The green light has been given for a new £23 million park in central Manchester and it’s the first park to built in the city centre in 100 years.
Mayfield Park – the 6.5-acre space that has been described as a “beautifully designed and safe urban oasis” and has already been touted as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” – is part of a £1.4 billion development project in the city centre to transform the under-loved urban area between Manchester Piccadilly station and Mancunian Way, running along the River Medlock.
The government is to pledge £23 million to fund the building of the park.
Funds are said to be coming from the government’s £900m Getting Building Fund, which aims to increase jobs, skills and infrastructure in England in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and similar city centre park projects that are also set to benefit from the fund are planned in Leeds and Sheffield.
The ongoing Manchester regeneration project is being led by Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Department for Transport’s development company LCR, and property development company U+I.
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It will also oversee the building of 1,500 homes, offices, a hotel, retail and leisure space, roads, cycleways and walkways in the city.
Mayfield Partnership
Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council, said: “The truly transformative potential of the Mayfield project should not be underestimated, and this funding will not just unlock the opportunity to bring forward the new city park, but in reality paves the way for the entire Mayfield project to be delivered over the next decade, which is without doubt one of the best connected sites in the region, directly adjacent to Piccadilly Train Station.”
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“To provide a new green space in the city centre at the scale proposed is a once in a generation opportunity to bring life back to an underused part of the city centre, and create a real destination of choice. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to consider the Mayfield site as a 24-acre new urban landscape, providing a green environment that accommodates significant buildings planned for the site – rather than the traditional idea of green space sitting adjacent to new development.”
“This is the sort of ambition we should be pitching for when we consider how we use urban space differently in the future to develop new green spaces for the benefit of our communities.”
“This investment is particularly welcome at a time when Manchester is focused on economic recovery following the pandemic [and] the Mayfield project illustrates a city determined to continue to grow and be successful for our residents, while generating significant employment opportunities.”
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Mayfield Partnership
The announcement of the Getting Building Fund and the Mayfield Park green light has prompted a number of public bodies and grassroots organisations to say the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of outdoor spaces for communities.
There are now calls on the government to increase resources for existing parks following the decimation of local authority budgets over the past decade, as figures obtained from UK councils by Unison in 2018 found that more than £15 million had been cut from parks and green spaces budgets between 2016-17 and 2018-19.
Dave Morris, Chair of the National Federation of Parks and Green Spaces, said that the lack of funding for park services had been highlighted by the increased use of public green spaces during the national lockdown.
He said: “Under the current public health restrictions, there’s been a massive increase in the usage of public green spaces, but there hasn’t been a comparable increase in the resources that is put into managing and maintaining these spaces,”
“We need to ensure that the whole population have access to a quality local public green space within walking distance of where they live. In many areas there’s a need for additional green spaces”.
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Greater Manchester urged to ‘check before you travel’ as Storm Goretti sets in tonight
Emily Sergeant
People in Greater Manchester are being urged to check before they travel as Storm Goretti prepares to bring chaos this evening.
In case you weren’t aware, yellow weather warnings for snow have been put in place for parts of Greater Manchester – including Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside, and Stockport – from 5pm this evening until around midday tomorrow, and additional amber warnings are even in place from 8pm tonight for some neighbouring areas like Derbyshire and Yorkshire.
As a result, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), is understandably warning locals that there could be disruption to journeys this evening, including by rail, trams, buses, and on the roads.
Trams on the Oldham, Rochdale, and Ashton lines are most likely to be disrupted by the weather, as are buses in the north and east of the region, TfGM has warned, and due to the expected impact, no trains will run on the following routes from 6pm this evening:
New Mills Central – Sheffield (no trains between Manchester & Sheffield)
Hazel Grove – Buxton
Guide Bridge – Glossop/Hadfield
🌨️ Storm Goretti will hit parts of Greater Manchester from 5pm tonight to midday tomorrow [8 and 9 January].
If you're making a journey, please check before you travel to see if your route is impacted and take extra care when travelling.
Train ticket acceptance will be in place on the 237 and 341 bus services tonight and tomorrow to help passengers get to where they need to be, although disruption could be on the cards here too, once again.
All train routes are planned to reopen after midnight on Saturday morning.
Interchanges, platforms, and crossings across the region are being treated with grit and anti-icing measures to make sure they are safe to use, and TfGM has confirmed that ‘ice breaker’ trams are also ready to be deployed to keep overhead lines clear of ice so trams can keep moving.
For those driving this evening, TfGM is also urging people to take extra time and make sure you are driving ‘appropriately’ for the conditions.
Greater Manchester is urged to check ‘before you travel’ as Storm Goretti sets in / Credit: rawpixel
Speaking ahead of Storm Goretti’s arrival, Danny Vaughan, who is TfGM’s Chief Network Officer, said: “We are expecting Storm Goretti to hit Greater Manchester as we head into the evening peak travel time and we are urging everyone to check their plans before they travel, leave extra time and if possible to consider if they can make their journey before 5pm before the storm hits.
“Working with our partners and operators we are ready to respond to the storm and help to keep Greater Manchester moving.”
He also warned commuters that there may also ‘be an impact on journeys’ tomorrow morning, so if you are planning to travel, then it’s advised to check before you do so.
Leigh Leopards share update regarding Tesi Niu allegations
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester rugby league side Leigh Leopards have now issued an update addressing the allegations levelled at one of their players, Tesi Niu.
With the statement coming directly from the club’s owner, Derek Beaumont, the club have shed light on their understanding of the situation.
Beaumont, who bought the team over a decade ago and rebranded it from ‘Centurions’ to the Leopards back in 2022 (and also owns a local decking company based in Worsley), appeared to speak on behalf of the club following the accusations made last week.
Sharing an official communication on social media on Wednesday afternoon, 8 January, they open by saying that “the club is aware of social media activity of concern from one of its players’ accounts, that of Tesi Niu.”
“The club can confirm that the player’s account was accessed externally and without his knowledge or consent”, they continue, “and [was] deleted a short period thereafter.”
“We were instantly aware of this as it happened”, says the Leigh Leopards owner. “As a club, we have policies and procedures and employ a Player Welfare Manager who is a qualified counsellor.
“Our first port of call in these circumstances is to ensure the welfare of our player and any external party that may be involved. This was immediately initiated.
“Having since personally spoken with Tesi and Kiana individually and at length, and then our Player Welfare Manager and Head Coach, I am completely satisfied that they are both being fully supported.
“I can also confirm that there is no official complaint to the club regarding the player, nor to any relevant authorities. To that end, the club will make no further statements about the matter and would welcome supporters’ trust in the club’s processes and findings.”
For context, you can read what 24-year-old Niu has been accused of in full down below.
While the organisation has now insisted that nothing formal has been raised within the club nor with the police at this time, many supporters are still insisting that there must be a full investigation into the troubling claims.
At present, however, the statement seems to suggest that they won’t be taking the matter any further internally – at least not for now/until a proper case is opened.
Nevertheless, many Leopards supporters, rugby fans and people online in general have understandably raised more concerns following the statement.
Neither Tesi Niu himself nor Kiana Smith – his partner of more than five years, currently said to be pregnant with their third child – has yet to share any further message(s) following the initial declaration of alleged abuse.
Emily Sergeant -
5th August 2020 
