Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has rallied against the reintroduction of local lockdowns in parts of England with high COVID case rates – claiming they “simply do not work”.
The government has so far refused to rule out reimposing tougher sanctions in English regions where a more infectious variant of coronavirus – first identified in India – is causing cases to climb once again.
Bolton is one of the areas to suffer some of the biggest rises – with transmission rates in the borough more than 14 times the national average.
Speaking to Sky on the weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Given though Bolton has been in some form of a lockdown for a year, it’s not a step we want to take but of course we might have to take it and we will if it’s necessary to protect people.”
But GM Mayor Andy Burnham has fought back against talk of local lockdowns this week – claiming that regional restrictions “turn lives upside down, ruin businesses and put young people’s lives on hold – with little effect on containing the virus.”
ADVERTISEMENT
There’s a big queue for the vaccine bus at Essa Academy in #Bolton.
Yesterday, the site broke the UK record for the most vaccinations in one day! pic.twitter.com/O2N1uR51Ks
— Hits Radio News | Manchester (@hitsmcrnews) May 18, 2021
Writing in The Mirror, Burnham suggested that people in lockdown areas would simply travel to other parts of England, causing the virus to circulate further.
He stated: “The trust of the public will be lost if local lockdown restrictions are imposed on them just at the time when the Government is easing them everywhere else.
ADVERTISEMENT
“And it will be harder for mayors and local leaders to ask the public to observe local lockdowns when the Government hasn’t even tried other solutions that might have prevented them in the first place.”
Burnham claimed the real solution was “staring us right in the face” – and that people needed full income support during self-isolation, whilst high case areas like Bolton should be given permission to vaccinate all people right down to the age of 16.
The queues for a covid vaccine continue to grow in Bolton where high numbers of the Indian variant have been found. More on @GMB tomorrow pic.twitter.com/e4DfAO9Vc2
Greater Manchester is no stranger to local lockdowns.
ADVERTISEMENT
In Autumn last year, several boroughs were living under different sets of ever-changing rules. At one stage, Trafford and Bolton were given the green light to lift social curbs on meeting others indoors – only to have the restrictions reimposed on the same day they were due to be removed.
On September 8, Bolton hospitality was blamed for high case rates and the sector was restricted to takeaway-only – with all venues temporarily required to close from 10pm to 5am.
Now, with case rates rising once again, business owners in the borough are concerned that similar restrictions could return; just days after bars, cafes, pubs, cinemas and culture venues reopened to the public on May 17.
Testing has however been ramped up in Bolton to slow the spread and a new vaccine centre has opened – with more than 6,000 local people queuing up to get a COVID shot over the weekend.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to commit to a course of action yet, but said there was nothing yet in the data to suggest England would need to deviate from its roadmap to exiting lockdown.
ADVERTISEMENT
He stated: “We’re looking at all the data as it comes in from places like Bolton, Blackburn, Bedford, Sefton” and added that the situation was “under very careful, close review.”
Christmas bin collection dates 2024 for every Greater Manchester borough
Thomas Melia
IT’S CHRISTMAAAS! Well, nearly, and among the endless lists of tasks we have to get through this festive period, bins can be one we completely forget about, that’s why we’re here to save the day.
With 10 boroughs to get through, let’s cut to the chase and find out those utmost important dates for when you need to put your bins out over the holiday period.
Whether you’re busy wrapping presents or you’re a self-proclaimed ‘Christmas Dad’ waiting to gather up all those paper scraps, here are all the bin collection dates you need to be aware of across Greater Manchester.
Manchester Central
🗓️ Some important dates for your advent calendar… 🎅
Anyone living in Manchester city centre will be glad to know there are only a handful of changes with a few bin dates remaining the same.
There are no changes to collections on Monday 23 December and 30 December, Tuesday 24 December and Tuesday 31 December.
Later in the week, Wednesday collections will move to Friday 27 December and Thursday 2 January, with Thursday collections moving to Saturday 28 December and Friday 3 January.
Friday collections will be moving to the weekend falling on two dates, Sunday 29 December and Saturday 4 January respectively.
Bolton
The changes in Bolton are quite simple, dates are very close by to the usual bin collecting service, giving you a Christmas that hopefully runs smoothly.
Both Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December dates remain the same with no changes whatsoever.
Wednesday 23 December sees burgundy bins collected two days earlier on Monday 23 December, grey bins pushed back to Friday 27 December and beige bins on Tuesday 31 December.
On Thursday 26 December, burgundy bins will be collected on Tuesday, 24 December, grey bins on Monday 30 December and beige bins moving to Tuesday 31 December.
Bury
In terms of Bury, most of the bins days are very easy to remember, especially since they’re all either a day later or the day before.
Collections due on Tuesday 24 December have been rescheduled to Monday 23 December with services on Wednesday 25 December taking place on Tuesday 24 December.
Any bin dates due after Wednesday 25 December are planned for one day later than usual, except for collections due on Tuesday 31 January and beyond which remain the same.
Rochdale
Anyone in Rochdale may have to be eager eyed as this Greater Manchester borough’s schedule is a little trickier as the dates aren’t falling the day before or after.
Services due on Wednesday 25 December have been altered to Saturday 28 December.
The following collection on Thursday 26 December is moving to Monday 30 December.
Then the Wednesday 1 January pick up will be happening on Saturday 4 January.
With it being the festive season, those pesky blue bins can never quite fit everything in, you can leave out a small amount of flat packed cardboard boxes as long as they’re dry.
Oldham
For Oldham residents, the bin collection dates and recycling rounds have been announced too giving everyone a chance to prepare for any unusual swaps.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bins due on Wednesday 25 December will be collected three days later on Saturday 28 December,which also includes green bins and food caddies.
Collections scheduled for Thursday 26 December will take place five days earlier on Saturday 21 December but green bins and food caddies won’t be emptied.
Collections on Wednesday 1 January will be on Saturday 4 January minus green bins and food caddies which will be collected as normal on Wednesday 8 January.
Real Christmas trees can be chopped up and recycled in green bins minus the base with Arkwright Street Household Waste and Recycling accepting trees and Christmas rubbish too.
Stockport
For Stockport, information surrounding bins and collections is quite limited with residents having to enter their own postcode to find out anything necessary.
ADVERTISEMENT
There will be no collections on Wednesday 25 December, Thursday 26 December or Wednesday 1 January.
Information differs depending on location so you can access recycling and collection details HERE.
Tameside
Tameside bin crews will be working as hard as ever over Christmas and New Year but some households will see changes to their collections.
Now onto Tameside where one bin in particular is missing out on all the fun, finding its collections delayed by just over a week.
Brown-bin collections will cease across the borough on Wednesday 25 December and restart on Wednesday 8 January.
On Wednesday 25 December, the green bin will be collected on Friday 27 December with black and blue bins collected on Tuesday, 31 December.
ADVERTISEMENT
This Thursday, 26 December sees a green bin collection on Monday 30 December while black and blue bin collection on Thursday 2 January.
From Friday 27 December to Tuesday 31 December services will run as normal with disruption on Wednesday 1 January, except for brown bins.
This year on Wednesday 1 January if you are due a green bin collection, it will be collected on Friday 3 January and both black and blue bins collected on Monday 6 January.
Then from Thursday 2 January to Tuesday 7 January all bin collections will stay the same except for brown bins which are being collected the following day, Wednesday 8 January.
Real Christmas trees can be recycled on behalf of Willow Wood Hospice, Ashton, between 6 and 10 January. Register for collection HERE. Alternatively, chop it up and put it in your brown bin.
ADVERTISEMENT
Trafford
It’s Trafford’s turn next and you’ll be happy to know that four dates see no changes to your usual bin collection dates.
On Monday 23 December and Tuesday 24 December there will be no change to any of the original bin services.
Wednesday 25 December and Thursday 26 December on the other hand will both get collected on Friday 27 December.
Same again with Monday 30 Decemebr and Tuesday 31 December, there is no scheduled changes for the bin collection day.
In terms of 1-3 January, all services will be the day after (1 Jan moves to 2 Jan etc.).
ADVERTISEMENT
Salford
Next up in Salford, there are very minimal changes to your usual bin collection dates with only a few minor replacements.
Only three collection dates will be affected with every other service remaining the same as it was prior to the Christmas period.
The collection for Wednesday 25, December will take place on Saturday, 21 December; Thursday, 26 December now on Saturday 28 December and Wednesday 1 January swapping to Saturday 4 January.
Wigan
Tuesday 24 December is moved to Monday 23 December while Wednesday 25 December is shifted to a new date of Tuesday 24 December, both one day prior.
Any collections on Thursday 26 December are changing to Friday 27 December while the Friday 27 December is moving to Saturday 28 December, one day later.
ADVERTISEMENT
From Wednesday 1 January to Friday 3 January every collection changes to a day later, after this, normal service starts again.
An additional point to take note of is that green bin collections will be suspended from 29 December until 10 January. These services resume on the week starting 13 January or 20 January, depending where you live.
To check bin collection days over the festive period, residents can refer to their bin collection calendar which does feature key Christmas dates like the rest of Greater Manchester or visit HERE.
That should be all your bin collection dates for Greater Manchester this Christmas. (Credit: Wikicommons)
Appeal launched after dead dog found floating in popular beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has launched an appeal after a dog was found dead in a Greater Manchester beauty spot.
The young Staffordshire Bull Terrier was discovered by a passerby in the water at Jumbles Reservoir in Bolton late last month.
The poor animal, who was a dark brindle/black colour with white markings, had signs of blunt force trauma to the head, and a prolapsed eye.
She had been in the reservoir for no more than two days but it’s not known whether she was alive or dead before she was found on 29 November.
The RSPCA is now asking the public to come forward with any information relating to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the dog’s death.
The passerby who found the dog at Jumbles Country Park took her to a vet, who contacted the RSCPA with concerns about her condition.
Due to the level of decomposition, it wasn’t possible to complete a more detailed examination but her death does appear to be suspicious.
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans, who is looking into the incident, said: “Unfortunately this poor dog wasn’t microchipped so we haven’t been able to gather any further information that way.
“She’d suffered what looks like blunt force trauma to the head area, as one eye was prolapsed, but there was no sign of scuffing on her nails which could have pointed to a possible road traffic accident.
“We’d like to thank the kind member of the public for taking the action they did as this would have been an incredibly upsetting sight to come across. For the owners to seemingly dump their pet’s body in this way is appalling.
“We’d appeal to anyone who was in the area at that time and saw suspicious activity or has information that could help our investigation, to get in touch.”
The public can ring the RSPCA appeals line number on 0300 123 8018, quoting incident number 01400488.
The Manc -
19th May 2021 
