Greater Manchester has a ‘strong case’ to exit tough restrictions when the Government reconsiders its tier system next week, local leaders have said.
All ten GM boroughs were placed straight into Tier 3 measures on December 2 – leaving many local premises closed beyond the end of the national lockdown.
A ban on indoor mixing continues to remains intact, whilst indoor entertainment venues have been ordered to remain shut.
The local hospitality sector is being forced to trade as takeaway-only.
However, plummeting cases have presented a strong argument for the region to drop down to Tier 2 when the government reviews restrictions next week.
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Both Mayor Andy Burnham and council leader Sir Richard Leese said they will be “pressing very hard” to make that happen.
📊 The last slide is a table showing a comparison between case rates in GM, London and Liverpool city-region when decisions were made on tiering.
🗣️ @SirRichardLeese says the numbers present a clear case for Greater Manchester to be moved into Tier 2 restrictions.
Mr Burnham said: “We have been in restrictions coming up for five months and I think we are looking to the government to give us a bit of hope and reward the good people of Greater Manchester who have followed the restrictions.”
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Mr Leese added that the “significant decline” in cases reflected that the region was ready to have the toughest measures removed.
If Greater Manchester is reclassified as a Tier 2 region next week, restaurants and pubs could reopen from December 19.
The likes of cinemas and theatres can also operate in Tier 2, with fans also permitted to attend sports events.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock commented earlier this week: “Of course you’ve got to take into account that Christmas is coming up, but, nevertheless, with the case rates coming down as they are – coming down by almost third in the last week – then we will be absolutely looking at each area and seeing what is the right tier for that area.
“I want to see areas that have pulled together, followed the rules, got the case rate down – like Liverpool has over the last month, which has led to it going into Tier 2 – I want to see that happening more broadly.”
News
Travel warning issued as tens of thousands to descend for Manchester Half Marathon
Daisy Jackson
A travel warning has been issued ahead of the Manchester Half Marathon this weekend, with tens of thousands of runners and spectators expected to arrive in the city.
People are being urged to plan their journeys ahead of time, with significant road closures in place from the city centre as far out as Sale.
Road closures – and subsequent bus diversions – will also affect parts of Stretford, Chorlton, Trafford, and surrounding areas.
Around 32,000 people are expected to take part in the Manchester Half Marathon this Sunday, with thousands more coming out to cheer the runners on.
Transport for Greater Manchester is advising people that the Bee Network trams will be the best way to get around over the weekend.
Extra trams will be operating to provide as much capacity as possible.
Road closures and bus diversions will start on Saturday 3 October and continue until the actual race day on Sunday 4 October, lifting fully by 8.30pm.
Tens of thousands of runners and spectators will descend on Manchester for the half marathon
Earlier this year, the Manchester Marathon led to a record-breaking day for Metrolink trams, with the highest number of passengers ever recorded on a single day in the network’s history.
Whether running or cheering, people are advised to use the Bee Network app to plan their journeys and are strongly encouraged not to drive within the affected areas.
Steve Gilholme, Head of Events at Transport for Greater Manchester, said: “The Manchester Half Marathon is another one of those special occasions where the people of Greater Manchester and beyond come together, with thousands of people taking on the challenge and raising money for good causes, while many more will line the route to cheer them on.
“This does mean the city centre and especially trams will be incredibly busy so please plan ahead and give yourself extra time to make journeys.
“The Bee Network app and website will be the best places to get the latest travel information and tap and go contactless payments are the quickest and easiest way to pay.”
You can see all the road closures for the Manchester Half Marathon HERE.
Funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the 14 national museums of the UK are all located in England – including the Imperial War Museum North, and the Science and Industry Museum in our region – and free entry to was first introduced all the way back in 2001, with millions of visitors having benefitted since.
National museums are said to add more than £1 billion a year to the economy, and bring in visitors from all over the world.
In fact, seven of the UK’s 10 most visited museums are national museums, and 7.1 million people visited the Natural History Museum and 6.4 million visited the British Museum in 2025 alone.
The Government has announced that all national museums in the UK will remain free for everyone to visit / Credit: Science Museum Group | Wikimedia Commons
Earlier this year though, the Government committed to working with local leaders and the museum and tourism sectors to explore whether charging overseas visitors could help museums’ finances.
But following this, it’s now believed that charging could deter visitors, and that the impacts and benefits would ‘not be felt equally’ across the sector.
Instead, the free entry will be funded by the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund – which is providing £760 million for museums – while £600 million of infrastructure funding is supporting national museums and DCMS-sponsored cultural organisations.
The latter funding will be used to address critical maintenance and works to estates, and enable institutions to deliver on their commitments to share collections with visitors from around the world.
The Manc -
11th December 2020 
