A £20 million funding bid to “jump start the transformation” of Wythenshawe town centre has been submitted to the government.
The bid to the Levelling Up fund – which has been submitted this week by Manchester City Council – could see the creation of a brand-new culture hub, food hall, civic square, and improved public realm and employment space in the heart of the town centre.
Everything from artist studios, to performance space and a community cinema could take shape in the town centre, as well as a flexible events hall that regularly hosts a food, drink, live music, and street food offering by night.
Co-working spaces, and a new enterprise centre focusing on local start-up and small to medium-sized businesses could also be on its way, as well as lots of managed office space.
There could even be a large new outdoor space capable of hosting community events, improved accessibility, and the creation of small, naturally-planted ‘sponge parks’ – which are designed to increase biodiversity, and help adapt to the impacts of climate change, all while reducing the risk of flooding.
ADVERTISEMENT
Funding would also help fund the decarbonisation of some town centre buildings, the Council said.
The Council has made a £20m bid to the government's Levelling Up Fund to jump start the redevelopment and regeneration of Wythenshawe's town centre.
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) August 3, 2022
Part of a wider long-term vision to ensure Wythenshawe is “fit for the future”, the Manchester City Council says the funding bid complements the town centre’s existing retail space to create a “multi-functional” and “sustainable” place to live, work, and go out.
ADVERTISEMENT
If the funding application is successful, it could also support the creation of hundreds of jobs and thousands of new homes – including affordable homes on nearby Council-owned Brownfield land.
Speaking on the funding bid, Cllr Gavin White – Executive Member for Housing and Development at Manchester City Counil – said: “This is a highly competitive bid which can act as the springboard for the transformation of Wythenshawe town centre [and] securing this funding would accelerate the change we aspire to see and help unlock wider opportunities for people.”
What Wythenshawe town centre currently looks like / Credit: WTC
The bid for Levelling Up funding comes after Manchester City Council recently announced an agreement to buy the existing 1970s shopping centre and multi-storey car park in the town centre with the aim of supporting the regeneration of the area.
ADVERTISEMENT
Regeneration progress is already taking shape, with a new Lidl supermarket proposed for the former Gala Bingo site, and the launch of the new monthly GRUB street food market.
Ryanair is majorly clamping-down on passenger conduct by introducing a new immediate fining system.
In a bid to get onboard conduct to an acceptable level, Europe’s largest budget airline has today confirmed (12 June) that it has introduced a £500 fine for disruptive passengers whose unruly behaviour results in them being offloaded from the aircraft.
The airline – which prides itself on being one of the most ‘punctual’ in the continent – says passengers expect to travel in a ‘comfortable and stress-free environment’ that’s free from ‘unnecessary disruption’ caused by a tiny number of people travelling onboard the aircraft at the same time as them.
Ryanair has introduced immediate £500 fines for ‘unruly’ passengers / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While it’s no secret that passenger disruption is a problem that’s increasingly affecting the airline industry as a whole, Ryanair says it’s ‘committed’ to tackling unruly behaviour for the benefit of its passengers and crew.
The company intends to continue to pursue disruptive passengers for civil damages, but at a minimum, they will now be issued with a £500 fine immediately.
“It is unacceptable that passengers are made suffer unnecessary disruption because of one unruly passenger’s behaviour,” a Ryanair spokesperson commented as the fines were announced today.
The airline says it’s committed to tackling this for the benefit of its passengers and crew / Credit: Pxhere
“To help ensure that our passengers and crew travel in a comfortable and stress-free environment, without unnecessary disruption caused by a tiny number of unruly passengers, we have introduced a £500 fine, which will be issued to any passengers offloaded from aircraft as a result of their misconduct.
“While these are isolated events which happen across all airlines, disruptive behaviour in such a confined shared space is unacceptable.
Greater Manchester has won big, as our region has been chosen as the first place to get a dedicated Primark Home store.
Following the opening of its debut Home location in Belfast earlier this year, Primark has now announced that the home of its first ever Great Britain site will be here in Greater Manchester – arriving at the popular Trafford Palazzo this summer.
The 11,900 sq ft, two-floor store will bring together the very best of Primark’s interiors offering, all under one roof.
Manchester shoppers can discover an expanded range of homeware and lifestyle essentials to give their home the glow-up it deserves, including high-quality essentials like cotton bedding and towels, soft furnishings, small furniture, and quirky ceramics.
The new store will feature Primark’s recently-launched ‘Edit’ – an elevated collection of home products such as chic tableware, plush towels, and luxury home fragrances.
It will also include a dedicated Travel Shop to help customers get holiday-ready all year round, with a range of stylish and practical travel essentials.
Primark is opening its first dedicated Home store in Manchester this summer / Credit: Primark Corporate
The addition of the new Primark Home at Trafford Palazzo doesn’t mean that any of the other Primark shops across Greater Manchester will be going anywhere though, so shoppers can still continue to get their Primark fix at the main Trafford Palazzo store, as well as on Market Street in Manchester city centre, and right through to the boroughs in places like Bolton, Oldham, Bury, and Wigan.
“The opening of Primark Home at Trafford Palazzo is an incredibly exciting moment for us,” commented Mark Whittaker, who is the Managing Director at Peel Retail and Leisure.
The store will bring together the very best of Primark’s interiors offering, all under one roof / Credit: Primark Corporate
“Not only because we are the first destination in Great Britain to do so, but the opening is going to be adding a leading concept to our already unique mixture of immersive shopping and leisure experiences.
“Primark Home will have something for everyone, and we look forward to the store opening in summer.”
Emily Sergeant -
4th August 2022 
