Greater Manchester has secured £549,744 from the ‘Safer Streets’ fund to launch a series of schemes aimed at helping women and girls feel safer when out and about across the region.
The securing of the funding follows the launch of Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Gender-Based Violence Strategy last month – which GMCA says outlines how it and its partners will tackle the many forms of gender-based violence through a whole-system approach over the next 10 years.
The strategy was launched after extensive consultation and engagement with individuals, professionals, community groups, and charities – including those that support victims.
During the consultation, street harassment and harassment on and around public transport, were some of the most frequently-mentioned issues raised by women and girls, who said they wanted to feel safer and know who to contact if they did feel unsafe.
The ‘Safer Streets’ fund was launched by the Home Office in 2020 and allows Police and Crime Commissioners and local authorities across the UK to apply for funding for crime prevention plans.
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The securing of the funding follows the launch of Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) Gender-Based Violence Strategy last month / Credit: Pxfuel
GMCA says Greater Manchester’s successful funding bid – which was submitted alongside Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), and Oldham Council – will be used to “deploy and test several interventions” on the tram network and at key stops to respond to the issues raised by women and girls.
If proved successful, the schemes could be rolled at more widely – including beyond transport.
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The funding will cover pilot interventions including:
A reporting campaign led by TfGM to educate passengers on reporting mechanisms and to increase reporting of incidents via the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Live Chat System.
Working with women and girls to understand what training and campaigns they would like to see and developing a bespoke package to deliver to boys and men.
The presence of trusted adults and trained staff to increase security to prevent serious incidents, as well as test more informal approaches to educate and engage people and increase safety and reporting.
A safe hub and safe places scheme, which will enable increased security to prevent serious incidents using a detached youth team and Street Angels to educate and engage people and increase safety and reporting.
Integration and upgrades to the CCTV system in key locations so that images can be instantly shared between TfGM and council systems, increasing facial recognition and coverage, and better enabling tracking of routes to car parks.
570 staff – including Customer Service Representatives, TravelSafe officers and tram drivers – will be trained to spot and appropriately respond to incidents and to encourage increased reporting.
A poster campaign displayed across the tram network designed by students on acceptable/unacceptable behaviours such as catcalling.
The funding will be used to “deploy and test several interventions” on the tram network across Greater Manchester / Credit: TfGM
These schemes will be trialled, and their success measured, with the intention of “sustaining and expanding successful interventions” across Greater Manchester, GMCA assures.
Speaking on the securing of funding, Bev Hughes – Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire – said: “GMCA has worked with partners to develop a long-term strategy to end gender-based violence and ensure Greater Manchester can be one of the best places in the world to grow up, get on and grow old.
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“The Safer Streets fund pilot schemes are just the first steps in our 10-year journey to enhance the safety of women and girls, while preventing gender-based violence from happening in the first place and challenging the attitudes and inequalities that enable it.”
Find more about Greater Manchester’s Gender-Based Violence Strategyhere.
Featured Image – Pxfuel
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
The Manc -
13th October 2021 
