The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the Manchester economy has just been laid bare – with research revealing the pandemic will cost the city £732m by the end of 2020/21 alone.
According to GMCA, the total net deficit facing local government finance is £368m when taking grants and reserves into account.
The ten Greater Manchester councils are estimating additional costs of £225m – with £71m spent on increased adult social care, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and reduction in charging income (day support).
An extra £18m will go towards children’s social care, £13m on education, £33m on housing, highways and public health.
Council finances have also suffered due to a lower amount of commercial income, business rates, council tax, and sales, fees and charges during the pandemic.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “The COVID crisis has landed heavily on our councils after a decade of severe cuts. Even so, they have been working wonders in recent weeks to support people and communities through this and now need and deserve the Government’s direct help.
“Councils will be crucial to the recovery from COVID and getting communities back on their feet, but won’t be able to play that role with a black hole in their finances.
“This analysis lays bare the scale of the funding challenge facing Greater Manchester’s councils. Without urgent support, this funding crisis will engulf local government and endanger the vital services that councils provide to the community, particularly for the most vulnerable.
“We know that this virus has hit the poorest communities hardest. We have also heard the Government’s promises to “level up” the country. The time has come for it to make good on those promises and give Greater Manchester and its councils the resources they need to lead recovery and build back better.”
David Molyneux, Leader of Wigan Council and Portfolio Lead for Resources added: “Local government finances have been under pressure for many years, and what this health pandemic has done is exposed how our public services have been stripped to their bare bones.
“We’ve risen to the challenge to help those who need it, but it’s been at a massive expense. The balance sheet of expenditure and losses shows the stark financial toll we’re having to bear.”
Social distancing at Manchester Piccadilly Station / Network Rail
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has also been severely impacted by the COVID crisis and subsequent lack of passengers.
According to GMCA, grants from theDepartment for Transport (DfT) of £24.97m have helped to “provide a welcome relief” but still leave TfGM with a £1.8m deficit.
Without further government support, GMCA have warned there will be further deficits of £30-£40m for the rest of the financial year (Aug 2020-Mar 2021).
Discussions between GMCA and DfT are ongoing.
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‘Dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture goes on public display in Greater Manchester after fears it was lost
Emily Sergeant
A long-lost masterpiece of Victorian silverwork has been saved and is now on display to the public in Greater Manchester.
Anyone taking a trip over to the National Trust’s historic Dunham Massey property, on the border of Greater Manchester into Cheshire, this summer will get to see the ‘dazzling’ sculpture called Stags in Bradgate Park – which was commissioned by a former owner in a defiant gesture to the society that shunned him.
The dramatic sculpture of two rutting Red Deer stags, commissioned in 1855 by George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford, was said to be an ‘act of love and rebellion’.
It also serves as a symbol of ‘locking horns’ with the society that ostracised him over his marriage to a woman considered ‘beneath him’.
“This isn’t just silver – it’s a story,” says James Rothwell, who is the National Trust‘s curator for decorative arts.
“A story of a man who fell in love with a woman that society deemed unworthy. When the Earl married Catherine Cox, whose colourful past was said to have included performing in a circus, Victorian high society was scandalised. Even Queen Victoria shunned the couple at the opera and local gentry at the horse races in Cheshire turned their backs on them.”
Modelled by Alfred Brown and crafted by royal goldsmiths Hunt & Roskell, Stags in Bradgate Park is a meticulously-detailed depiction of nature, and was considered a ‘sensation’ in its day.
Showing the rutting deer positioned on a rocky outcrop with gnarled hollow oaks, it graced the pages of the Illustrated London News, was exhibited at the London International Exhibition of 1862, and at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1867 – both of which were events that drew millions of visitors.
A ‘dazzling’ Victorian silver sculpture has gone on public display in Greater Manchester / Credit: Joe Wainwright | James Dobson (via Supplied)
The silver centrepiece was the celebrity art of its time, paraded through streets and admired by the public like no other.
Gradually over the years, some of the Earl of Stamford’s silver collection has been re-acquired for Dunham Massey, and this particular world-renowned sculpture, thought to be lost for decades and feared to have been melted down, has miraculously survived with its ‘dramatic’ central component being all that is left.
“The sculpture is not only a technical marvel, with its lifelike depiction of Bradgate Park’s rugged landscape and wildlife, but also a dramatic human story key to the history of Dunham Massey,” added Emma Campagnaro, who is the Property Curator at Dunham Massey.
“It speaks of nature, of craftsmanship, and of a couple who chose each other over status and what others thought of them.”
The sculpture has now gone on display at Dunham Massey from Thursday 26 June.
Featured Image – James Dobson (via Supplied)
News
Lewis Capaldi announces MASSIVE comeback gig in Manchester this year
Thomas Melia
Everyone’s favourite Scottish ballad-maker, Lewis Capaldi, is heading out on tour across the UK, including a massive Manchester date.
Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi is ready to tug at our heartstrings again right in front of our eyes as he announces a new UK arena tour.
This huge announcement comes right after his surprise set at the UK’s biggest music event of the year, Glastonbury, where he made a heroic return to the Pyramid Stage just two years after being forced to pull out.
Capaldi is known for writing some of the most notable and emotive hits of the late 2010s and early 2020s, including a long list of anthems such as ‘Someone You Loved’, ‘Bruises’ and ‘Before You Go’.
His monster of a hit ‘Someone You Loved’ has surpassed 3.9 billion views and is the UK’s most-streamed song of all time, so it is safe to say that his presence has been well and truly missed.
To many fans’ delight, the singer has stepped back into the spotlight and is ready to sing his heart out live at a variety of arenas across the UK, including Co-op Live right here in Manchester.
Now, in a post on his official Instagram account announcing this upcoming UK and Ireland arena tour, it’s good to see the Scottish powerhouse hasn’t lost his wit and charm as he jokes, “About time I got back to work.”
These shows are set to be in high demand as the singer has also revealed these upcoming dates, “Will be my only shows in the UK, Ireland or Europe this year! Would love to see ya there.”
On the back of his glorious Glasto return, Capaldi has dropped a huge heart-wrencher titled ‘Survive’ which offers more insight into the struggles and challenges the singer has been facing.
There is no confirmation of whether this new single marks the launch of a bigger project or not, but we can’t wait to scream his hits at the top of our lungs, regardless of when he pays Manchester a visit later this year.
The Manc -
22nd June 2020 
