Residents in Greater Manchester will start to see little robots roaming the streets delivering Co-op groceries from this week.
Has the future arrived?
Already a familiar sight to those living in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Bedford, Cambridge, and Leeds, supermarket retailer Co-op has announced that robots have now officially arrived on the streets of our region, as it has extended its ongoing partnership with Starship Technologies, and has joined forces with Trafford Council to bring autonomous grocery deliveries to residents in Sale.
The futuristic service will initially be available to 24,000 residents across 10,500 households in the Trafford borough.
This means that, when you place an order through the Starship food delivery app – which is available to download on both iOS and Android – fresh groceries will be picked from two local Co-op stores, one on Washway Road and one on Coppice Avenue, and then delivered directly to your door on demand.
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Robots are now delivering Co-op shopping across Greater Manchester / Credit: Co-op
Starship’s robots are battery-powered, lightweight, and travel at the speed of a pedestrian.
They use a combination of sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to travel on pavements and navigate around any obstacles, while their computer vision-based navigation helps them map their environment to the nearest inch.
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But how exactly does the delivery service work? Well, it’s actually pretty simple – first, you’ll get to choose from a wide range of Co-op grocery items, then pick a delivery time from the schedule, before “dropping a pin” to show where you want the delivery to be sent and watching the robot travel in real-time on an interactive map.
It’s part of the Co-op’s partnership with Starship Technologies and Trafford Council / Credit: Starship Technologies
You’ll receive an alert when it arrives, and you can then meet and unlock the robot’s lid through the app to retrieve your shopping.
It’s already being dubbed a “quick and convenient” way to serve the community.
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Co-op says it is “committed” to exploring new and innovative ways to increase access to its products and services across the UK, with the retailer’s eCommerce Director Chris Conway adding that it’s “delighted to be able to roll-out autonomous robots to provide additional online flexibility and choice in Greater Manchester.”
Cllr Stephen Adshead, Executive Member for Environmental Services at Trafford Council, added: “We are excited to be working with the Co-op and Starship Technologies to launch this new initiative in the Sale area.
“The robots are a lot of fun and it will be great to see them taking to the streets of the borough.
“But there is a more serious message here – Trafford Council is totally committed to helping the environment and reducing our carbon emissions and the electric robots could well contribute towards those aims.”
Featured Image – Starship Technologies (via Facebook)
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Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
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Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Emily Sergeant -
17th March 2023 
