Plans to increase council tax across Greater Manchester to fund “continued improvements in policing” have been approved.
It comes after the Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel – which is made up of elected representatives from across all 10 of Greater Manchester’s local Councils, as well as independent members – met earlier this week (Tuesday 30 January) to vote on Mayor Andy Burnham‘s proposal to increase the police precept for 2024/25.
The Panel’s role is to “scrutinise” the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, who both have Police and Crime Commissioner responsibilities – including setting the police precept, which is the part of council tax which funds police.
The decision to hike council tax was “unanimously agreed” on by the Panel.
Today the Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel approved @MayorofGM's proposal to fund continued improvements in policing with an increase in the police precept for 2024/25.
— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) January 30, 2024
This means that the precept will increase by 84p per month for a Band B property, or £1.08 per month for a Band D property.
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When looking at the increases annually, for example, the police precept for a Band D property will increase by £13, from £243.30 to £256.30, next year, and then for a Band B property, it will go up by £10.11, from £189.23 to £199.34.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) insists that, even with this agreed increase for 2024/25, the Greater Manchester police precept will still remain “one of the lowest” in England.
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The increase to the police precept will look to make sure that all the recent improvements in Greater Manchester Police (GMP) continue, GMCA added.
Council tax is to increase across Greater Manchester after proposals were approved / Credit: GMCA | Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
Greater Manchester residents will be contributing to the funding of things like a further 30 police officers into frontline policing roles in 2024/25, and improvements to response times for emergency and non-emergency incidents with the increase to their council tax.
Continued investment in neighbourhood policing and crime prevention teams to further reduce neighbourhood crimes is also included.
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On top of this, the police precept increase will also fund increased capacity to prosecute offenders, with a particular focus on increasing arrests for sex offenders, and ensuring justice for any vulnerable victims.
Greater Manchester residents will help to fund ‘improvements in policing’ / Credit: GMP
Overall, GMCA says the increase will fund “continued progress to the fastest-improving police force in the country”.
Speaking following the Panel’s approval of his proposals this week, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “The Government’s decision to cut police funding in real terms for 2024/25 has forced us into a difficult decision at the local level.
“We are proud of the progress that GMP has made in recent years, and are simply not prepared to put this at risk by leaving the force with large a gap in its budget for the coming year.
“We are grateful to the cross-party Police, Crime and Fire Panel for unanimously supporting our decision and will make sure that, in the coming 12 months, GMP continues to deliver real results for our residents.”
Featured Image – gov.uk
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Manchester City ‘strongly condemn’ racist abuse towards first-team players at Everton
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club have released a statement following yet more troubling racist abuse in the Premier League this May bank holiday.
Pep Guardiola’s side faced Everton in a fixture that ended in a 3-3 draw, which could prove pivotal in their pursuit of leaders Arsenal.
Sadly, however, one of the main stories to be taken from the game once again revolves around abuse and discrimination.
Match officials were quickly made aware of racial remarks directed at winger Antoine Semenyo on the day, and, unfortunately, defender Marc Guehi has also been the subject of hateful messaging online in the aftermath of the result.
Sharing a short, but simple and emphatic statement, the club wrote: “Manchester City strongly condemns the racist abuse directed towards Antoine Semenyo at yesterday’s match.
“We welcome the swift action taken by Everton and the police to identify the individual responsible.
“We are also incredibly disappointed to hear that Marc Guéhi was subject to a series of vile racist social media posts last night.”
They go on to add that they will “continue to offer our full support to both Antoine and Marc and never accept discrimination of any kind in our game.”
Everton themselves have since confirmed that local authorities swiftly identified at least one individual alleged to be responsible for the unacceptable behaviour.
As mentioned in their own post, the culprit is said to have been a 71-year-old man who was quickly flagged by fans and stewards inside the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
While this may be the first incident reported at the Toffees’ new home ground, regrettably, it’s just the latest in a long line of similar cases raised not just in English football but the top flight, specifically.
It goes without saying that we’re sorry to hear that stuff like this is still happening, and we send our strength to all those who continue to be affected by this despicable treatment.
As ever, ‘the beautiful game’ is for everyone and racism has no place in society, let alone football – kick it out once and for all. In other news surrounding Man City, there’s also been some controversy surrounding their upcoming FA Youth Cup final.
Manchester ‘institution’ Topkapi Palace quietly closes Deansgate restaurant after 47 years
Danny Jones
After the best part of half a century, local institution Topkapi Palace looks to have quietly closed the doors to its Manchester restaurant.
Founded way back in 1969, Topkapi has been a mainstay of the Deansgate strip longer than most other venues in the area, but many have noticed that it hasn’t been open for a little while now.
After plenty of speculation online, it now appears to have shut down for the foreseeable future.
It remains to be seen whether or not this is a permanent culinary casualty, but judging by the paper signs now displayed in the windows, things don’t look promising for the Turkish grill.
As posted in the shopfront of the restaurant, an update from Wilson and Doe High Court Enforcement says: “Under the terms of the demised lease, we, as authorised agents on behalf of the landlord, have to this day re-entered the premises known as Topkapi Palace…”
It also warns that any attempts to enter the building will result in criminal or civil proceedings.
The statement goes on to read: “Acting as agents for the Involuntary Bailee, we give notice to any third party who asserts ownership of the Goods to which this notice relates:
The goods identified at Topkapi Palace (Part Ground Floor and Basement), 205, 206 and 209 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 3NW are being held at the Property.
The Goods are ready for collection immediately, and this is a notice of your obligation to take delivery of the Goods at a mutually convenient time to be agreed and arranged with the Involuntary Bailee’s agents
Unless the Goods are collected on or before 17:00 on 10 April 2026, the Involuntary Bailee or its agents will remove and dispose of the Goods. The period between now and the Deadline is sufficient to provide you with a reasonable opportunity to take delivery of the Goods.
If the Goods are disposed of, the Involuntary Bailee intends to retain its disposal costs from any sale proceeds.”
As you can see, multiple units are listed in the forfeiture notice, including the address assigned to their takeaway sister site located just around the corner on Bootle Street, although it’s still unclear whether or not this way will stay open.
Somewhat of an institution in its own right, plenty of Mancs will have visited the late-night street food spot even if they have never sat down for a meal in the Topkapi Palace itself.
Posting on the Manchester subreddit last week, one user wrote: “I noticed that Topkapi Palace on Deansgate had shut down, I was gutted!”; another went on to add: “Oh dear – I hadn’t realised this.
“I always enjoyed the food, but it was often quiet during the week more recently, and that end of Deansgate is now prime territory for expensive bars. I doubt the unit will stay empty very long.”
Topkapi’s apparent closure is just one of several in and around the city centre already this year, with several hospitality names having to cease trading due to rising energy bills, business rates, rent and various other reasons. Here’s hoping the sector regains a bit of stability sometime soon.
Emily Sergeant -
1st February 2024 
