Manchester City Council to spend £6m on cutting carbon emissions from seven local buildings
The National Football Museum, Wythenshawe Active Lifestyle Centre, and The Place at Platt Lane are just some of the buildings to benefit from decarbonisation.
Manchester City Council is to spend almost £6 million on further work to reduce carbon emissions from buildings across Manchester.
In what is said to be another step towards the Council’s ambitious goal of halving its direct carbon emissions by 2025 as it works towards the region-wide target of becoming carbon neutral by 2038, a whopping £4.9 million in Government funding for work to reduce emissions has now been secured.
With a further Council contribution of £1 million, almost £6 million will now be spent on delivering a scheme to cut emissions from seven significant buildings across Manchester.
According to the Council, the funding has been awarded in the latest round of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme – which is being delivered by Salix Finance as part of a joint bid along with Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)
A previous £19.1 million awarded under the scheme has already seen work to reduce emissions in 13 council buildings – including the National Aquatics Centre, National Cycling Centre, and Town Hall Extension.
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The buildings set to benefit from decarbonisation with this funding are:
The National Football Museum
Wythenshawe Active Lifestyle Centre
Claremont Resource Centre
Harpurhey District Social Services
Hall Lane Resource Centre
The Place at Platt Lane
One Central Park (Arbeta)
The National Football Museum is one of the buildings set to benefit from decarbonisation work / Credit: Manchester City Council
The latest scheme will predominantly be used for the installation of air source heat pumps, the Council explained, with additional funding to be allocated or the use of solar photovoltaic panels and LED lights “where appropriate”.
Speaking on the funding win, Councillor Tracey Rawlins – Executive Member for Environment for Manchester City Council – said: “Council buildings are our biggest source of direct emissions.
“Taking action to retrofit these buildings and significantly improve their energy efficiency is one of the ways we are facing up to the urgent challenge of climate change.
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The Wythenshawe Active Lifestyle Centre and The Place at Platt Lane are two other buildings set for decarbonisation work / Credit: WCHG | The Place
“I am pleased that we have been able to secure further funding to support this ambition.
“We will continue to pursue the potential for retrofitting, whether for our buildings or the city’s wider housing stock.”
“We are delighted to be working with Manchester City Council on the decarbonisation journey,” added Arthur Jones – Programme Co-ordinator at Salix Finance.
“This will have a significant impact for the wider community as a whole.”
Featured Image – GMCA
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Police appeal after Salford woman, 95, threatened by window cleaner in her own home
Emily Sergeant
Police are appealing for information after an elderly woman was threatened inside her own home during an attempted robbery.
Around 11am yesterday morning (27 January), officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Salford division responded to reports that a woman had cash demanded from her at an address on Belcroft Drive in Little Hulton.
It is believed that a man entered the property after offering to clean the woman’s – who police have confirmed is 95-years-old – windows, before tying her hands together, and then demanding her cash and purse.
The man’s efforts were disrupted when another woman who knew the victim arrived at the house, and thankfully because of this, no injuries were reported and the victim is being supported by officers.
The man fled the scene, and no arrests have been made at this time.
This is why police are now appealing to the public for any information that they may have that could help with their investigation while extensive enquires are ongoing – including any CCTV, dashcam, or doorbell footage from around the area at the time.
Investigators attended the scene and gathered evidence, which is currently being assessed and acted upon, but are also keen to speak to anyone who saw anything ‘suspicious’.
The man who committed the offence was described as white male, approximately in his late 60s or early 70s, with short mousy brown hair combed back, no facial hair, glasses, appeared well-kempt, and was wearing a dark raincoat jacket, jeans, and dark-coloured shoes.
“This was a vile incident in which a woman was tied up and threatened, and we are determined to locate the man responsible,” commented Detective Inspector Paul Davies, from GMP’s Salford district.
“Thankfully, this was not a more serious situation and we commend the brave actions of the lady’s friend who confronted the man and called officers. As we progress this investigation, we are appealing for anyone with any information to please come forward.”
Can you help? Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or the Live Chat service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log 1082 of 27/01/26, or alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Featured Image – GMP
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NHS launches new AI and robot cancer detection pilot offering ‘glimpse into future’
Emily Sergeant
The NHS has launched a ‘trailblazing’ new AI and robot pilot to help spot cancers sooner.
Patients who are facing suspected lung cancer could get answers sooner under the new pilot that makes use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technology to help doctors reach hard-to-detect cancers earlier, and all without with fewer tests too.
At the moment, patients are faced with weeks of repeat scans and procedures to come to a diagnosis.
But this could soon be replaced with a single, half-hour cancer biopsy – reducing prolonged uncertainty, and avoiding more invasive surgery.
According to the NHS, the new approach uses AI software to rapidly analyse lung scans and flag small lumps that are most likely to be cancerous, before a robotic camera is then used to guide biopsy tools through the airways with much greater precision than standard techniques.
A new NHS pilot using AI and robotic technology will help doctors reach hard-to-detect lung cancers earlier.
Weeks of scans and procedures could be replaced with a single biopsy, reducing uncertainty and avoiding more invasive surgery.
The robot can reach nodules as small as 6mm – which is around the size of a grain of rice – that are hidden deep in the lung and are often deemed too risky or difficult to access using existing methods, and once AI has highlighted higher-risk areas, doctors can then take a precise tissue sample, which is sent to specialist laboratories and reviewed by expert cancer teams to confirm or rule out cancer.
The NHS’s top cancer doctor hailed the pilot – which is currently being carried out at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust – as ‘a glimpse of the future of cancer detection’.
“Waiting to find out if you might have cancer is incredibly stressful for patients and their families,” admitted Professor Peter Johnson, who is NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer.
The NHS has launched a new AI and robot cancer detection pilot that’s offering a ‘glimpse into future’ / Credit: rawpixel
“Our lung cancer screening programme means that we are picking up more cancers at an early stage than ever, and by bringing AI and robotics together in this trailblazing NHS pilot, we’re bringing in the very latest technology to give clinicians a clearer look inside the lungs and support faster, more accurate biopsies.
“This is a glimpse of the future of cancer detection.
“Innovation like this is exactly how we can help diagnose more cancers faster, so treatment can be most effective, and why the NHS continues to lead the way in bringing new technology safely into frontline care.”
Emily Sergeant -
3rd June 2022 
