A new craft beer bar is opening inside Manchester Victoria station, promising the end of underwhelming £7 pints.
At last, Manchester’s second-largest railway station will have somewhere decent for us to drink – and we honestly cannot wait.
Brought to Victoria station by the team behind Piccadilly Tap, the bar has been a long time in the making.
First announced in 2019, the original application would have seen the bar based inside a former refuse store on the station approach, on Todd Street.
The bar had also applied for an external seating area, but unfortunately, these plans never came to fruition.
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Now, however, it seems like the whole thing is back on – with the team behind Piccadilly Tap confirming to The Manc that the new bar will definitely open inside Victoria train station at the end of September.
Artwork promoting the new bar shows two full tankards clinking together, with a short bit of text underneath that promises the long-awaited beer garden will, in fact, be a thing soon after all.
The team has now moved into the space and started fitting it out, sharing images online of a stunning forest green bar with ornate signage above it reading Victoria Tap.
They’ve also been pretty vocal about promising ‘decent beer and decent prices’ – something we’re fully buying into, if the selection and pricing at Piccadilly Tap is anything to go by.
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Image: Victoria Tap
Image: Victoria Tap
With whitewashed brick walls, warm pendant lighting, and frosted glass windows looking out into the station’s main thoroughfare, the new boozer will definitely make an attractive addition to the historic site when it opens later this month.
Beer fans heading down can expect to find a whole host of different beers being poured from the end of the month, showcasing brews from both local and international breweries as well as a wide range of different beer and ale styles.
Uber has officially started trialling driverless taxis in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… driverless taxis have hit the streets of Manchester.
As the leading transportation company looks to bring robotaxis to other major cities around the UK, it has been confirmed that a trial of autonomous vehicles is now underway in Manchester – with the services being operated using the technology of Uber’s partner firms, Pony and Verne.
Uber said it was ‘excited’ to take this first step toward ‘making this technology accessible’ to people across the UK.
The three companies first collaborated on the deployment of a commercial robotaxi service back in March of this year, combining Pony.ai’s autonomous driving system, Uber’s global mobility platform, and Verne’s service ecosystem and operational framework.
At this time, there has been no official application to launch passenger services in Manchester, according to The Guardian.
However, posts on various social media platforms – such as X, LinkedIn, and Instagram – by each of the companies this week have confirmed that trials are underway in the city.
“New technologies play an increasingly important role in the growth of our city region,” TfGM said. “But they need to be introduced responsibly, safely and with real thought about what it means for our residents.
“Safety will always be our top priority, and we will need strong assurances that no vehicles will operate on our roads that pose any risk to residents.”
Manchester, we’re on our way! Today, we’re announcing that we’re partnering with @Verne_robotaxi and @PonyAI_tech to pilot autonomous vehicles in Manchester. Building on our service together in Zagreb, Gen-7 Robotaxis are now testing in Manchester.
We’re excited to take this first step toward making this technology accessible to people across the UK. 🇬🇧
“By bringing together Pony.ai’s proven autonomous driving technology, Verne’s operational and market expertise, and Uber’s global platform, we’re taking an important step toward making autonomous ride-hailing available to more riders in more places.”
Featured Image – Uber Investor
News
Police issue urgent warning following a rise in scam calls across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The public is being urged to ‘remain vigilant’ following a rise of scam calls across Greater Manchester.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it has been made aware that scammers, who are impersonating police officers, are contacting people trying to convince them to hand over personal and sensitive information linked to their ownership of cryptocurrency.
From the numerous reports that GMP has received, one common method the offenders appear to be using is claiming that a suspect has been arrested and was found to be in possession of the victim’s personal documents – such as their passport, driving licence, or banking details.
On several occasions, fraudsters asked victims about their cryptocurrency accounts – specifically looking for their IDs, recovery phrases, and security codes.
GMP is urging the public to know that the police would never ask you to share this information or move your accounts.
The police have issued an urgent warning following a rise in scam calls across Greater Manchester / Credit: Rawpixel | Nordwood Themes (via Unsplash)
“These calls can appear convincing and are being made through spoofed GMP phone numbers but we are urging the public to remain vigilant, especially when providing sensitive information via phone calls,’ GMP said in a statement this week.
GMP is asking that the public ‘be wary’ of unsolicited calls, emails or messages relating to cryptocurrency investments or accounts, and that they never share passwords, recovery phrases, or security codes with anyone, as well as refusing to transfer any money or cryptocurrency to accounts suggested by a caller.
DS Reed, from GMP’s Cyber Crime Team, said these calls are ‘incredibly sophisticated’, and those responsible are targeting ‘vulnerable communities’
“We take offences of this nature incredibly seriously, and our Cyber Crime Team are working around the clock to understand how these offences have occurred, and how to prevent it from continuing,” DS Reed concluded.
Featured Image – Priscilla Du Preez (via Unsplash)
Georgina Pellant -
4th September 2023 
