Manchester’s restaurants will be doing their bit to help vulnerable people in need this Christmas by partnering up with the national StreetSmart campaign.
The campaign, which launches on November 1, will see Manchester diners given the option to add £1 donation to their bill – with all funds raised going directly to local charitable organisations who help Mancs living on the streets and in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
Restaurants confirmed to take part this year so far include Ramona, Street Urchin, Evuna, Batard, Tampopo, 20 Stories, Banyan, Firehouse, Solita and Bottega by. San Carlo at Selfridges.
Across previous years, the campaign has raised over £10million in total – with ALL monies going directly to local organisations, thanks to the generosity of sponsors Land Aid.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham speaking to a homeless man / Credit: GMCA
Whilst StreetSmart works with restaurants across the country, this year it has partnered with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s charity to ensure that donations made in Manchester restaurants not only stay in the local area but make the greatest impact possible.
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This year’s campaign will run throughout the Christmas period, a time when many of us are out indulging ourselves in bars and restaurants.
Funds will go towards essential services like the creation of beds, housing, mental health advice and training and job support.
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It’s the busiest time of the year for the hospitality scene, with diners tending to spend much more in venues over this period than they do throughout the rest of the year.
Tim Heatley from Capital & Centric, Chair of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, launched the scheme at partner restaurant The Firehouse on Swan Street last night.
Speaking to a selection of businesses from Manchester’s hospitality scene, he said: “In the Greater Manchester Mayors charity we believe that homelessness has no place in our city, and so we push innovative ideas and ways in which we can reduce homelessness.
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Inside The Firehouse at Ramona, one of the restaurant’s that has partnered with StreetSmart this year / Image: Ramona
“COVID has been particularly hard for the hospitality sector hasn’t it, it’s been pretty tough on all of you, which is even more heartwarming that so many of you are prepared to support this streetsmart initiative.
“But it’s been particularly hard of course for people who are at risk of being homeless or who are already homeless’s well so it’s even more important right now that we do whatever we can to support homelessness initiatives.”
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on people already living in poverty and the homeless community in Greater Manchester, with an increase in the number of people being made homeless sadly set to rise as the pandemic continues
The funds raised by StreetSmart partners in Manchester will go towards the critical work of organisations including The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity tackling rough sleeping in the city, as well as other local homegrown charities helping to improve the lives of homeless young people.
These organisations are focused on helping individuals break the cycle, regain their dignity and rebuild their lives via positive action, as well as providing crisis and emergency shelter and food during the pandemic.
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In previous years, Manchester restaurants have raised more than £37,000 for the campaign as a result of generous locals dipping into their pockets.
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, commented: “I have been so encouraged by the number of Greater Manchester businesses who have stepped forward to help with our efforts to reduce rough sleeping and homelessness.
“We are lucky to be home to many brilliant hospitality businesses which aren’t just great places to go, but which also are prepared to use their success for the benefit of others.
“That’s the Greater Manchester way and long may it be the case. StreetSmart takes this work to the next level and I hope our businesses and the generous Greater Manchester public will get on board with it. We have a huge challenge ahead in preventing a rise in homelessness.”
Andy Burnham invites opposition party leaders to help tackle ‘broken’ social care system
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has announced that he is making the choice to fix the ‘broken’ social care system by finding ‘common ground’ across party lines.
Attempting to draw a line under what the Government has described as ‘decades of decline’ and a refusal to tackle these problems head on, Andy Burnham has now called on all political parties to focus on solving problems and finding solutions together, rather than pointing fingers at the opposition and getting nowhere.
The Prime Minister has reiterated the need for ‘a new kind of politics’ that puts differences aside in order to come together and face up to the challenges that he says Westminster has left unaddressed for ‘too long’.
Burnham invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties, Kemi Badenoch and Ed Davey, to meet with him today (29 July) to ‘kickstart’ this work and discuss an urgent reform on social care.
The three leaders were jointed by Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and Baroness Louise Casey, who is leading the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care which will draw up recommendations to deliver a National Care Service.
Baroness Casey has also launched the new Big Conversation on Care today.
The Big Conversation on Care is giving the public a chance to share their views and help shape the future of adult social care in England so that it is designed for the people it is there to serve.
The consultation will be open to everyone through a new online platform, and will start off the conversation by asking people about what the ‘values and principles’ we should all expect from a care system are.
“Last week I said we needed a different kind of politics [and] nowhere is that more urgent than social care,” Andy Burnham said in his speech.
“For decades, Governments have kicked this issue down the road because they’ve seen it as too risky, too difficult, and too complicated. Politicians might have different views but I’m serious about fixing this issue, and to do that, we have to find common ground and listen to others to find a way forward.
“That’s why I’m making this choice and I’m prepared to put everything I’ve got behind it.”
The Prime Minister says it’s time to ‘draw a line under people playing politics’ when the human cost of that means carers are struggling, families are paying the price, and the NHS is ‘buckling’ under the strain.
“This comes down to a choice,” his statement continued.
“We can carry on passing the problem to the next generation, or we can face it head on and work together to build a care system that gives people dignity, security and the support they deserve.”
Featured Image – Age Cymru
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Brits start petition to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closure amid budget cuts
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester, the North West and Brits at large are urging people across the country to pen a petition to save the Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing down for good.
In fact, this is just one petition among numerous protests over its impending closure.
For anyone who somehow hadn’t come across the sad news, the national institution that is Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) in Cheshire, which includes the award-winning and world-famous James Lovell Telescope, is scheduled to shut down permanently by March 2028.
Despite having served a crucial part in alleviating Cold War tensions back in the 1960s, operating as an important scientific hub under the University of Manchester umbrella, and remaining a major tourist pull for the region, it’s unfortunately lost its funding and is on course to be decommissioned.
While the massive Northern landmark near Macclesfield is home not only to the largest telescope in the UK, important physics research and even an annual music, arts and science festival in the form of Bluedot, its cultural significance doesn’t appear enough to keep it solvent.
Described as a “huge blow to astronomy” not just here in Britain but for the global industry as a whole, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) have even described it as a form of “scientific vandalism.”
Having been open since around the end of WWII, before going on to possess the largest steerable radio telescope of its kind in the entire world by 1957, it’s been used to identify distant planets, stars, galaxies and more up in the far reaches of space.
Dr Megan Argo, reader in astrophysics at the University of Lancashire – which also shares a fruitful partnership with the centre alongside UoM, Cambridge, York and many more – said in a statement: “Jodrell Bank is still a very active facility and remains at the forefront of research.
“Recent upgrades have facilitated new discoveries about planet, star and galaxy formation which tell us about our own history, helping to answer one of humanity’s biggest questions: are we alone in the universe?” Put simply, the steps currently being taken have been called “short-sighted” to say the least.
With that in mind, people across the sector and online are now rallying behind the initiative to try and rescue the important and historic UNESCO site before it’s too late.
Cheshire and Warrington mayoral candidate Ben Fletcher is one of several notable names that have publicly backed the push to save the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre as a whole, along with its highly valuable facilities.
Meanwhile, one user on X added: “I’ve got an opinion on the Jodrell Bank stupidity – and I’m sorry, but that’s a polite understatement. But it is frankly unrepeatable in impolite company, let alone polite.
“I hope the nitwits who have made the decision feel proud about themselves though. Because pride comes before the fall.”
You can see the numerous posts from supporter voices on the Change.org page, including everyone from impassioned scientists and researchers who first discovered their love for these subjects by visiting the attraction, as well as Northerners who simply enjoyed some of their most precious memories there.
The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) needs to cut an estimated £700 million by 2029/30, and JBO needs to find enough funds to cover its £2.8m budget to avoid closing in the next couple of years. So, if you’ve been stirred by the passionate appeals, you can sign the petition HERE.
Much wider than greater Manchester. Remember going as a child from Merseyside, and have taken my children, too.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd October 2021 
