The Government has launched a consultation to help work out the best way to introduce ‘Martyn’s Law’ across the UK.
Named in honour of Martyn Hett, who was one of the 22 victims that sadly lost their life during the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, ‘Martyn’s Law’ will require premises to fulfil what the Government has called “necessary but proportionate” steps, according to their capacity, to help keep the general public safe.
It was approved back in September 2022, thanks to a campaign spearheaded by Martyn’s mother, Figen Murray.
Today, we announced how #MartynsLaw will help protect public spaces from terror attacks.
Named in of honour of Martyn Hett, who lost his life in the Manchester Arena attack, this is what the law will do ⤵️
The new law will “scale-up preparedness for terrorist attacks” and make sure the public is protected – but the Government says it’s keen to do this without affecting small businesses.
The way Government ministers have proposed to do this is to consider premises either ‘standard tier’, meaning they have capacity of 100-799, or ‘enhanced tier’, with a capacity of 800 or more.
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The consultation on these updated approaches – which launched this week, and is open to the public to have their say until 18 March – will seek views to make sure the new requirements “do not place undue burdens” on some of the country’s smaller businesses, all while still protecting the public.
A consultation has been launched to work out how to best introduce ‘Martyn’s Law’ across the UK / Credit: gov.uk
“Simple steps save lives,” commented Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, as the consultation officially launched.
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“Martyn’s Law will help protect the British public from terrorism, and make sure public premises are better prepared in the event of a terror attack [but] I want to make sure that our proposals are balanced and proportionate, and that’s why our updated approach is easy to implement, and better tailored to individual businesses.
“I’d encourage smaller premises to share their feedback on these crucial changes, as your views will help ensure that Martyn’s Law stands the test of time.”
🗓️22 May 2017
Twenty-two people were killed in a cowardly terrorist attack at Manchester Arena. Martyn's Law will increase security in public venues so other families don’t have to experience such a loss.
We want to hear your views by 18 March on how we can make the UK safer👇
The Government’s launching of this new consultation to update and eventually help make ‘Martyn’s Law’ a reality comes after it was revealed that thousands of Mancs have now been equipped with counter terror skills after signing up for specialist Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training.
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The Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training – which is a partnership between Manchester City Council, CityCo, and Counter Terror Policing North West – aims to equip staff at a wide range of companies across the city centre with skills to “identify and mitigate potential risks” that will help increase response in the event of a terror attack.
Close to 500 venues and more than 1,000 members of staff have been trained as part of their commitment to playing their part in making Manchester safer, the Council confirmed.
You can have your say in the ‘Martyn’s Law’ consultation on the gov.uk website here.
Featured Image – gov.uk
News
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”