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Smoke billows across Manchester city centre as historic mill goes up in flames

BREAKING NEWS: Neighbouring buildings are being evacuated.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 23rd June 2025

Smoke is billowing across the Manchester skyline this evening after a huge fire has struck the historic Hotspur Press building.

The former mill just off Whitworth Street West has gone up in flames, with smoke seen for miles.

People have been sharing pictures and videos of the blaze from all over the city centre.

The Hotspur Press stands just below the train lines between Manchester Oxford Road and Deansgate train station, meaning that the fire has caused significant travel disruption.

Trains out of Manchester Oxford Road are currently all showing as delayed.

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The building was set to be redeveloped into a student accommodation tower block, with a recent planning application requesting to change the original consented brick cladding to an aluminium façade. A large emergency services response is on the scene.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) told The Manc: “Firefighters are currently tackling a large fire at the derelict Hotspur Press building on Cambridge Street in Manchester. An evacuation of the neighbouring apartment buildings is taking place.

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“The public are advised to stay away from the area while crews continue to tackle the fire.”

A further update from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service at around 7pm said: “Crews are working hard to tackle the fire at the Hotspur Press building. 20 fire engines from stations across Greater Manchester are at the scene, where three floors of the building are alight. Multiple jets and the air unit are in use to prevent the spread of the fire.

“All floors of the two apartment blocks at 1 Cambridge Street have been evacuated.”

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National Rail has said: “There is a fire next to the track at Manchester Oxford Road, closing all lines at this station. As a result, trains may be cancelled, severely delayed by up to 100 minutes or revised.

“If you are travelling this evening, your train may not run its full route and may terminate / start from a different station.

“Please check before you travel as major disruption is expected to continue until the end of the day.”

As the police cordon has expanded, local businesses have been impacted – Bunny Jackson’s on First Street has been evacuated and is closed.

They shared: “We have had to evacuate due to a fire near by! We’re unsure of when we will be able to reopen. Safety first, folks!”

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Plumes can be seen for miles, with residents in Salford, Hyde, Bolton, and further afield reporting sightings, including some even in Cheshire – fair to say it’s one of, if not the largest, fire in Manchester city centre for some time.

Witnesses have said that crowds are now being cleared from the area due to a risk of asbestos.

A witness at the scene told The Manc that a police officer wearing a mask was urging bystanders to exit the vicinity immediately, stating that “smoke is asbestos-contaminated because of the roof.”

If nearby, please keep away and urge others to stay safe.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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A documentary about Manchester’s famous homeless charity run has just dropped on YouTube

Danny Jones Danny Jones free documentary film about homeless charity run in Manchester on YouTube

An award-winning, short, and completely free documentary about Manchester’s famous annual homeless charity run is now available to watch in its entirety on YouTube.

Following a number of short snippets and teasers shared on social media over the last few months, the mini-doc by local moviemaker Gigi Shum was finally released on the streaming platform this past June.

Documenting not only the backstory of the inspiring Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness – now a much-loved annual tradition that has since spread to multiple other locations – it also gives a peek behind the curtain at those who organise it and the thousands of inspirational participants.

You can watch one of the most recent trailers here.

Capturing the sixth edition of the consecutive relay run, which spans the length of an entire day (which was another record-breaking year before being smashed in November 2025), Shum didn’t shy away from getting some laps done herself, but she also managed to shoot a truly important public access film.

A trail runner herself with a number of other works to her name already, including a well-supported Kickstarter revolving around neurodiversity, Gigi prides herself on “exploring the neglected truth in the world” through touching tales like The 24 Hour Run.

The adopted Manc and MetFilm School graduate’s roots may hail from Hong Kong, but she’s well and truly immersed and embedded herself in the Greater Manchester community through spotlighting local initiatives like this.

More importantly, this is much more than a student project: the bitesize 21:22 picture has been nominated and won at numerous festivals across the globe, including shortlists like the Florence Film Awards, a finalist in both the Independent Shorts and LEEDSflix competitions, among several others.

Aside from the obvious humanitarian and charitable angle of The 24 Hour Run‘s narrative, the talking heads with members of the team and numerous inspiring runners taking on incredible challenges on behalf of the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme make you proud to be from this part of the world.

You can watch it in full down below.

About the same run-time as most sitcom episodes – we’d argue this is a well more worthwhile watch.

Deeply moving stuff, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Speaking after a limited number of exclusive screenings, Gigi told The Manc: “What began as a question about why people run through the night transformed into an exploratory journey of human resilience, community, and active compassion on the streets of Manchester.”

It’s also worth mentioning that the young director and producer is doing lots more to contribute to the region, helping out as part of the Manchester Refugee Support Network (MRSN), supporting asylum seekers who may otherwise end up sleeping rough themselves.

They’ve raised hundreds of thousands for the likes of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity since the event’s inception back in 2019. Mayor Andy Burnham himself may be looking toward no.10 Downing Street moving forward, but fundraising on behalf of this organisation will always be a part of his legacy.

Better still, this dedicated crew of volunteers have also generated vital funds for similar causes in the likes of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Hereford, and soon to be even more.

Set to debut in Liverpool later this year, another city renowned for backing themselves and looking after their own, we can’t wait to see how much more impact they make on the North West.

The Manchester 24 Hour Run raises over £70,000 for the region’s homeless community
Always honoured to play our part in this yearly endurance challenge – and we’re proud of all you, too.

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Featured Images — The MCR 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness (supplied)

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Transformational plans set to be approved for ‘major’ new Manchester city centre park

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

‘Transformational’ plans to regenerate an underused Manchester city centre site are set to be approved next week.

Following ‘overwhelming’ public support for proposals set out in a public consultation earlier this year – where more than 90% of respondents supported the key principles – Manchester City Council says its executive is expected approve an ambitious vision for the Water Street neighbourhood at a meeting next week (Weds 8 July).

The Water Street Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF) is set to create a city centre district developed around a new urban park. 

The SRF is described as being a ‘high-level blueprint’ for future investment that will guide development through the planning process.

The plans are comprised of a new landscape-led neighbourhood that combines homes – including 20% of them being ‘affordable’ – improved public spaces, enhanced walking and cycling connections, and ‘significant’ new green infrastructure centred around the River Medlock. 

Sustainability was highlighted as an area of importance to local residents in the consultation, and to meet these demands, the plans include increased biodiversity, sustainable drainage features, and a largely car-free neighbourhood to support Manchester’s zero-carbon ambitions, as well as the new urban park being at the heart of it all.

The new neighbourhood will also offer plenty of new jobs, skills, and investment opportunities. 

“The wider Water Street area has seen major regeneration in recent years with world-class investment at St John’s and Aviva Studios on its doorstep, alongside impressive residential developments,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration.

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“This renewed regeneration framework will help guide investment to bring this area up to the same ambitious level with new housing, including affordable housing to create an inclusive new neighbourhood, complemented by a brand-new city centre urban park.”

Featured Image – Manchester City Council (Supplied)

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