The new Mayor of Greater Manchester has unveiled plans to ‘breathe new life’ into local high streets with a landmark £20 million fund.
Bev Craig says Greater Manchester has enjoyed a decade of rapid economic growth, ‘outstripping’ every other city region in the UK in the process, but now she wants to make sure that everyone can ‘see and feel’ the benefits of that growth where they live.
The new £20m Good Growth High Streets Fund will be made available to local businesses, business groups, and voluntary and community organisations across Greater Manchester to improve their high streets, and will primarily back ideas that can ‘make a real difference’ to good economic growth and restore local pride.
The new fund forms part of the Our High Streets campaign – which will run throughout her first mayoral term to ’empower’ local communities to revitalise where they live, shop, and socialise.
New Mayor Bev Craig has announced a £20m fund to ‘revitalise’ Greater Manchester high streets / Credit: GMCA | Jonny Gios (via Unsplash)
To drive forward this work, Bev is calling on local businesses and groups to join a new High Streets Taskforce, which will help design the ‘ambitious’ plans for the fund and put them into practice across the city region.
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Bev launched her high street plans in Middleton yesterday, where she said the ‘passion and ambition’ of local people and the independent business community are already leading to a transformation of the town centre, and there’s potential of even more to come.
“Our high streets are the beating hearts of our communities, and people want to feel pride about where they live,” commented Mayor Bev Craig.
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“They are rightly worried and frustrated when they see derelict pubs, boarded-up shops, and dodgy operators, and independent traders moving away. They want to see practical support for local businesses now and that’s why I’m taking action.
“Our new £20 million Good Growth High Streets Fund is all about restoring pride in a vibrant high street, backing our neighbourhoods, and spreading the rewards of good economic growth everywhere.”
The Good Growth High Streets Fund will open for applications later this year.
Featured Image – GMCA
News
Student police officer charged with off-duty rape and kidnap of woman in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A student police officer has been charged with the rape and kidnap of a woman in Manchester while he was off duty.
Mohammad Hassan, 23-years-old and of Asian-Pakistani ethnicity, has been remanded in custody following the charges, and has been suspended Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
The charges – which have been authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following a police investigation – relate to reports made to authorities on the evening of Saturday 8 August 2026, which ended in a police pursuit on the M62 in West Yorkshire.
Following the police pursuit, a woman was safeguarded at the scene, and continues to be supported by specialist officers and support services.
Hassan has been charged with oral rape, kidnap, strangulation, sexual assault, theft of mobile phone, and dangerous driving.
He is set to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court today (11 August).
“GMP detectives and staff have been working on this investigation throughout the last 48 hours to ensure charges are brought in this case,” explained GMP Assistant Chief Constable, Mark Dexter.
“The victim is our priority, and we are ensuring she continues to receive specialist support. Criminal proceedings must now take its course without interference.
“I understand, and share, the feeling among the public and our thousands of hard-working, decent staff who will have seen this news. Proceedings are underway and necessary action will be decisively taken within the regulations.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation to open in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
Cult US sustainable clothing brand Reformation is set to open its doors in Manchester very soon.
Since it was first founded in Los Angeles all the way back in 2009, Reformation has gone on to become one of the largest sustainable womenswear brands on the planet, and is now known and loved for making beautiful, timeless apparel and accessories that aim to ‘inspire confidence’ across life stages and occasions.
Operating on a business model that pairs a smart approach to merchandising with a responsive supply chain, Reformation now operates more than 70 retail stores across the US, UK, Canada, and France.
At the heart of the Reformation story is a genuine commitment to ‘doing things differently’.
Since day one, sustainability has been woven into everything the brand makes – from the eco-certified fabrics and responsible factories, to its famously transparent sustainability reports.
Currently, Reformation has five UK stores to its name – but, it may come as no surprise to fans of the brand that they’re all in London.
That’s why the news of this new Manchester opening is such a big deal.
Set to be the label’s first UK store outside of the capital, Reformation has secured a prime spot on King Street in the heart of the city centre, and although there’s no confirmed opening date as of yet, if the shop windows saying ‘Summer 2026’ are anything to go by, we can only imagine it’ll be very soon.
“For Manchester, it’s a landmark moment, and for King Street, it’s the latest signal that this is one of the UK’s most exciting retail destinations,” a spokesperson for King Street said in a statement.
Stay tuned for details on opening dates to be announced in due course.
Emily Sergeant -
11th August 2026 
