Manchester

The best restaurants, venues and individuals named at the This is Manchester Awards 2023

A star-studded event took place last night.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 10th November 2023

The very best individuals and organisations in Manchester have been named at the This is Manchester Awards 2023.

The awards celebrate the incredible talent across Greater Manchester, in categories championing industries including arts and culture, hospitality, fashion, and the night-time economy.

More than 500 people attended the glittering awards ceremony on 9 November, with stars including Christine McGuinness, Brooke Vincent, Lucy Mecklenburgh, and Adam, Ryan and Scott Thomas.

The fifth This is Manchester Awards were hosted by Jenny Powell and Scott Thomas, and this year including the first-ever Dianne Oxberry Special Impact Award in honour of the late presenter.

The special ward went to Khatra Paterson, who was chosen from a shortlist of 10 worthy recipients in partnership with Dianne’s husband Ian Hindle and the trust.

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Khatra is a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) who has built her career upon caring and advocating for others. She was flown to Somalia at just 10 years old, for what was thought to be a family holiday, but was subjected to a brutal and harrowing FGM.

Khatra was chosen from a shortlist of ten worthy recipients.

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Ian Hindle, Dianne Oxberry’s husband and founder and trustee of the Dianne Oxberry Trust charity, said: “We were blown away by the incredible people that were put forward for this special award and it was a really difficult decision to choose a winner.

“The amazing thing about Manchester is the sense of community and the huge number of people who do amazing things for others every day, often in the face of extreme challenges. 

The Manc Team at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Manc Team at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Thomas Brothers at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Thomas Brothers at the This is Manchester Awards 2023
The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

“Being able to present this award to celebrate that true Mancunian spirit is a real honour, and a wonderful legacy to Dianne too. She’d be so moved by their stories and inspired too.”

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The awards recognise rising stars and those that have contributed to the development of the Greater Manchester community.

Hundreds of businesses and individuals submitted detailed nominations across 16 highly contested categories for the This is Manchester Awards 2023, with winners representing the night-time economy, entertainment, arts and culture, technology, live events, charity and fashion.

The Supernova Award went to Julia Fawcett, Chief Executive of the Lowry, recognised for her 20+ years dedication to making The Lowry one of the most popular visitor attractions in the Northwest of England, which has now engaged more than 340,000 children and young people in creative programmes and activities.

Credit: The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

Other notable wins for charities and good causes went to Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity DJ Battle, which saw Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram going head-to-head on the decks, which won Best Live Event.

Jeremy Roberts was also awarded Individual Making a Difference in the Community in acknowledgement for setting up The Tim Bacon Foundation, raising over £1.5 million for several regional and national cancer charities. 

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Monies raised on the night were donated to the HideOut Youth Zone Manchester and the event was supported by headline sponsors The Kamani Club.

The full list of winners at the This is Manchester Awards 2023

  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Formal) – El Gato Negro
  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Casual) – Colleens
  • Leading Restaurant of the Year (Casual) – Holcombe Tap
  • Leading Chef of the Year – Simon Shaw
  • Leading Bar / Club of the Year – Albert Schloss, Manchester
  • Leading Hotel of the Year – Kimpton Clocktower
  • Leading Newcomer of the Year – The Padel Club
  • Leading Live Event of the Year – Greater Manchester Mayors Charity DJ Battle
  • Leading Live Event Venue of the Year – Albert Hall
  • Leading Arts & Culture Venue of the Year – Octagon Theatre Bolton
  • Force for fashion – Cress Marketplace
  • Leading tech / Digital Innovator of the Year – Versori
  • Organisations / Individuals promoting Health & Wellbeing – Foundation 92
  • Individuals Making a Difference in the Community – Jeremy Roberts, Tim Bacon Foundation
  • Organisations Making a Difference in the Community – Lancashire Cricket Foundation
  • Diane Oxberry Special impact Award – Khatra Paterson
  • Manchester Supernova Award – Julia Fawcett

Featured image: The Vain Photos – Carl Sukonik

Manchester

A look at Embassy Village as construction on Manchester’s homeless housing project begins

Danny Jones Danny Jones Embassy Village for homeless people in Manchester work started

Work has officially begun on Manchester’s long-rumoured Embassy Village, a new living quarters designed specifically to house the local homeless community.

Set to be the largest purpose-built village of its kind in the UK, the hope is to provide short to medium-term housing for up to 40 rough sleepers in the Greater Manchester area.

Planning permission for the £4 million project proposed by the Embassy Charity was handed down back in 2021 and enabling works have been gradually taking place, with the land now fully prepped for construction to begin.

Officially breaking ground on Tuesday, 19 November, developers and regeneration specialists Peel Waters shared the first images from the site as well as concept artwork for what the district will look like once completed.

The 4.5-acre brownfield site sits beneath 22 railway arches just off the Egerton Street Bridge near Castlefield and the bustling Regent Road which heads towards Salford.

Designed to house homeless and vulnerable people living in and around Manchester within individual units, Embassy Village is a joint non-profit venture by both Peel Waters and well-known property company Capital&Centric.

Contractor Vermont Group will be taking on the construction for free, with around 50 organisations offering their services pro bono, including AEW Architects, Planit and Jon Matthews Architects, who helped design the living quarters and wider communal space from the ground up.

Aiming to create a genuinely beneficial community environment, with those staying there able to access green spaces, mini-allotment plots, sports facilities; counselling services, laundry rooms, computer spaces and tonnes more, they’ve come a long way from offering tour bus beds to the homeless.

Residents will also start off on the right path towards getting back on their feet and those staying there will be required to carry out six hours of training per week in things like shopping, cooking, budgeting and other key life skills.

Speaking on the first day of proper construction, Peel Waters‘ director James Whittaker said: “Today’s launch event is an important milestone, marking years of hard work and collaboration to deliver the UK’s first purpose-built community village…”

He went on to thank all of those who have backed the plans so far, including Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham, who has already applauded it as a “fantastic idea.”

With several local organisations either offering their help for free or contribute by donating to the project, the speed at which work can now move is increasing and it is expected that the 24 homes, as well as the central ‘village hall’ space, will be finished within the next 10 months.

The aim is for Embassy Village to be completed in its entirety by the end of 2025 and with more and more businesses being invited to help with the development along the way, the amount of resources and manpower is only looking like it will increase with approximately £1m still needed to fully bring it to life.

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Cooperating with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, which specialises in helping the homeless through its ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, Embassy are now working on finding long-term funding for the village’s operational costs once it is up and running.

Another key benefactor is The Moulding Foundation, an organisation dedicated to alleviating social inequalities, who donated £3.5m to support the village’s construction.

Co-founder, Jodie Moulding, told Prolific North: “For most people, access to housing, healthcare, and education is a given – but for others, it is a privilege…

“It has taken an unbelievable amount of time, effort, and energy to get to this point, so finally breaking ground is a huge milestone for everyone involved in bringing Embassy Village to life.”

As for Embassy themselves the charity’s director, Sid Williams, added: “Special thanks go to Matt and Jodie Moulding for their financial backing and the teams at Peel Waters, Capital&Centric, the Mayor’s Charity and Manchester City Council for making this happen.”

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

Featured Images — Peel Waters (supplied)

Manchester

This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia Didsbury named one of the best places to live in the UK

An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.

The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.

But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.

Credit: The Manc Group

The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.

With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.

There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.

Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.

If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.

You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.

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Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.

That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.

Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.

Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.

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

Featured Images – The Manc Group

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