Major UK supermarkets provide updates on delivery services
Several of the major UK supermarkets have issued statements in response to the growing volume of website traffic; providing updates for customers hoping to get food and drink dropped off on their doorsteps.
As it turns out, the great Scramble For Delivery Slots of April 2020 wasn’t just an infuriating flash in the pan, after all.
Six months down the line, we’re all back at square one: Staring at the delivery pages on supermarket websites and hitting the refresh button with one hand whilst crossing our fingers with the other.
Joy.
As cases rise and restrictions increase, more and more people are turning back to home drop-off services – whether its due to isolation, shielding, or to avoid social interaction with others wherever possible.
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Several of the major supermarkets have issued statements in response to the growing volume of website traffic, offering updates for customers hoping to get food and drink dropped off on their doorsteps.
Here’s what some of the major brands have had to say so far.
Same-day delivery isn’t available from Tesco right now, but at the time of writing there are slots available with three to five days.
Tesco is prioritising services for customers in isolation – and there’s an option to let the driver know you’re isolating so you don’t have to come into contact with them.
Tesco shopping doesn’t arrive in bags as standard anymore, “so you’ll need to choose to get your shopping in bags when you check out.”
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The bag charge is 40p.
The supermarket stated: “We know that it’s difficult right now to get a delivery slot for online shopping. We’re at full capacity for the next few weeks, so if you’re able to shop in-store safely instead of booking a delivery, it would be a great help. This will allow us to start freeing up more slots for the more vulnerable.
“We’re looking at every opportunity to increase the number of slots available. As we increase our capacity, we’ll also set aside more of these slots for our most vulnerable customers.”
At the time of writing Asda still has a number of slots available for delivery in Manchester – but they’re filling up pretty quickly.
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The Asda Delivery Pass service is currently not available to new customers due to high demand.
The supermarket added: “Unfortunately we cannot guarantee delivery slots to existing Delivery Pass customers either, so if you do not save money on your delivery pass, we will refund the difference automatically with an eVoucher.”
Asda has also stated that in certain circumstances they will place limits on certain products – likely in an attempt to prevent that toilet roll fiasco in spring from happening all over again.
Sainsbury’s is continuing to distribute food to homes – prioritising delivery slots for vulnerable customers.
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“We have been working hard to expand our service across home delivery and we are now able to offer home delivery slots to many of our customers,” the supermarket stated.
“We’re continuing to prioritise access to home delivery slots for vulnerable customers, and are releasing new slots regularly.”
There are apparently as many as 700,000 weekly slots available across stores.
New customers can also register online for both home delivery and click and collect slots.
Morrisons delivery slots are looking pretty packed out in the city right now, but it’s still worth trying your luck as drop-offs may be more widely available in certain postcodes.
The supermarket also does pre-packed food boxes (meat and veggie) – which are great to order either for yourself or send to a family member/friend who might be isolating.
There’s also some rationing going on – with items like toilet roll and disinfectant limited to three items per person to prevent stockpilers grabbing all the goods.
Co-Op appears to have a number of slots available – although this may change as demand is expected to increase further over the coming days.
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The minimum spend is £25, and drop-off prices vary depending on where you’re getting your items dropped off.
You’ll need to sign up and register an account to arrange delivery.
The supermarket stated: “We are restricting all delivery orders temporarily to 30 items per shop, so everyone has the opportunity to get hold of those essential items they need.”
Work finally begins on site of UK’s first majority LGBTQ+ housing scheme in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Work has finally got underway on the start of the UK’s first majority LGBTQ+ housing scheme here in Manchester.
The exciting new £37 million flagship development – which is being built on the site of the former Spire Hospital on Russell Road, in the Whalley Range area of Manchester – will be comprised of 80 one and two-bedroom apartments for older people over the age of 55 for social rent, alongside an additional 40 affordable shared ownership apartments.
Plans for the scheme have been co-produced in partnership with the Russell Road Community Steering Group, Manchester City Council, and the LGBT Foundation.
Delivered in partnership with contractors Rowlinson, and funded through Great Places, the Homes England Strategic Partnership, GMCA Brownfield Housing Fund, and Manchester City Council, the high-quality and sustainable building will offer a ‘safe and welcome feel’ with an ‘inviting presence’.
While the goal is to create an inclusive space, the scheme has also been designed to respect the surrounding conservation area.
On top of this, the low carbon scheme will also feature shared communal facilities including lounges, treatment rooms, and landscaped gardens.
The Council says the new scheme is part of its ambitious target to deliver at least 36,000 new homes across the city region by 2032 – at least 10,000, of which, will be social rent, Council, or considered ‘genuinely affordable’ housing.
It comes after more than 800 ‘Extra Care’ homes have been built in Manchester in recent years, and are another 1,000 are in the pipeline – to meet the demand for older people in the city.
A CGI of the newly-approved LGBTQ+ Extra Care housing scheme development in Whalley Range / Credit: Manchester City Council
“This is a real milestone moment for this development,” commented Cllr Gavin White, who is the Executive Member for Housing and Development at Manchester City Council.
“The Council has believed in the positive impact an LGBTQ+ majority housing development could have for this community for many years, and to celebrate the social rent homes officially starting on site is a great moment for the city.
“Working with the LGBT Foundation, we know that older LGBTQ+ people worry about being able to access appropriate and inclusive housing later in life. Although we hope all older person’s accommodation is welcoming to everyone, this scheme will provide safe, secure and affordable housing for LGBTQ+ people to live with dignity.
“We look forward to the completion of these homes that will complement and enhance this part of Whalley Range, and be an important part of this community.”
The project is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2027.
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
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Parklife shares statement after festival’s brand-new stage closed down before headliners
Daisy Jackson
Parklife has released a full statement after the festival was forced to close its newest stage, and cancel two headline performances.
The huge Heaton Park festival had been running smoothly all weekend, with blistering performances from 50 Cent, Pawsa, Jorja Smith and plenty more.
But on Sunday, local lad and rising star DJ Josh Baker took to the brand-new Matinee stage to enormous crowds.
Although Parklife installed a queue system to manage numbers inside the enclosed festival stage, the crowds outside became very large, very quickly, and the decision was made to shut the stage down for everyone’s safety.
Several people have shared videos on TikTok, like the one below, that show the scenes around the Matinee stage and audiences being told the area would need to be evacuated.
The stage was shut down for the remainder of the evening, meaning a headline performance from Chris Stussy was also cancelled.
Parklife has said this decision was taken to ‘remove the risk of any potential incidents’ and to prioritise the safety of festival attendees.
Josh Baker told fans: “I deeply apologise. I can’t really put into words what today was going to mean to me.”
Chris Stussy said in a statement on his Instagram: “Really gutted I’m unable to perform at Parklife tonight, flew straight from Barcelona to play a 3 hours closing set but due to safety reasons and the stage being over crowded, the organisation decided to shut the stage down as it may have caused unsafe situations for those who were there.
“Despite being disappointed, safety comes first and we will make this right very soon.”
Parklife hasn’t publicly addressed the incident but has shared this statement: “As a result of crowd movement at the Matinee Stage and on the advice of our safety team to remove the risk of any potential incidents, Parklife made the decision to close the stage for the remainder of the final day of the festival.
“Unfortunately it has been impossible to relocate Josh Baker’s and Chris Stussy’s performances to a new stage.
“Our teams worked quickly and diligently to address the situation and the safety of our festival attendees is always our utmost priority.”
The Manc -
8th October 2020 
