The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has released a statement this morning regarding government discussions over potential Tier 3 reclassifications.
Mr Burnham, together with the leaders of all 10 councils in Greater Manchester and Deputy Mayor Baroness Bev Hughes have announced that they have a unified position on the government’s announcement introducing tiers of restrictions.
In the joint statement published on the GMCA website, Mr Burnham and the authorities said: “We are clear: the health of the people in the city-region is paramount and our primary focus continues to be on driving down the rates of COVID-19 infection.
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“Back in July, we took the difficult decision to agree with the government’s request for additional restrictions [and since then] our communities have been living with this patiently for months now, with no indoor mixing between households, and some of our businesses remaining shut for longer than in the rest of England.
“We are also clear that, alongside managing the virus, we need to protect people’s jobs and businesses [and] we will not let Greater Manchester be levelled down by this pandemic and the response to it.
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“We agree with the principle of having tiers of restrictions to provide simpler messages for our communities and for enforcement actions [as] this is better than a patchwork of restrictions that vary from council area to council area which are often in conflict with national messages.”
🗣️ "We will not let Greater Manchester be levelled down by this pandemic and the response to it."
The Leaders of all 10 councils, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, have a unified position on Government’s announcement introducing tiers of restrictions.
The statement continues: “We wrote to the government over the weekend putting forward a strong set of proposals for Greater Manchester building on Tier 2 with additional measures which will protect public health and maintain economic activity,”
“We have not yet had a substantive response to our letter [and] we do not believe we should be put into Tier 3 for two reasons.
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“First, the evidence does not currently support it.
“The rate of COVID-19 infection in Greater Manchester is much lower, at 357.6 cases per 100,000, compared to Liverpool City Region which is in Tier 3 at 488.0 cases per 100,000. Plus, our hospital admission rate is much lower than in LCR as Deputy CMO, Jonathan Van Tam, highlighted in his press conference this week. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 7-day rolling average Covid patients in beds is at around the 225 mark and in Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust it’s at the 100 mark.
“Second, the financial package accompanying Tier 3 is nowhere near sufficient to prevent severe hardship, widespread job losses and business failure.
“At the Prime Minister’s press conference on Monday, the Chief Medical Officer said that Tier 3 measures would only limit the spread if they included much more widespread business closures than the baseline of pubs. However, the Government has not put in a place an economic package to support this level of business closure.
“For that reason, we believe the Tier 3 proposal is fundamentally flawed [and] the Government is placing councils in an invidious position,”
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“We therefore reject the Government’s current drive to pile pressure on places to enter Tier 3.”
Mark Waugh
It was also revealed that a number of leaders in Greater Manchester support for calls of a “national circuit break” lockdown.
The statement continued: “If the government pursues its current strategy, we believe it will leave large parts of the North of England trapped in Tier 3 for much of the winter with all the damage that will do.
“If cases continue to rise as predicted, and the government continues to refuse to provide the substantial economic support that Tier 3 areas will need, then a number of Leaders in Greater Manchester believe a national circuit break, with the required financial support would be a preferable option.”
The statement closes out with Mr Burnham and the authorities saying they “would welcome the opportunity to have a serious discussion with the government about these important issues.” and once again re-emphasising that: “All of this should be underpinned by a full financial package to support delivery [which] includes a furlough scheme of at least 80% of wages offered to all businesses forced to close or severely affected and suffering a serious loss of trade due to restrictions.”
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It continues: “We await keenly the promised engagement and dialogue with government and stand ready to work with government to ensure we have the right measures in place in Greater Manchester with the powers and funding we need to make the restrictions work.”
You can read the statement in full via the GMCA website here.
News
‘Stunning’ Old Rectory pub in Stockport suffers permanent closure
Danny Jones
One of Stockport town centre’s most beautiful pub venues, The Old Rectory, has officially closed down permanently following notices about its “final stages”.
Built circa 1740, the historic space itself has been there since before the Regency period.
Stockport‘s Old Rectory pub on Churchgate has been a number of different things over the decades, and has changed hands multiple times in more recent years, but now the Greene King site has shut down, what seems like, for good.
In fact, if you look online, it is already listed as ‘permanently closed’ on Google, as does a temporary sign now stuck to the gates of their entrance, with the most recent service last week being their final one.
With the news having since been shared on the Stockport Tourism notice board on Facebook, a post from the ‘Old Rec’ team reads: “We are sad to announce that The Old Rectory will be closing its doors at the end of this month. Thank you to everyone who has visited and supported the venue over the years.”
An update has also now been shared on the official CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) website.
Issuing a statement directly to The Manc, a spokesperson for Greene King said: “Following a period of team member consultation, we can confirm that the Old Rectory has now closed.
“We are grateful to everyone who has supported the Old Rectory over the years, and we look forward to welcoming them into our other pubs in the local area soon.”
They also go on to assure that they have worked with the team members who have sadly been put out of work to try and find new positions at other locations, with the operators urging Stopfordians to try other nearby pubs such as Gardeners Arms in Offerton and the recently refurbished Carousel in Reddish.
Described by CAMRA as a “multi-roomed pub-restaurant that still maintains a country house feel with plenty of dark wood and plush décor”, not to mention praising the all-day food service and “top notch” beer selection, its heyday may have been long ago, but it’ll still be missed by regulars and natives.
It’s also worth noting that the former Hungry Horse public house also long-served as an accommodation spot, too, with Premier Inn’s ‘Stockport Central Hotel’ attached to the back of the building.
There are no updates on this front at present, and they could easily repurpose what natives have hailed as a “stunning” Georgian structure – not to mention the expansive garden grounds – but the company is also currently cutting more than 3,800 jobs as part of a wider savings strategy.
Elsewhere, as SK residents bid goodbye to one veteran pub, they’re also gearing up to welcome back another former favourite…
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few occasions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Confirming the chosen pub in a subsequent post, he said: “I asked you to choose a pub you wanted me to support. This Sunday, 4pm, I’ll be turning up at The Ape and Apple on John Dalton St, Manchester, and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend – especially with that lovely refurbished outdoor terrace space up on the first floor of the Joseph Holt watering hole.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Which ones are you calling your favourites these days?
The Manc -
14th October 2020 
