Bold plans to “reinvigorate” the market square area in Ashton have been given the green light by local planning authorities.
Aiming to provide a “high-quality, flexible, and modern” market square in the Tameside town, the newly-approved £11 million plans are designed to lend themselves to range of different functions, according to Tameside Council – with food, drink, culture, and entertainment among the main uses.
One of the stand-out features of the greenlit plans is an impressive new canopy, which will provide a designated undercover area for markets to include “flexible and durable” market stalls and kiosks with seating, and will also open up the space for events and activities.
Designed to “deter anti-social behaviour” with improved lighting and the installation of CCTV, the canopy and kiosks will have views over the town’s listed Town Hall and Market Hall buildings.
It will also look to improve walking routes through to the square in all directions.
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Bold plans to ‘reinvigorate’ Ashton’s Market Square given green light / Credit: Buttress Architects (via Tameside Council)
The revamped social hub is also hoping to be “more inviting” to the local community and visitors.
A range of public realm improvements on Fletcher Square, Bow Street, Warrington Street, Market Street, Market Avenue, and Wellington Road are also set to improve the surrounding areas.
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The plans also include additional green spaces, trees, and planting too, as well as new street furniture and informal play spaces.
📢Plans to reinvigorate Ashton’s Market Square have been given the green light with planning permission granted to move forward.
The green light this week comes after Tameside Council and project team have been engaging with residents, market traders, and businesses in the town for more than a year now through a number of engagement workshops and events in order to “shape the plans”.
Their feedback throughout the process was said to have highlighted the priorities of many residents and visitors.
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“The plans for the Market Square will help unlock the potential regeneration of the town centre and work will start on the square early next year,” commented Councillor Vimal Choksi, who is the Executive Member for Towns and Communities at Tameside Council.
The plans will provide a “high-quality, flexible, and modern” social hub / Credit: Buttress Architects (via Tameside Council)
“We have listened and responded to residents and businesses feedback and will continue to engage with local traders and businesses as we move forward with the exciting plans and bringing in high quality public realm will create a better space for events and help to bring in more visitors to the town centre.”
The £11m revamp is being funded by Levelling Up money awarded by the Government in October 2019.
With planning permission now granted, Tameside Council says it’s aiming for the Market Square scheme to be completed by March 2025.
Featured Image – Buttress Architects (via Tameside Council)
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
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More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Emily Sergeant -
19th September 2023 
