Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that Oxford Road in the city centre will remain closed for “most of the day” today.
Due to what has been described as a “serious water leak” occurring in the early hours of this morning, Oxford Road – near the University of Manchester and the Manchester Royal Infirmary – is currently closed both directions, and the nearby Lloyd North Street is also closed to traffic.
Both are main roads, with Oxford Road being one of the busiest bus routes into the city centre.
Oxford Road is shut between Booth Street West and Grafton Street, and Lloyd Street North is closed between Denmark Road and Burlington Road.
GMP City Centre said in a tweet posted at 5.40am: “Road Closed – Oxford Road is closed in both directions between Booth Street West and Grafton Street outside the University due to a serious water leak, causing major flooding on the road.”
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A second tweet later added: “Road Closed – Lloyd Street North is closed between Denmark Road and Burlington Street due to serious flooding on the road.”
Road Closed – Oxford Road is closed in both directions between Booth Street West and Grafton Street outside the University due to a serious water leak, causing major flooding on the road. Sgt K pic.twitter.com/upZ6yI7tjm
Those travelling into the city centre are being asked to stay away from the area.
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Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) took to Twitter this morning to say it is part of a “multi-agency response” to the incident.
“This morning we’re part of a multi-agency response to a large burst water main on Oxford Road, Manchester. There is a lot of localised flooding and damage to the road [and] there will be substantial traffic disruption this morning due to road closures so avoid the area.”
The University of Manchester is also urging people to “avoid the area”, saying in a tweet to students this morning: “We are aware of a major water leak which is affecting travel, access and supplies to several buildings on campus around Oxford Road [so] please avoid this area of campus for the time being [and] we will update you as soon as possible.”
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This morning we're part of a multi-agency response to a large burst water main on Oxford Road, Manchester. There is a lot of localised flooding and damage to the road. There will be substantial traffic disruption this morning due to road closures so avoid the area. https://t.co/nUknSrAOt0
— Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) September 22, 2021
URGENT: We are aware of a major water leak which is affecting travel, access and supplies to several buildings on campus around Oxford Road. Please avoid this area of campus for the time being. We will update you as soon as possible.
United Utilities confirmed that the leak – which is said to have been caused by a burst water main – has also left some houses and properties in Manchester without water, and many with low water pressure this morning.
A spokesperson for the water services company said earlier this morning: Some customers in the locality of the burst may be experiencing a loss of water or low pressure [but] our teams on site are working as quickly as possible to rectify this.
“We would like to thank everyone for their patience while we complete this emergency repair.”
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Stagecoach Manchester, First Manchester, Go North West have announced that diversions are in place on public transport services, and those travelling into the city centre are being advised to “seek an alternative route”.
Delays are expected throughout the today.
Featured Image – GMP City Centre
News
Manchester’s iconic inflatable monsters are set to invade the city centre again this Halloween
Emily Sergeant
Dozens of huge inflatable monsters are set to invade Manchester next month, as Halloween returns to the city for 2024.
Yes, it’s that time of year yet again… the monsters are back.
After several years of looming over Manchester‘s most-notable rooftops and lurking around famous city centre sites, it’s been revealed that the iconic MCR Monsters will be returning for another year of spooky celebrations next month, along with loads of other terrifying tricks and treats – with something for the whole family to get involved with.
Organisers CityCo and Manchester BID are gearing up to “roll out the blood-red carpet” for its legendary and monstrous guests in a couple of weeks time.
This year’s annual Halloween in the City celebrations will kick off with a week-long colourful invasion of the MCR Monsters, before being followed by a two-day family festival across the city’s popular shopping destinations.
Halloween is returning to the city for loads of spooky celebrations next month / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Crawling their way back into the city from Friday 25 October through to Halloween itself on Thursday 31 October, the epic MCR Monsters inflatable art trail – which is created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas – will be taking over leading locations like Manchester Arndale, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, and New Century, with many more sites set to be announced soon.
A brand-new monster called ‘The Leech’ will be heading to town to join to celebrations this year, alongside some other spookily-similar faces from years’ past.
Buildings across the city will also be turning a ghoulish green once the night falls, while you can also expect to see thousands of little pumpkin lanterns adorning the city’s streets once again.
There’ll be something for all the family to / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)
Some of the other fan-favourite events on the jam-packed Halloween in the City lineup confirmed to be returning this year are the ‘Monsters Rock! Music Festival’, with spooky live bands and DJs, as well as gruesome games and competitions, the popular ‘Team Trick v Team Treat’ fancy dress challenge, and the hair-raising monster procession ‘Rock! Party Procession’ – which will feature giant puppet monsters, stilt walkers, and a live band marching their way through Manchester Arndale and on Market Street.
Thousands of families are expected to come into the city centre dressed in their scariest costumes over Halloween weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October.
Jane Sharrocks, who is the Chair of Manchester BID, said Manchester is set to transform into the “ultimate Halloween playground” this year, and that organisers are planning 2024 to be the “most thrilling year yet”.
“As the first UK city to host these incredible creatures, Manchester has become the ultimate Halloween destination,” Jane added.
Halloween in the City officially returns to Manchester on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October, with the monsters descending from Friday 25 October and the pumpkins potentially even earlier, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – CityCo (via Supplied)
News
‘Life-changing’ scheme helps house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of homeless people in Manchester have now been helped “get back on their feet” thanks to a successful pilot housing scheme.
Greater Manchester’s ‘Housing First’ pilot scheme was rolled out in 2019.
The scheme is all about recognising that “a good home has to be the first step to a good life”, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and since it was first introduced, it has primarily been helping people with chronic and long-standing experiences of homelessness into homes of their own, without preconditions.
Ongoing personalised wraparound support to manage issues, ranging from mental health problems to substance misuse, is also a key part of what the scheme’s all about.
Since 2019, the scheme then has helped a total of 413 people find “good, safe homes”, GMCA has revealed.
Around 75% of those housed have also sustained their tenancies too, with some even going on to form part of Housing First’s co-production panel – sharing their experiences, and making sure that the service continues to meet people’s needs.
Giving everyone a good, safe home is one of the best investments this country can make.
That’s why we want to take the lessons of our @GMHousingFirst pilot & follow @FinlandInUK by adopting it as our philosophy in Greater Manchester.
Because of the clear success of the pilot in our region, Greater Manchester and Mayor Andy Burnham are now calling on the Government to take the lessons learned from the scheme and embed them into a new approach to tackle the housing crisis nationwide.
Andy Burnham says he believes that giving everyone a good, safe home would be “one of the best investments the country could make”, as it would “take pressure off” other public services and public finances, and declared that our region is ready to follow in Finland’s footsteps by becoming the first UK city-region to adopt the ‘Housing First’ philosophy permenantly.
“The evidence is clear that it works, and when a pilot scheme gets results it shouldn’t end there – it should become the new normal,” Mr Burnham said.
A ‘life-changing’ scheme has helped house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people / Credit: Manchester City Council
“Housing First has shown that if you give people an unconditional right to safe and secure housing, backed up with personalised support, you set them up to succeed, so instead of winding it down, we should be scaling it up and turning it into a national mission.
“We’re starting that here in Greater Manchester.
“We’re bringing in new protections for renters, tackling bad landlords, and with the right powers and funding, we can deliver 75,000 new homes in this parliament.
“Our new Housing First Unit will drive this work forward, bringing together partners across our city-region with a clear goal – a healthy home for everyone in Greater Manchester by 2038.”
The Manc -
22nd September 2021 
