News

Designers appointed to transform Piccadilly Gardens into a ‘welcoming public space’

The Council says it envisages the area being "a special place with a strong sense of identity" in the future.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 31st July 2023

Designers have finally been appointed to develop plans that transform Piccadilly Gardens into a “welcoming public space”.

It’s been a long time coming – but Manchester City Council has revealed that a team of designers led by architects LDA Design have now been selected from a shortlist of candidates, and will now be tasked with producing a range of detailed designs and concepts ready for a full planning application to be submitted next year.

The design team has been chosen following an international design competition last year, which was based on initial concept designs that were submitted for the popular city centre space.

As well as Piccadilly Gardens, the 10-acre site covered by the competition also includes Mosley Street, Parker Street, the section of Portland Street which runs alongside Piccadilly Gardens, and the section of Piccadilly which borders the Gardens.

Designers appointed to transform Piccadilly Gardens into a ‘welcoming public space’ / Credit: Manchester City Council

The Council says it envisages Piccadilly Gardens being “a special place with a strong sense of identity” in the future, as well as one that is “welcoming” and “uniquely Mancunian”.

They want it to become a fully-accessible “place for all”.

Retaining a green space in the heart of the city centre was also central to the Council’s design brief, with competition entrants told to consider Manchester‘s wider environmental goals, yet still recognise the need for the area to accommodate the tens of thousands of people that walk through every day.

Potential designers were told to ensure their concepts also retain the existing listed monuments, statues, tramlines, and infrastructure, as well as the existing Pavilion structure.

But what exactly do the winner’s design plans entail? Well, according to the Council, competition judges explained that they felt LDA Design’s entry “embraced” and “met” the design brief to a high standard, and praised the elements that proposed the updating of children’s play facilities and improving links to London Road.

What Piccadilly Gardens has looked like through the ages / Credit: LDA Design

Crucially, the Council says that before any final plans are submitted, these designs will be made public so Mancs have the chance say what they think.

“We know that people have strong views about Piccadilly Gardens,” Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, admitted as the new designers were appointed, “and serious work is continuing to realise its potential a welcoming public space and somewhere people want to linger and enjoy, not just pass through.

“But there’s still much more work to do.

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“Today is not about us announcing the plan but appointing the experts who will help produce one, taking the views of Mancunians very much into account.”

Featured Image – Manchester City Council

News

Marcus Rashford officially unveiled as a Barcelona player after sealing blockbuster loan move

Danny Jones Danny Jones Rashford joined Barcelona

Manchester United star and England international Marcus Rashford has officially been unveiled as an FC Barcelona player after signing a new loan deal with the iconic Catalan club.

While Rashford remains a favourite among millions of Man United fans, his time at The Theatre of Dreams has been somewhat turbulent of late, to say the least, and the relationship between him and manager Ruben Amorim was such that it was made clear the lifelong Red was no longer part of his plans.

Having spent the second half of last season on loan at fellow Premier League side Aston Villa, following a fairly uncertain January transfer window, when a move to Barcelona first emerged as a possibility.

The Wythenshawe winger went on to register a combined seven goals and assists in his first half a dozen starts over in Birmingham and quickly became popular among many supporters, but it looks as though his eyes were always set on a switch to Barca.

Leaks of the Mancunian-born and bred footballer and MBE were shared online on Tuesday, 22 July, with Rashford’s arrival at the airport and snaps of him carrying out his first media photoshoot ahead of being unveiled in the famous red and blue stripes appearing on social media.

Joining the Blaugrana on loan under an initial 12-month contract, the deal is reported €14 million (approximately £12m) gross in salary plus bonuses linked to appearance clauses. It was Rashford’s significant wages that made Villa and other clubs’ pursuits challenging.

Most notably, however, the agreement is said to include an option to buy, which would see Barcelona secure Rashford on a permanent basis for an estimated fee of £26 million including add-ons.

At 27 years old and with more goals than United legends like Andy Cole, Tommy Taylor and his ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær – more than 30 of those coming against the ‘big six’ – plenty has been made of whether this price is a fitting representation of his value and talent when at his blistering best.

Nevertheless, it appears that his new home fans have no shortage of excitement, as it didn’t take long for street art to hit the streets of Barca; in fact, this particular mural was painted before Rashford had even officially joined, and people lined up outside the Nou Camp to watch him arrive at the hallowed stadium.

Echoing shades of Scott McTominay’s somewhat reluctant move to reigning Italian champions, Napoli, not only does Rashford’s second spell away from his boyhood club seem it could be very well be a long goodbye, but we’ve already seen a few first-team Red Devils excel after leaving Old Trafford.

For instance, Brazilian forward Antony hit the ground running after joining Real Betis on loan (with the club joking that they needed to start a “crowdfunded to keep him“), and now former fellow academy graduate Elanga has moved to his second team post-United, joining Newcastle for a hefty £55m.

Between them, they contributed to 32 goal involvements since donning a different shirt – the latter doing so in just a matter of months.

Even Jadon Sancho managed to regain some semblance of form after rejoining Chelsea on a short-term deal, scoring the penultimate goal in the Conference League final against the aforementioned Betis, though the west London outfit ultimately opted to pay a penalty to avoid their obligation to buy.

Put it this way: if this is set to be the final farewell from the now-ex-number 10 after more than two decades in Man United colours, it isn’t as simple as a fallout with the gaffer or the player just ‘wanting away’. It’s part of a larger and longer-running pattern.

His old teammate, Paul Pogba, also believes his old club are ‘losing a great player‘.

As Gary Lineker hinted at in his recent interview regarding Rashford and Barca, who was the last Englishman to join the La Liga giants nearly 40 years ago, there seems to be a running theme and “problem” over in the red half of Manchester.

Rashford will wear the number 14: the same number that retired Arsenal and legendary French footballer Thierry Henry wore when he arrived at Barcelona – a player who Marcus had made no secret of idolising growing up and mirrors much of his game on.

Do you think it’s the right decision by Rashford and/or Manchester United?

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Featured Images — FC Barcelona/Oleg Bkhambri/Voltmetro (via Wikimedia Commons)

News

Government reportedly considering introducing two-hour screen time limit for children

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant People on mobile phones

Reports are suggesting that the UK Government is considering introducing two-hour screen time limits for children.

With an announcement on the matter expected later this autumn, Sky News is reporting that social media limits for children are being planned by the Government in a bid to tackle what is being referred to as ‘compulsive’ screen time usage – with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle admitting he is concerned about ‘the overall amount of time kids spend on apps’ these days, as well as the content they see.

Following meetings with current and former employees of some of the country’s major tech companies, a two-hour cap per social media platform is being ‘seriously considered’.

It is understood that, according to reports, instead of simply just being reminded of how long they have been scrolling for, children would actually be blocked from accessing apps, such as TikTok or Snapchat, once they have hit the limit.

Schoolchildren in an assembly
The Government is considering introducing a two-hour screen time limit for children / Credit: RawPixel / Flickr

“I’ll be making an announcement on these things in the near future,” Mr Kyle told Sky News in an interview this week, “but I am looking very carefully about the overall time kids spend on these apps.”

He continued: “I think some parents feel a bit disempowered about how to actually make their kids healthier online.

“I think some kids feel that sometimes there is so much compulsive behaviour with interaction with the apps, they need some help just to take control of their online lives, and those are things I’m looking at really carefully.

“We talk a lot about a healthy childhood offline. We need to do the same online. I think sleep is very important, to be able to focus on studying is very important.”

The screen of a mobile phone
The proposed limit is to help prevent ‘compulsive’ scrolling / Credit: William Hook (via Unsplash)

Mr Kyle admitted that, while children spending hours viewing content on social media isn’t ‘criminal’, but the overuse of some of these apps in particular is ‘unhealthy’.

“I think we can incentivise the companies,” he continued.

“We can set a slightly different threshold that will just tip the balance in favour of parents, [so that they’re] not always being the ones having to rip phones out of the kids’ hands and having a really awkward and difficult conversation around it.”

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The upcoming proposed screen time limit comes after 1,000 pupils – mostly aged 14 and 15 – at schools in the North East town of Darlington spent a year participating in regular focus groups about smartphones and social media.

The survey found that 40% of them spent at least six hours a day online, and one in five even spent as long as eight hours scrolling.

Featured Image – Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)

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