News

Manchester Youth Zone reopens following impressive £1.6m transformation

Such a brilliant space for the community.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 11th August 2025

Manchester Youth Zone has officially relaunched following a significant £1.6 million investment and months of transformation.

Designed hand-in-hand with the young people of Harpurhey, where the centre – which is proudly a member of the OnSide Youth Zones – is based, the revitalised space represents a bold new chapter for Manchester Youth Zone (MYZ) and the new state-of-the-art facilites offer an exciting range of opportunities and experiences for young people to enjoy.

MYZ is open all year round to provide a ‘safe space’ for young people across North Manchester aged eight to 19, or up to 25 with additional needs.

Football, basketball, podcasting, music, cooking, boxing, dance, and dedicated wellbeing spaces are just some of the activities on offer for young people now that the refurbishment is complete.

The refurbishment is a major milestone for MYZ and its renewed mission to help young people discover their ‘purpose, passion, and pathway’ in life.

Manchester Youth Zone has reopened following an impressive £1.6m transformation / Credit: Supplied

This means that the newly-refurbished centre also offers space and facilities for meaningful support – with one-to-one navigators and youth workers working closely with the children and families to help ‘break down barriers’ and ‘unlock potential’.

MYZ is one of 140 youth centres in England to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund grant, announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Youth Investment Fund was granted to MYZ as part of the Government’s National Youth Guarantee to ‘transform and level up’ opportunities for young people in England.

“We’re delighted to unveil our newly transformed Manchester Youth Zone,” commented Heather Etheridge, who CEO of Manchester Youth Zone.

“It’s a significant milestone for MYZ and we’re extremely proud of the new space and what it has to offer the young people of Harpurhey.

“From its state-of-the-art facilities to dedicated wellbeing spaces we are a shining example of how investment, vision, and youth-led design can create lasting impact, and how truly transformational spaces can change lives.

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“We can’t wait to see it develop as a thriving hub of activity, creativity, and opportunity,  for young people and the wider community.”

Featured Image – Supplied

News

Relaunch date revealed for majorly revamped Altrincham Leisure Centre

Danny Jones Danny Jones Move Altrincham Leisure Centre reopening date confirmed

The opening date for the relaunch of Altrincham Leisure Centre, which recently underwent a serious revamp, has officially been announced.

Yes, Alty Leisure Centre – or rather, ‘move Altrincham’, as it will be known moving forward – is finally set to reopen in full following a significant rebrand and redevelopment.

Works on the local Trafford leisure centre and community hub actually first began way back in January 2023, but now, over two and a half years on from its closure for refurbishment, it’s just weeks away from being reopened to the public.

Now officially relaunching on 26 August, move Altrincham comes three years on from the opening of a fellow fitness facility in the borough, with move Urmston debuting in 2022.

Much like how the pandemic delayed the unveiling of their counterparts, it’s taken quite a while to complete the Altrincham Leisure Centre (ATC) overhaul.

The Urmston venue saw over £7 million pumped into resurrecting the old 1980s building back but in the case of ATC, more than £20m has been invested into this latest project overall.

Featuring a new, bigger and better fitness suite, state-of-the-art swimming pools, ‘The Cove Spa’ post-workout recovery and wellness assessment room; a brand-new purpose-built gymnastics hub, an expanded sports hall, as well as lots more, the place is set to be virtually unrecognisable.

As well as a rejigged changing room set-up, catering to men, women, groups and crucially inclusive, there’ll also be an enticing new cafe, featuring a resident in-house bakery from native artisans, MOST.

They really have put everything you could hope for into this major regeneration.

Local authorities have already dubbed this move Altrincham the “most sustainable sports facility” in the region, ahead of its opening later this month.

Sure to be a busy Alty outlet, Trafford Council has also confirmed that the building will use huge air source heat pumps and solar panels, saving upwards of 400 tonnes of carbon per year, with the remaining electricity imported off the grid pulled from a 100% green, renewable supply.

“More than 8,000 tonnes of carbon will be saved over the lifecycle of the pumps and panels, addressing the Council’s priority of addressing the climate crisis and becoming Carbon Neutral by 2038″, they go on to add.

Fixtures like this have been funded with support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the UK government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with over £2m of funding secured to bring the scheme to life.

Even the ‘purer’ pools will cost less money and water to run, not to mention the bonus of safe storage for bikes, nearby travel links to the Bee Network and EV charging points in the car park.

A long time coming.
Credit: move Altrincham

Speaking on the impending opening date, Cllr Aidan Williams – Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change – beckoned the reborn leisure centre as a shining example of the borough’s commitment to crucial environmental change.

“move Altrincham is a great example of how we’re setting new standards in Trafford that will help the Council achieve its zero carbon goals and send a powerful message to our communities that we treat climate change seriously and are working hard to create a greener, cleaner future,” says Williams.

Once again, the new and improved Alty Leisure Centre opens its doors on Tuesday, 26 August, and we can’t wait to see what the neighbours make of it.

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Featured Images — move Altrincham (via Facebook/Press Shots)

News

Britain’s top five neighbour ‘red flags’ revealed in an eye-opening new survey

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Houses

The top five ‘red flags’ of neighbours have been revealed, according to an eye-opening new survey of hundreds of Brits.

In an ideal world, we’d all be friendly with those on our street – but despite everyone’s best intentions, it doesn’t always work out that way, as the dream can begin to unravel once you find out the neighbours aren’t quite what you hoped for.

It’s no secret that who lives next door can shape your day-to-day life, regardless of whether you own or rent your home.

Unlike a dodgy paint colour or a bathroom that’s is need of some modernisation, neighbours aren’t really that easy to change.

New build houses
Britain’s top five neighbour ‘red flags’ have been revealed in a hilarious new survey / Credit: James Feaver (via Unsplash)

But what exactly is it that really gets under Brits’ skin when it comes to their neighbours? In a bid to find out, Rightmove conducted a new survey and asked members of its research panel, Living Room, to share the neighbourly habits that raise the biggest ‘red flags’ in their books.

The number one neighbour red flag was discovered to be those who ask to borrow your WiFi password if theirs isn’t working or is yet to be installed, with 87% of survey respondents calling it a ‘no-go’, saying it’s not just cheeky, but can also slow down your connection too, meaning you’re left buffering when you don’t need to be.

So-called ‘bin offenders’ take the second spot. You know, those with overflowing bins spilling onto the street? Seven in 10 Brits say it’s a major red flag.

Mancunians have been revealed as the ‘nosiest’ neighbours in the UK

‘Parking pinchers’ take the third spot, with more than half of people (51%) said they’d be unhappy if a neighbour took their parking spot, 71% saying they are irritated by people parking outside their homes, and 70% disliking it when non-residents use their street.

70% of Brits say nosy neighbours are a ‘real issue’, meaning so-called curtain twitching is a red flag, and then 38% say knocking on or inviting round for a surprise cuppa is a ‘boundary-crossing’ move, as peace and quiet matters and unexpected visits can ‘throw off your home’s calm’.

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Rightmove also found that 59% of Brits considering a moving to an area will drive by the property at different times of the day and week to check the ‘vibe’, and 43% will check local community groups for neighbour disputes that may apply.

58% say they are open to new areas if it means better neighbours.

Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

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