Gulliver’s World theme park given permission to start £5.6m extension
According to Gulliver's World representatives, planning approval means the theme park has been able to secure over 200 jobs - and create more than 40 new roles in the long-term.
Warrington theme park Gulliver’s World has been given the thumbs-up to proceed with a multi-million renovation that will see the addition of a spa, woodland lodges and caravan site.
Pet resorts, staff headquarters, storage workshops and accommodation for school groups are also being arranged as part of the 5.6m expansion.
The theme park was granted planning permission this week – despite objections from almost 700 nearby residents who feared devlopment could worsen traffic, harm wildlife, and add to noise pollution in the area.
But, according to Gulliver’s World representatives, the approval means the theme park has now been able to secure over 200 jobs – and create more than 40 new roles in the long-term.
Gulliver’s said that the team is also seeking to complement existing woodland features, eliminate invasive plant species and plant thousands of new trees in the area.
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Image: County Planning Ltd
Gulliver's World in Warrington has been granted permission to expand, despite objections from nearly 700 people. The theme park is building holiday lodges, a campsite and a spa, on land close to the existing site. pic.twitter.com/VitjFaTmLR
Julie Dalton, MD of Gulliver’s World said:”The pandemic has been a challenging time for our operations. Social distancing measures look set to be in place for some time yet and being able to provide visiting families with clean self-contained accommodation is a really important part of our business plan going forward.
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“The permission aligns our Warrington resort with the range of accommodation and activities on offer at our other three resorts and will help secure over 220 jobs and create 41 new jobs in the future.
“We are very pleased with the outcome.”
Now the theme park has been given the green light, expansion work is expected to begin in 2021.
Back in July, a sister park titled Gulliver’s Valley opened in South Yorkshire – costing a total of 37m to launch.
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Murder investigation launched after two fatal stabbings in Moss Side
Emily Sergeant
A murder investigation has now been launched following two fatal stabbings in Moss Side this past weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called to reports that two people that had suffered stab wounds on Great Southern Street, in the Moss Side area of Manchester, at around 5am yesterday morning (17 November), and when they arrived at the scene, two men were treated for their injuries.
Despite the best efforts of all emergency services involved, the two men were sadly both pronounced dead at the scene.
Since the shocking incident, a man who was arrested on suspicion of murder at the scene earlier yesterday has now been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals, GMP has confirmed.
Initial inquires are currently ongoing, and police say they believe that the suspect and one of the victims were known to each other.
GMP say they are treating this as an isolated incident with “no threat to the wider public”.
#UPDATE | The man who we arrested on suspicion of murder earlier today has now been detained under the Mental Health Act after being assessed by medical professionals. https://t.co/oe03SXv5oT
— Longsight & Moss Side Police (GMP) (@GMPLongsight) November 17, 2024
“We have launched a murder investigation, and detectives from our Major Incident Team continue to work diligently conducting CCTV trawls and speaking to witnesses to find out what has happened to the victims,” explained Chief Superintendent David Meeney, who is the District Commander for the City of Manchester division.
“We swiftly made an arrest and we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this.
“We understand the shockwaves that this devastating news will have caused in the local community and further afield across Greater Manchester.
“We have placed a number of local neighbourhood officers in the area to conduct visible patrols to reassure the community. If you have any concerns, please speak to them, they are there to lend a listening ear.
“I’d like to thank the local community who have all really pulled together and cooperated with our enquiries.”
Chief Superintendent Meeney asked that anyone who has information that may be able to assist enquiries to get in touch police, adding: “Please don’t assume that we know already, any small piece of information may be vital for our Major Incident Team detectives to find out what happened.”
Anyone with any information should contact GMP on 101 quoting 553 of 17/11/24.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raises a whopping £50k for ‘A Bed Every Night’
Danny Jones
This city can stand up and pat itself firmly on the back after this year’s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness raised a whopping £50,000 for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
Manchester, you truly are incredible.
Returning for the sixth time last week, the 2024 edition of Manchester’s annual fundraising 24-hour relay event was a bumper year and then some, as not only did they cruise past their initial target of £25k but there were records all over the place for distances covered and attendance.
With well over 1,000 runners from all over the region descending upon host venue Freight Island and the city centre route at various different points during the 24 hours, we can well and truly say us Mancs ran our absolute socks off for a crucial cause.
Starting from 12pm on Wednesday, 13 November and running until noon the next day, those involved completed a total of 40 consecutive laps with some of those taking part barely stopping for even a moment’s rest in between each one, no matter how dark, cold or painful it got.
Translating to the equivalent of 1,666 beds for those in the Greater Manchester homeless community and counting, the team – comprised of 86 volunteers, hugely supportive overnight security staff and countless runners – managed to generate nearly double the amount of donations raked in last year.
If you want more context, prior to the 2024 event, The 24 Hour MCR Run had raised approximately £52,807.99 over the course of its entire first five years, meaning they’ve basically just matched that overall tally in just one day – albeit a very long one.
The frankly ridiculous tally couldn’t have been reached without help from donation-boosting sponsors AutoTrader and Together Co. (as well as help from Accenture and Mistral), but even without those additions, it was still by far and away the most successful year in the event’s history.
Countless runners booked time off or got laps done on their lunch hours, with many even coming after work on the Wednesday to then return and put in even more graft the following morning before their shift. Simply inspirational stuff.
Volunteers and run leaders like Marv Lucas, Shomak Chakrabarti, Jay Orris, Molly Glenister-Doyle and many others each smashed 100km or more; even The Manc managed to rack up 110k between us.
The Manc doing their bitRunners doing their 5k laps of Manchester city centreStill hundreds there come nightfallBurnham gave a rousing and emotional speech(Credit: The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness)
One Chorlton Runner, 55-year-old Ian Sharpe, set the men’s record with a simply staggering 150k, while Natasha Barclay smashed the women’s record with an unbelievable 117k just 10 days after running almost the same distance at The 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness‘ debut event in Birmingham.
Joining for the busy 7pm, when hundreds of people from Greater Manchester-based run clubs, local businesses and more lined the steps of Freight Island, Mayor Andy Burnham was in attendance and admitted that the immense turnout brought “a tear to the eye.”
Labelling the ever-growing initiative a prime example of “Greater Manchester in action” and community engagement at its finest, it was visible to see how taken aback he was not only by the sheer number of runners but by how much the event has grown since its inception.
Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) CEO, Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock – who also put in some laps herself along with members of her team – was equally blown away by the 2024 event.
Talking to The Manc, she said: “The 24 Hour Run raises vital funds to support our flagship scheme, ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN), providing far more than just a bed for the night but vital wrap-around support to help get people back on their feet.
“No one should have to spend a night on the streets, particularly as we head into the colder, harsher months. Raising funds for ABEN helps to get us closer to a point when we can say we have truly eradicated the need for rough sleeping.” Safe to say a big dint was put in the problem this month.
Speaking on an overwhelmingly successful 24 hours, co-founder Tom Lewis said: “I’m genuinely overwhelmed with the support we received for this year’s event and the Manchester running community and local companies coming together to help make a real impact in the region.
“As for the future, we plan to come back bigger than ever each year. We’ve set an ambitious precedent by doubling our fundraising total for the last few years, which could mean we’re looking at £100,000 next year. At the moment that seems like a dream, but I said the same about £50,000 and here we are.
It goes without saying that raising this much money for such a vitally important problem in the space of 24 hours is phenomenal and we couldn’t possibly be any prouder of all those who took part.
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The supplementary JustGiving page is actually still active for 2024, so you can still donate if you want to add to that already huge sum but, for now, well done to everyone and we’ll see you next year.
The Manc -
3rd September 2020 
