,000 signatures.
At the time, they argued: “Developers have indicated their intention to demolish the pub with a new building proposed for this site.
“Rather than lose a piece of Manchester history, they could easily accommodate the existing building into the plans. We’ve lost enough historic buildings to be replaced by steel & glass boxes. It’s time we fought to keep our history.”
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Now, their wish is finally about to be granted as the former Man United star has confirmed not only will his team retain the pub – but will actively work to restore it to its former glory.
Image: The Abercromby
Named after a British soldier, politician, and colonialist, the Sir Ralph Abercromby is one of the city’s last remaining structures from the Peterloo era.
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It is one of Manchester’s rare remaining Georgian buildings, and, along with the Friends Meeting House, is one of the last witnesses of the 1819 massacre considered a vital stepping stone towards the British democracy we value today.
It was in this very boozer that protesters would have discussed the rising cost of living and the state of falling workers’ pay, as starvation ran riot amongst hard-working but politically unrepresented local weavers and spinners.
And it was also here, on that fateful day in 1819, that the injured were carried back and nursed after an estimated 700+ were hurt by cavalry charging into a protest simply asking for the reform of parliamentary representation.
The tiny pub, one of the few original structures remaining in the area, will likely be dwarfed by the new tower but encompassed in the overall St Michael’s vision.
Image: The Abercromby
Also included in the plans for St Michael’s – 15 years in the making – are a 41-storey skyscraper, a rooftop restaurant, and a 162-bed 5 Star international hotel.
That’s not to mention the 217 luxury residences, which go on sale after summer as part of a joint venture between Relentless Developments and property developer, Salboy.
The tiny pub, one of the few structures remaining in the area from the time of the Peterloo Massacre, will be dwarfed by the new tower but encompassed in the overall St Michael’s vision – sitting by itself in a new public square.
ITV to be bought out by Sky in transformational British broadcasting deal worth £1.6 billion
Danny Jones
In a watershed moment for British broadcasting, Sky has reached a transformational agreement worth more than £1.6 billion to buy out ITV in a landmark takeover deal.
With Sky already owned by US telecommunications corporation Comcast, this is set to be one of the biggest shakeups in TV and streaming for some time.
Talks actually started last November, but the process to complete a buyout like this has obviously taken a significant amount of time and money already.
It’s also worth noting that the deal is still pending full approval from the relevant regulators; nevertheless, it’s fair to say that it could change the face of the British media giants – who are based here in Greater Manchester over at MediaCity – but might signal a significant overhaul of our media landscape.
The Sky Group have assured there will be no immediate change to popular shows and will not be put behind a paywall at present (for now, anyway), with ITV still under a free-to-air service until 2034 as part of its public licensing contract.
Aquisitons/mergers of this size like this don’t come around very often, at least not across this side of the pond, with the growing Disney’s growing multinational monopolisation being one of the biggest examples of conglomerates mopping up major networks and huge brands over the past decade.
Writing in a statement, Sky said: “The UK media market is undergoing a profound and rapid transformation, and as competition for audiences intensifies, scale matters more than ever in order to compete with global streaming giants and YouTube in the UK.
“Viewers will continue to enjoy the shows they know and love, such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Love Island, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, This Morning, Loose Women, Lorraine and News at Ten – alongside major live sporting events.”
That lattermost example feels particularly poignant at the moment, as this also means that the likes of ITV’s impressive World Cup coverage will come under the Sky umbrella in the near future.
ITV agrees sale of media and entertainment business to Sky for up to £1.6bnhttps://t.co/UtgO9REejy
It’s being seen as an ambitious attempt to shake up traditional terrestrial telly and digital platforms, with the ‘old guard’, as it were, having to move forward and fast to keep up with the mercurial market becoming evermore dominated by streaming services.
Of course, there are plenty raising questions and concerns over yet another domestic institution becoming deeper and deeper entwined with big American business; on the other hand, former ITV chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette, who still owns shares, says the deal was “essential” for its survival.
ITV will also receive £1.2bn in cash and Sky’s Love Productions business in return for ownership of their media and entertainment arm, whose shows include the Great British Bake Off.
Moving forward, ITV will also get a further £200m in 2028 if they meet revenue targets when it comes to advertising, with Sky promising to spend over £2.1bn on content from ITV Studios over a five-year period. You can read the full update from ITV right HERE.
Featured Images — James West (via Flickr)/Publicity picture
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Wayne Rooney ‘agrees’ to bizarre bet ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals
Danny Jones
England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has seemingly roped himself into a bizarre bet of his own making after yet more teams booked their place in the quarter-final stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It’s not quite Gary Lineker doing Match of the Day in his underpants after Leicester won the league, level, but we’d still pay to see it.
However, after the bedlam following England booking their spot in the quarter-finals this morning (feels odd to say and we’re still not quite sure what day it is), you might be surprised to learn it has nothing to do with the Three Lions’ historic victory.
It does have to do with who they’ll be facing in their next game, though: Norway, as Rooney seemed confident enough in his prediction that the Scandinavian side wouldn’t make it into the final eight that he wagered he’d row down the River Mersey. Well, they did…
Yes, in case you missed it, the Norwegians did make it past Brazil with a 2-1 win – and, of course, more goals for Erling Haaland – before Thomas Tuchel’s side had barely even woken up for their very long day at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.
While no one was quite sure why ‘Wazza’ was quite so confident that the ‘Seleção’ were going to go through, especially since Norway had shown just as much star power in spells in the opening four rounds, he still decided to throw down the gauntlet on himself.
As you can see in the clip above, he says he’s a “man of [his] word” and looks to have even roped in the likes of fellow former pros turned punditry colleagues on the night, Micah Richards and Joe Hart.
That being said, he did make the caveat that perhaps it would be better if the BBC could somehow sort them to sail down the Hudson River in New York instead, simply for the sake of ‘time’.
We’re not sure exactly how easy it is for the British broadcasters to simply secure permission to take a rowboat down one of the busiest and most famous waterways in the world, but you never know.
Here’s hoping they at least try to make something happen, anyway.
There’s been plenty of curious and comedic moments already this tournament, but for anyone who hasn’t yet watched Harry Kane’s post-match following the tense 3-2 thriller against Mexico, you really need to.
He was given the chance to chat to the media once again after his voice recovered, but let’s just say the memes that have already come from THAT interview are almost as memorable as the match itself.
Georgina Pellant -
28th July 2023 
