Factory International, the huge arts centre being built in Manchester city centre, has blown past its budget again.
The building is set to be a world-leading theatre, performance space and cultural hub, and unveiled its opening programme just last week.
Plans for the unique structure, which boasts 21m-high ceilings and an enormous warehouse-style space that can be divided up for different audiences, were first announced in 2016.
Back then, its total budget was set to be £110m and its opening date was pencilled in for 2019.
Now, it’s looking at a total cost of £210.8m – almost double its original budget – and a completion date in 2023.
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Factory International. Credit: Pawel Paniczko
The flagship arts centre requires an additional £25.2m to complete the work on site, as construction costs skyrocket.
When it is completed, it’s expected to create or support around 1,500 jobs, attract 850,000 visitors a year, and contribute around £1.1bn to the economy over a decade.
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Factory International will be programmed and operated by the team behind Manchester International Festival, and will act as a permanent home to the roving arts festival.
A report published on Factory International yesterday described the ‘extremely challenging wider environment the project is being delivered in’, from workforce shortages to supply chain issues to high levels of inflation.
Factory International has gone over its budget again. Credit: Pawel Paniczko
It cites figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which show a 26.4% increase in prices for all construction work since June 2021.
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This includes a 58.2% increase in the price of concrete reinforced bars, a 46.3% increase in the cost of fabricated structural steel and a 28.3% increase in the cost of precast concrete products.
The report states: “While the existing budget made reasonable allowances for contingencies, it could not have predicted the exceptional circumstances with steep levels of inflation and considerable supply chain challenges that are still being experienced as Factory International approaches its opening in June 2023.”
The Executive and Manchester City Council will be asked to approve a budget increase of £25.2m, £10m of which will come from contingency funding set aside in the Council’s capital budget. The rest will come from borrowing.
More than £105m of the £210.8m total budget is funding from the Government and Arts Council England.
£55.4m has come from Manchester City Council, with the remainder coming from commercial and philanthropic fundraising.
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Separately, the local authority will also underwrite Manchester International Festival’s increased costs for the fit out of the building which have also been driven up by soaring inflation by up to £7.8m. This is ‘critical to enable the venue to operate’.
The Council hopes that selling the long-term naming rights agreement for Factory International will help to recover a significant proportion of the costs.
Cllr Luthfur Rahman, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Factory International will be an incredible asset for Manchester. Not only will it strengthen the city’s reputation as a nationally and indeed globally important centre for the arts, it will also help stimulate and sustain our fast-growing cultural sector which contributes £1.4bn to our economy every year. It will act as a major training centre for Manchester people pursuing careers in the arts.
“Factory International will further create and support jobs in the hospitality sector by attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city every year. Sitting in the heart of the St John’s Quarter it has already helped attract investment and job creation here and will continue to do so.
“It will be inclusive and inspiring – with plenty of free and low cost events and opportunities for Manchester people to get involved – as participants as well as audiences.
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“It’s an audacious project and with that comes challenges, especially when set against a volatile economic backdrop, but the ongoing benefits for many years to come will far outweigh the one-off cost. We must not lose sight of that.”
The report will be considered by the Council’s Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee on 11 October and the Executive will be asked to approve the increased budget when it meets on 19 October.
Featured image: OMA 24
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Trafford gymnastics coach jailed for 18 years after raping and sexually assaulting young girls
Emily Sergeant
A gymnastics coach from Trafford has been jailed after being found guilty of non-recent rape and sexual assault against young girls he taught.
It comes after a woman bravely came forward to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in September 2020 to disclose the prolonged abuse she suffered at the hands of a sports coach during her youth – with the years of offending spanning from the late 1980s to the early 90s.
That coach was Michael Haynes, from the Urmston area of Trafford.
Mr Haynes, who is now 77 years old, appeared at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced this week after a four-week trial.
During the trial, the court heard how in the late 80s, one of the victims – who was 11 at the time – joined Trafford School of Gymnastics, and it was here where Haynes first sexually assaulted her by inappropriately touching her through her clothing as he was appearing to ‘help’ her with stretching exercises.
This progressed over time, and eventually turned from sexual touching to rape – with offences occurring in his vehicle whilst he was assisting the victim’s family to transport her to and from the gymnastics club.
Following these discoveries, then in December 2023, another woman learned that Haynes was to stand trial for sexual offences and bravely came forward to the police to report what happened to her when she was around 12 years old and had already been at the gymnastics school for years with Haynes.
Michael Haynes / Credit: GMP
The court learned how Haynes began inappropriately asking her about relationships with other boys her age, before proceeding to touch her leg and sexually assault her.
“Michael Haynes violated boundaries I hadn’t yet learned how to name,” the first victim tragically explained in a victim impact statement.
“I didn’t understand what had happened, or how I felt about it. I just knew something had shifted in me. Something had been taken by someone I trusted, and I carried confusion and shame for many years. I still live with the effects of what happened, but I also live with pride in who I’ve become. All you have left now is shame.”
Michael Haynes has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of nine counts of rape and 11 counts of sexual assault against two girls.
Following the sentencing this week, Detective Inspector Rick Lees, of Trafford’s CID, said: “This was a harrowing investigation, and I would like to thank the survivors for their bravery in coming forward after all these years and reporting what happened to them.
“I cannot imagine the psychological effect that this abuse had on them over the years, and I hope today’s sentencing brings some form of closure and a sense of justice.”
Following the investigation, GMP said it believes there may be further victims of Haynes’ from the same time period who may have previously felt unable to come forward.
“We would like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who has been a victim of any form of sexual abuse, whether it be recent or non-recent to please get in touch with us, no matter how long ago it was, we will listen to you, and we can help,” DI Lees concluded.
Featured Image – GMP
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Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK
Danny Jones
Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.
So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’
Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.
Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) May 28, 2025
We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.
Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.
Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.
Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.
As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.
Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.
“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?
Daisy Jackson -
4th October 2022 
