Greater Manchester Police has recorded its busiest period for lockdown breaches since the pandemic began last weekend.
A spokesperson for the constabulary stated that 85 fines were handed out between last Friday and Sunday, with breaches ranging from wedding receptions to birthday parties.
This is confirmed to have brought the total number of fines issued in the region to 400.
Flouters of the rules included a birthday party in Bolton with 30 people in attendance – where eight fines were handed out – and officers also attended a wedding reception in Heaton Moor, Stockport where around 60 people were in attendance and one fine was issued.
One person in Bolton now also has four penalties, with an accompanying fine totalling £800.
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It comes after officers were called to a large gathering at the same property on four separate occasions, and the latest being at 2am on Sunday.
Nick Bailey – Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police – said: “While the vast majority of people in Greater Manchester continue to abide by government legislation, there are some who continue to flout the law.
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“I would appeal to this small minority to think of the safety of their nearest and dearest before making decisions that literally risk people’s lives. Should that not be reason enough, I would also remind people of the very stark financial penalties now in place for failing to follow lockdown guidance – with fines doubling for each further breach.
“I’d like to thank our officers for the dedication and patience during what was a very busy weekend,
“I’d also like to thank the majority of people in Greater Manchester for helping to keep themselves and others safe by continuing to follow government guidance.”
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It only takes two seconds to put on a mask, and it helps save lives.
The busy weekend comes as the rate of infection across all parts of Greater Manchester continues to rise.
Manchester city region has now also been declared the country’s coronavirus (COVID-19) hotspot.
The latest data shows that it has the highest infection rate of any area in England and figures released by Public Health England show that the seven-day rate in Manchester has reached 495.6 cases per 100,000 population for the week ending on 1st October.
Bolton however recorded almost 240 cases per 100,000 people on 2nd October, which is down from 261 cases per 100,000 seven days earlier.
This makes it the only one of Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs to have seen a reduction in the past week.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Greater Manchester officially launches five-year climate change action plan
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester has officially begun its five-year climate change action plan, with the overarching goal of becoming a net-zero city region by 2038.
The comprehensive pledge put together over a number of years itself will see Manchester City Council and the nearby local authorities put into action a number of key measures that will help to reduce not only central carbon figures but, eventually, across the 10 boroughs in turn.
Over the last 15 years, emissions have been reduced by approximately 64%, saving an estimated 44,344 tonnes of carbon through cleaner building energy, street lighting and other electronics, as well as the increasingly green and over-growing Bee Network.
They have also insisted that it isn’t just about cutting down on greenhouse gases; the aim is to make the city region and the surrounding areas more sustainable, affordable and create a better standard of life.
Our five-year plan to tackle climate change launches today. 🌏
It details how we’ll continue to deliver dramatic reductions in the amount of carbon we emit (the biggest contributor to climate change). 🏙️
As per the summary on the Council website, in addition to creating more efficient homes, they’re hoping to provide more access to nature and good-quality green space, “public transport you can rely on”, and “better health and wellbeing for those who live, work, study and visit here.”
With a steadily recovering local and national economy (touch wood), they’re also hoping for an influx of new jobs, too.
Summarising the key bullet points leading up to the end of the decade, these are the next steps currently outlined by the Council:
Lower carbon emissions
Grow the use of renewable energy
Improve low-carbon travel in the city
Improve air quality
Grow the city’s natural environment and boost biodiversity
Improve resilience to flooding and extreme heat
Engage and involve our workforce and our city’s communities
Reduce waste and grow reuse, repair, sharing and recycling
Support a move to a more circular economy
Minimise the negative impact of events held in the city
Develop our knowledge of our indirect emissions and lower them
Create a green financing strategy and explore new funding models for the city
Influence the environmental practices of other organisations
As for emissions, the target is now to drop the present output by another 34%, which will prevent almost 43,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being pumped into the atmosphere.
Having touched upon the continued expansion of the Bee Network infrastructure, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also set to install multiple new travel links over the coming years, including both new tram stops and train stations – further
You can read the climate action plan in full HERE.
Manchester’s firework displays are ‘back with a bang’ as they return from 2026
Emily Sergeant
Council-organised firework displays in Manchester’s parks are set to return from next year, it has been confirmed.
You may remember that these once-popular events have not been held since 2019, as the COVID-19 pandemic initially prevented them from taking place from 2020 onwards, and then following that, they remained paused on a trial basis while the Manchester City Council sought to ‘reprioritise funding’ to support a wider range of free community events across the city.
But now, as it seems, the door was never shut on their potential return.
An ‘improved financial position’ now means that the Council is in a position to bring firework events back, while also still continuing to support other community events.
Papers setting out the Council’s financial position show that fairer funding being introduced by the Government next year will leave the Council better off than previously anticipated, he the reason firework displays have been brought back into the mix.
The Council has admitted that ‘pressures remain’ after so many years of financial cuts, but this new funding creates the opportunity to invest in the things residents have said matter the most to them.
“Manchester prides itself on free community events and we know many people have missed Bonfire night firework spectaculars,” commented Cllr Bev Craig, who is the Leader of Manchester City Council.
“That’s why we are pleased to confirm they’ll be back by popular demand in 2026.
“We know that generations of Mancunians have enjoyed Council-organised displays and that free family events are a great way to bring people together… [and] now that this Government is actually investing in Councils like ours rather than the cuts we had since 2010, we can bring back Bonfire events.”
The Manc -
6th October 2020 
