Bury

Bury Market could be set for £40 million regeneration under new plans

Bury Market could become a "large, state-of-the-art, carbon neutral and multifunctional events space" that supports market stalls, pop-up trading, live performances, and community events.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 7th July 2021

Greater Manchester’s famous Bury Market could become home to a “state-of-the-art” events space as part of ambitious new £40 million plans.

Bury Council confirmed yesterday that it has officially submitted two bids totalling £40 million to the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund – which was announced in the spring Budget – for vital regeneration works.

If successful, the money will be used to accelerate the “transformative regeneration programme” that’s already being delivered in the borough – including the creation of a new civic hub in the centre of Radcliffe.

Under the new proposals, the Bury Market could become what Council leaders have dubbed a “flexi hall” – a large, carbon neutral and multifunctional events space that can support market stalls, ‘pop-up’ trading, live performances, and community events.

The development will also include a café, areas dedicated to office functions and delivering workshops, and co-working/small business start-up space.

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Without aiming to lose or alienate existing customers, Bury Council said it hopes the flexi hall will be used to “complement [Bury Market’s] offer and expand the diversity of groups who use it.”

The flexi hall will be used to support:

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  • Wellbeing Programmes – Especially targeted at older people and the key groups already using the market to support independent living, healthy eating, and living well.
  • Enterprise Programmes – Linked to students and graduates of Bury College, and focusing on digital skills and businesses.
  • Pop-Up Trading – The flexi hall can provide much needed space to support food and drink festivals and seasonal events, such as Christmas markets.
  • Cultural Performances

Speaking on the launch of the two bids, Leader of Bury Council Eamonn O’Brien said: “Response, recovery and regeneration are the over-riding priorities for the council, and with these bids we are stepping up our ambitions to create the largest regeneration in a generation for the people of our borough.

“We are forging our own plans to bounce back post-COVID and create prosperity and opportunities for all sections of the community.

“We hope the government will match our ambitions on this.”

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A new civic hub would also be built in the centre of Radcliffe under the new proposals / Credit: Bury Council

Mr O’Brien continued: “The bid will support our aims to… create a multi-purpose flexi-hall adjacent to Bury Market to make the whole area even more attractive to shoppers and visitors.”

“We look forward to hearing some good news from the government,” he concluded.

Feedback on the bids is expected in the autumn.

Featured Image – Bury Council

Bury

This Greater Manchester house has the most amazing Halloween decorations

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

A house in Greater Manchester has gone totally overboard with its Halloween decorations – and it’s absolutely brilliant.

The home in Prestwich has leant into the spooky occasion with its whole heart and really put our perfunctory pumpkin on the doorstep to shame.

The windows of the upstairs rooms flash and flicker like a slasher movie is being filmed in the bedrooms, while the downstairs glows a menacing orange colour.

There are monster heads jammed onto the spikes along the building’s railings in the front yard, and glowing pumpkin heads hanging beside the front door.

Ghoulish witches with tattered robes have also been hung in the windows, looming at people as they pass by.

There’s a different Halloween decoration placed in every square foot of the building.

A possessed monkey head guards one side of the front gate while a silver devil watches over the other side.

Read more: A hidden Christmas bar is opening in Manchester and it’s the most overwhelmingly festive thing ever

Spiders dangle above the front door and tiny ghosts uniformly line up along the windowsills.

The house on Gardner Road is always decorated to the nines for every occasion, even Valentine’s Day, spreading cheer to everyone who lives in Prestwich.

We can’t wait to see what they roll out for Christmas.

You can watch the full video on our Instagram page here.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Bury

This Indian takeaway in Prestwich has just been named the best in the UK

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

An Indian takeaway in Prestwich has just beaten rivals up and down the country to be crowned the best in the whole of the UK.

Bombay Cuisine in Prestwich, Manchester won the accolade of National Takeaway of The Year 2022 at the annual Asian Restaurant and Takeaway awards, taking home the accolade at a celebrity red-carpet event.

Serving up a mixture of traditional dishes like jalfrezi and karahi alongside a wide selection of masala, pasanda, biryani and balti dishes, you’ll also find a long list of house and chef specialities on the menu at Bombay Cuisine.

From Indian cheese kofta to the popular Gujurati dish achari, plus shahi suria, chana walla and murgh musallam, the specials menu is packed with mouthwatering dishes.

Elsewhere you’ll find a special sizzling tandoori section with all dishes barbecued in a special clay oven, as well as a list of ‘Nice n Spicy’ specials for those who aren’t shy of a bit of heat.

Speaking on their award win, the restaurant told The Manc: “We want to start off by saying a huge thank you to our customers who have nominated us to win not 1, but 2 awards in the north west region.

“Without them, this wouldn’t have been possible and we would also like to thank our customers for supporting us from the very first day we opened our doors in Prestwich.

“We feel honoured and privileged to have won such a big award and becoming the national takeaway of the year 2022.

“It’s a very big achievement for us and we are feeling so proud of the team behind Bombay Cuisine for the hard work and effort they put in to make such wonderful food to serve the local community of Prestwich and surrounding areas. Thank you.”

Bombay Cuisine was not the only Greater Manchester restaurant to win big, either, with The Milnrow Balti in Rochdale also taking home the Regional Restaurant of the Year award for the North West of England – proving that we really are spoilt for choice in this part of the world.

Each year, the awards reveal the best of UK Asian cuisine selected from 2,400 nominations from South Asian restaurants, takeaways, chefs, and personalities across the country.

They celebrate the UK’s Curry industry, which contributes £5 billion to the economy annually and, as of 2015, has accounted for a fifth of the restaurants in the UK dating back to the 1800’s.

Image: Bombay Cuisine, Prestwich
Image: Bombay Cuisine, Prestwich

The Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred to Mr Muquim Ahmed, a renowned
British entrepreneur who was a successful restaurateur and has spent over 40 years in
building a rapidly growing business empire. He is also known as the King of London’s Brick Lane.

The winners were selected by an esteemed panel of expert ambassadors and judges, and restaurants were awarded based on three key factors: quality of food, quality of service, and value for money.

This was followed by the ARTA score, which includes food hygiene rating and reviews from websites like TripAdvisor and Google.

Restaurants that made it through the gruelling first phase were judged and invited to participate in a cook-off competition where they were scored once again on various factors including: flavour, appearance, texture, hygiene and aroma.

Speaking about the Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards 2022, Salik Mohammed Munim, Founder of the ARTA Awards, said: “The ARTA Awards 2022 are a celebration and recognition of Britain’s vibrant Asian restaurants, takeaways, and chefs.

“Since the inception of ARTA, we have clearly seen the phenomenal quality of entrants, and the bar set
by each, and every nominee has been increasing each year.

“I am truly blown away by the standards set by the competition and having been privy to exceptional quality and service extended by the nominees, I can confidently assert that Asian culinary industry in Britain is in safe hands.

“Every nominee and winner should be proud of their work.”

The awards also offered solidarity and morale for the industry which is currently facing headwinds including with the high cost of energy, inflation, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Salik Mohammed added: “ARTA 2022 is extremely special for us, as it has returned after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The gathering was emotional and symbolic, as it brought together members of the Asian cuisine industry during an exceptionally difficult and testing time.

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“The cost of energy crisis is a real threat to the sector, and many are faced with the prospect of closing doors after having served their local communities and patrons for decades.

“This has been a back-to-back assault on the sector, which was recently reeling and recovering from the pandemic, and staffing shortages post-Brexit.

“It was a poignant moment for us all, to be together and extend moral support and well-wishes. I truly wish us all the very best.”

Feature image – Bombay Cuisine

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