Manchester

Student fined £150 for feeding pigeon in Piccadilly Gardens

The council said it will continue to issue penalties to people to feed the birds in the city centre.

The Manc The Manc - 16th July 2021

A student has been slapped with a £150 ticket after being caught feeding the pigeons a piece of his tortilla wrap in Piccadilly Gardens.

25-year-old Rishi Prem, who only moved to the UK in February, told the MEN he was unaware of the law and did not know he was technically littering when he handed a piece of his meal to the birds.

But an environmental enforcement officer explained that it was not permitted and immediately issued a fine for £150.

Mr Prem told the MEN: “[The officer] was watching me from the moment I sat down and started eating, and he saw the birds coming towards me so he could have warned me. But there was no warning – it was like he was just waiting for that moment.

“I have only been here four or five months, I have no knowledge of the laws and did not know that it was a crime. And there were no signs around saying that.

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“In my country it is common. It is usual to feed other living things. It is just a natural human action.”

“I felt sympathy for [the pigeon] as it looked so hungry,” Mr Prem added.

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Pigeons congregate in Piccadilly Gardens / Image: Kristina via Flickr

There have been multiple instances of people being issued with penalties for feeding wildlife in Manchester city centre.

Last summer, a woman was handed a £120 fine for sharing her Greggs sausage roll with the Piccadilly Gardens pigeons.

A litter-picker was also given a £150 ticket for giving the birds some potatoes.

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Manchester Council have emphasised fines are in place to deter people from feeding animals as the habit is “bad for the local environment and can also be harmful to the birds”.

The council says it will continue to issue fines to anyone caught feeding pigeons in Picc Gardens / Image: Pxfuel

Executive Member for Neighbourhoods Rabnawaz Akbar said the council would continue to issue fines for these offences.

“Our residents have told us that they want to enjoy a clean, hygienic city centre and we won’t tolerate this behaviour,” he stated.

“There are signs in and around Piccadilly Gardens, where this issue is more prevalent, to let people know that feeding pigeons is not allowed.”

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons

Manchester

Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig

Danny Jones Danny Jones Snow Patrol Co-op Live gig review Manchester

This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.

And it was special for lots of reasons.

Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.

You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.

co-op live etihad campus walkway
snow patrol manchester review
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)

Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.

But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.

You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.

The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.

Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.

johnny mcdaid broken hand tour
co-op live 2025 gig reviews
Credit: The Manc Group

Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.

Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.

We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.

It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.

We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.

the forest is the path tour
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.
snow patrol martha wainwright
Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.
The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.

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All in all, we Snow Patrol were as good as ever – it really is as simple as that.

We had the privilege of seeing an intimate date at New Century Hall back in September 2024 and it’s always fascinating to see how a scaled-down acoustic set can be transformed into a big stadium show with all the bells and whistles.

Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.

Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Manchester

Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.

As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.

It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.

All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:

Pretty wild to watch it all back, right?

With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.

It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.

Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.

Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.

You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:

Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.

But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.

At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.

There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.

We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…

Five forgotten Manchester landmarks and sculptures from years gone by
We love looking back at the Greater Manchester of old.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group

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