Greater Manchester has been allocated over £1 billion in funding to deliver its “transformational” transport network.
It’s been a long time coming, but Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has revealed that the government has officially confirmed a package of revenue funding from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for the city-region.
The funding will ultimately pave the way for the highly-anticipated, London-style transport system – the Bee Network.
Although the CRSTS funding allocation of £1.07 billion was initially announced ahead of last year’s autumn Budget, it’s been confirmed this week that it will be supported by £170 million in local contributions, which means there’ll be £1.2 billion worth of investment in local roads, bus, train and tram services over the next five years – with new quality bus corridors, cycling and walking routes and improved transport infrastructure and connectivity for towns and high streets in the region, GMCA says.
The funding will also help boost the city-region’s plans to improve air quality.
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Greater Manchester will receive £1.07bn from City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements to help deliver Bee Network: a transformational London style transport system for GM.
— Greater Manchester Combined Authority (@greatermcr) April 4, 2022
It’s set to support a move to a fully-electrified bus fleet, with 50 new zero emission buses expected to serve Bolton and Wigan when the first phase of bus franchising is introduced on 17 September 2023.
Cheaper fares will also be rolled out alongside bus franchising, with adult and children single journey fares capped at £2 and £1 respectively.
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Breaking down the funding allocation from this week’s groundbreaking announcement, it was confirmed that Greater Manchester will receive £94.8 million from the government’s Bus Back Better strategy, and the Metrolink will also receive £20.5 million recovery funding to support the continued operation of services for the next six months.
Greater Manchester has been allocated over £1 billion in funding to deliver its “transformational” transport network / Credit: TfGM
A funding allocation for the city-region’s bus operators, however, is yet to be confirmed.
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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has called for “more certainty over recovery funding”, with around £70 million said to be needed to keep tram and bus services operating at the current level throughout this financial year – especially as a “stable and reliable” public transport network is central to the delivery of the Bee Network.
“This funding will allow us to bring forward an improved bus service, with new buses, lower fares and more frequent services,” Mayor Andy Burnham said of the funding announcement.
“However, as welcome as [the] announcement is, the revenue funding is about half of what we bid for, and we still don’t know how much recovery funding bus operators will get to keep services running.
The funding will ultimately pave the way for the highly-anticipated, London-style transport system – the Bee Network / Credit: TfGM
“We have been working closely with government on a funding model that will enable us to stabilise, rebuild and ultimately transform public transport, but can only deliver the Bee Network if we have a sound foundation to build upon and without a longer-term recovery settlement, the threat of cuts to services still looms large.
“This is the final piece of the puzzle that will really enable us to get on and deliver the Bee Network and this is the case I will make to government as we continue to work together to unlock Greater Manchester’s full potential.”
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Finding Emily is set to be released in cinemas across the UK on 22 May, before it debuts in the US on 28 August.
Featured Image – Matt Squire / Focus Features
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Man jailed following series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer
Emily Sergeant
A man has been sentenced this week following a series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer.
Charles McMurray, of Satchel Close in Wigan, appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of Section 18 wounding with intent, threatening a person with a bladed article, and threats to kill following a distressing incident in Wigan town centre last summer.
The court heard that McMurray arrived on Wallgate at around 6:33am on 9 August 2025 before entering a taxi office, where he stabbed two men without warning.
The victims fled, and McMurray pursued them towards the town centre.
McMurray then went on to threaten a passer‑by at Wigan bus station and held a knife to the man’s stomach. A short time later, he located the injured victims on Standishgate and assaulted one of them again. Following that assault, he chased after another member of the public with the knife shouting that he was going to kill him.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers arrived shortly after 6:50am and found McMurray in possession of the knife, before he was subsequently quickly arrested at the scene.
McMurray has now been sentenced to nine years and nine months behind bars, which police say is a ‘testament to the brave victims’ who gave their accounts.
Speaking following McMurray’s sentencing this week, Detective Constable Harris from Wigan CID, who led the investigation, said: “This was an entirely unprovoked attack which left multiple victims requiring hospital treatment. McMurray is a dangerous and violent offender who is now safely behind bars.
“Knives have no place on our streets, and we hope today’s sentence shows just how seriously we take knife crime. Our communities should feel safe where they live and work, and we are committed to tackling knife crime to ensure no family has to face their loved ones being harmed.
“It is a testament to the brave victims who not only endured this attack but had the courage to provide detailed accounts together with the impact this has had on them, that we have been able to ensure McMurray has been brought to justice.”
Emily Sergeant -
5th April 2022 
