Many hospitality businesses are fearing for their futures after three years of interrupted trade, forced closures, a staff exodus and rising costs.
One thing they all seem to agree on is that additional outdoor seating was hugely beneficial for bringing in trade during the pandemic, and they’d like it back A.S.A.P.
Unfortunately, the temporary Covid rules that allowed for easy street closures and licenses have now expired – leaving some (but not all) struggling businesses at the mercy of the long-winded and expensive Highways application system.
So now, as summer approaches and some Northern Quarter venues are retaining their pavement seating by other means, Manchester businesses are making a concerted push to create change around the rules to level the playing field.
Alvarium’s outdoor seating capacity in 2020 and 2021. / Image: Alvarium
Alvarium’s outdoor seating capacity in 2022. / Image: Alvarium
In a bid to support his own business and those of friends and neighbours nearby, Andy Young, the owner of the Northern Quarter dessert bar Black Milk Cereal, has launched a petition to bring back rules introduced during Covid that allow extra outdoor seating for hospitality – and hopes to have it in place by this summer.
Calling for these rules to be made permanent, he told The Manc that many of his neighbours are still struggling to recover, but that such a change would bring a huge boost in revenue and help people pay off Government loans.
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At a count, he pointed out a number of streets that have been left behind this summer – including Ancoats’ Blossom Street, Houldsworth Street, Peter Street and Tarriff Street – as well as making reference to how the street closures benefitted those in Manchester’s Gay Village.
The petition, which went live on Thursday night, explains that hospitality businesses are still ‘hugely affected’ by the lasting impact of COVID.
Black Milk still has a handful of chairs on the pavement, but is unable to use a large cul de sac next door for additional seating this year without a Traffic Regulation Order. / Image: Black Milk Cereal
It continues: “This is a revenue-neutral way to help them recover fiscally and pay off Government loans like Bounce Back, CIBLS, and Recover Loans.
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“It also has a significant impact on local communities, with friends, families and loved ones able to enjoy food and drink outside in the sun.”
Currently, businesses need to apply – at a cost – for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) or Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO), in order to trade on the street/road.
This process (unlike the temporary scheme legislation now revoked by Parliament) also requires a full consultation and planning consent, which can take a significant amount of time. Time that many feel they don’t have.
Black Milk is not the only business to have been making noise about the need for the extension of Covid outdoor seating rules this summer.
Alvarium’s owners warned ‘the consequences could be detrimental’ if they are not granted a road closure this summer. / Image: Alvarium
Nearby bar Alvarium’s owners made headlines just last week after sharing a heartfelt plea, in which they warned ‘the consequences could be detrimental’ if they are not granted a road closure this summer.
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Speaking to The Manc about the need for more outdoor seating, Alvarium owner Braddan Quayle said: “For me, it’s an absolute no-brainer.
“It saved a lot of businesses and more importantly a lot of jobs over the pandemic and as we discussed we’re still suffering from a hangover which has been said by people like Sacha Lord could take up to five years so why are we not being given the tools to prosper?
“We would have to pay for tables and chairs licenses so the local council would recoup some of the money back that they’ve had to spend, so like I say it’s a no brainer and it’s frustrating that nothing is being done about it and shunting the blame onto Westminster is not an answer and no, unfortunately, shouldn’t be an answer either.”
The petition reads in full: “Due to Covid the Government relaxed rules for restaurants, cafes and bars to get licences for outdoor seating, and also rules for local authorities to make Traffic Orders, including closing roads to enable outdoor hospitality. We want these changes made permanent, to support hospitality businesses.
Outdoor seating is still permitted on Thomas Street, Edge Street and Stevenson Square thanks to cycle routes, whilst other businesses are suffering. / Image: The Bay Horse Tavern
“Provisions relating to outdoor table & chairs licences expire later this year, and relaxed rules for making Traffic Orders to put seating on roads have already fallen. We want both made permanent in time for this summer.
“Hospitality businesses are still hugely affected by the lasting impact of COVID.
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“This is a revenue neutral way to help them recover fiscally and pay off Government loans like Bounce Back, CIBLS, and Recover Loans.
“It also has a significant impact on local communities, with friends, families and loved ones able to enjoy food and drink outside in the sun.
“Summer is coming; please act urgently to save it for small businesses. Sign this petition.”
If you want to sign the petition, you can do so here. If it reaches 10,000 signatures it will be responded to by Parliament and if it reaches 100,000 it will be considered for debate.
Feature image – Black Milk / Alvarium
News
Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data
Danny Jones
The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.
It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.
This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.
At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)
Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.
With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.
The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.
In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:
Rank
Tea
Average UK monthly searches
1
Yorkshire Tea
27,100
2
PG Tips
18,100
3
Pukka Tea
14,800
4
Twinings
12,100
5
Teapigs
8,100
6
Whittards Tea
6,600
7
Tetley
4,400
8
Clipper Tea
4,400
9
Lipton Tea
3,600
10
Barrys Tea
3,600
11
Thompsons Tea
1,300
12
Typhoo
1,300
13
Taylors Tea
1,300
14
M&S Tea
1,300
15
Tesco Tea
1,000
16
Tick Tock Tea
880
17
Sainsbury’s Tea
720
18
Lyons Tea
720
19
Asda Tea
590
20
Aldi Tea
590
21
Waitrose Tea
590
22
Lidl Tea
480
23
Morrisons Tea
320
24
Bewleys Tea
90
25
Cafedirect Tea
40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?
While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?
As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.
Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.
“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…
Featured Images — Yorkshire Tea/Rumman Amin (via Unsplash)
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Manchester palaeontologist unearths bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile
Emily Sergeant
A Manchester-based palaeontologist has unearthed the bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile.
This new identification is a crucial part of a fascinating eight-year long discovery journey.
It all started when a seasoned fossil collector named Paul de la Salle found a giant jawbone on Lilstock Beach, near Bridgewater in Somerset, back in May 2016, and then father and daughter, Justin and Ruby Reynolds from Devon, found the first pieces of a second jawbone and another giant bone while searching for fossils on the beach at Blue Anchor, also in Somerset, in May 2020.
And now, a palaeontologist at the University of Manchester (UoM) Dr Dean Lomax, has identified the fossilised remains of the second gigantic jawbone that measures more than two metres long.
Experts have identified these bones as belonging to the jaws of a new species of enormous ichthyosaur – which is a type of prehistoric marine reptile – and astonishing estimations suggest the oceanic titan would have been more than 25-metres long.
Dr Lomax has been working together with Justin and Ruby Reynolds, along with Paul de la Salle and several family members, since the father-daughter duo first contacted them about their groundbreaking discovery in 2020.
A Manchester palaeontologist has unearthed bones of what may be the largest known marine reptile / Credit: UoM
“I was amazed by Justin and Ruby’s find,” Dr Lomax commented.
“In 2018, my team and Paul de la Salle studied and described Paul’s giant jawbone, and we had hoped that one day another would come to light.”
He explained that Justin and Ruby’s new specimen was “more complete and better preserved” than the first find, and that he “became very excited” at the chance to learn more following their discovery.
As mentioned, the Manchester-based research team, led by Dr Lomax, revealed that the jaw bones belong to a new species of giant ichthyosaur that would’ve been about the size of a blue whale, and they have called the new genus and species Ichthyotitan severnensis – which means ‘giant fish lizard of the Severn’.
The bones – which represent the very last of their kind – are around 202 million years old, and date back to the end of the Triassic Period in a time known as the Rhaetian.
During this time, the gigantic ichthyosaurs swam the seas while the dinosaurs walked on land.
The University of Manchester, where Dr Dean Lomax works as a palaeontologist / Credit: UoM
Ichthyotitan is not the world’s first giant ichthyosaur, but the discoveries by Paul, and Justin and Ruby, are said to be “unique among those known to science”, as they appear roughly 13 million years after their latest geologic relatives – including Shonisaurus sikanniensis from British Columbia in Canada, and Himalayasaurus tibetensis from Tibet in China.
Speaking on the confirmation of the bones’ identification this week, Dr Lomax said: “This research has been ongoing for almost eight years.
“It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around what was the UK during the Triassic Period.
Georgina Pellant -
6th May 2022 
