News

Royal Family flock to Balmoral amid concerns for Queen’s health

Her family are rushing to be with her.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 8th September 2022

Members of the Royal Family are rushing to Balmoral to be with the Queen after doctors said they were ‘concerned for Her Majesty’s health‘.

All Queen Elizabeth II’s children are now at, or are travelling to, her Scottish home, where a statement said she ‘remains comfortable’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – have cancelled a charity appearance in London and are making their way to the Queen.

The Duke of Cambridge is also on his way, with the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton staying in Windsor with their children.

Balmoral Castle, where the Queen is with her family.

The Royal Helicopter has now been spotted landing on the Balmoral estate, where Her Majesty is.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier today: “Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.

“The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.”

The royal, 96, pulled out of a virtual Privy Council on Wednesday as doctors advised her to rest.

The announcement from Buckingham Palace came during a House of Commons sitting, which was paused while Speaker Lindsay Hoyle made a statement to MPs.

A note was seen to be passed to several senior ministers.

Prime Minister Liz Truss has now said: “The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime.

“My thoughts – and the thoughts of people across our United Kingdom – are with Her Majesty The Queen and her family at this time.”

The Queen appointed Ms Truss as the new PM from Balmoral yesterday, in a change from the normal protocol at Buckingham Palace.

Featured image: Flickr

News

Manchester Youth Zone reopens following impressive £1.6m transformation

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Youth Zone has officially relaunched following a significant £1.6 million investment and months of transformation.

Designed hand-in-hand with the young people of Harpurhey, where the centre – which is proudly a member of the OnSide Youth Zones – is based, the revitalised space represents a bold new chapter for Manchester Youth Zone (MYZ) and the new state-of-the-art facilites offer an exciting range of opportunities and experiences for young people to enjoy.

MYZ is open all year round to provide a ‘safe space’ for young people across North Manchester aged eight to 19, or up to 25 with additional needs.

Football, basketball, podcasting, music, cooking, boxing, dance, and dedicated wellbeing spaces are just some of the activities on offer for young people now that the refurbishment is complete.

The refurbishment is a major milestone for MYZ and its renewed mission to help young people discover their ‘purpose, passion, and pathway’ in life.

Manchester Youth Zone has reopened following an impressive £1.6m transformation / Credit: Supplied

This means that the newly-refurbished centre also offers space and facilities for meaningful support – with one-to-one navigators and youth workers working closely with the children and families to help ‘break down barriers’ and ‘unlock potential’.

MYZ is one of 140 youth centres in England to benefit from a Youth Investment Fund grant, announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The Youth Investment Fund was granted to MYZ as part of the Government’s National Youth Guarantee to ‘transform and level up’ opportunities for young people in England.

“We’re delighted to unveil our newly transformed Manchester Youth Zone,” commented Heather Etheridge, who CEO of Manchester Youth Zone.

“It’s a significant milestone for MYZ and we’re extremely proud of the new space and what it has to offer the young people of Harpurhey.

“From its state-of-the-art facilities to dedicated wellbeing spaces we are a shining example of how investment, vision, and youth-led design can create lasting impact, and how truly transformational spaces can change lives.

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“We can’t wait to see it develop as a thriving hub of activity, creativity, and opportunity,  for young people and the wider community.”

Featured Image – Supplied

News

Relaunch date revealed for majorly revamped Altrincham Leisure Centre

Danny Jones Danny Jones Move Altrincham Leisure Centre reopening date confirmed

The opening date for the relaunch of Altrincham Leisure Centre, which recently underwent a serious revamp, has officially been announced.

Yes, Alty Leisure Centre – or rather, ‘move Altrincham’, as it will be known moving forward – is finally set to reopen in full following a significant rebrand and redevelopment.

Works on the local Trafford leisure centre and community hub actually first began way back in January 2023, but now, over two and a half years on from its closure for refurbishment, it’s just weeks away from being reopened to the public.

Now officially relaunching on 26 August, move Altrincham comes three years on from the opening of a fellow fitness facility in the borough, with move Urmston debuting in 2022.

Much like how the pandemic delayed the unveiling of their counterparts, it’s taken quite a while to complete the Altrincham Leisure Centre (ATC) overhaul.

The Urmston venue saw over £7 million pumped into resurrecting the old 1980s building back but in the case of ATC, more than £20m has been invested into this latest project overall.

Featuring a new, bigger and better fitness suite, state-of-the-art swimming pools, ‘The Cove Spa’ post-workout recovery and wellness assessment room; a brand-new purpose-built gymnastics hub, an expanded sports hall, as well as lots more, the place is set to be virtually unrecognisable.

As well as a rejigged changing room set-up, catering to men, women, groups and crucially inclusive, there’ll also be an enticing new cafe, featuring a resident in-house bakery from native artisans, MOST.

They really have put everything you could hope for into this major regeneration.

Local authorities have already dubbed this move Altrincham the “most sustainable sports facility” in the region, ahead of its opening later this month.

Sure to be a busy Alty outlet, Trafford Council has also confirmed that the building will use huge air source heat pumps and solar panels, saving upwards of 400 tonnes of carbon per year, with the remaining electricity imported off the grid pulled from a 100% green, renewable supply.

“More than 8,000 tonnes of carbon will be saved over the lifecycle of the pumps and panels, addressing the Council’s priority of addressing the climate crisis and becoming Carbon Neutral by 2038″, they go on to add.

Fixtures like this have been funded with support from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the UK government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, with over £2m of funding secured to bring the scheme to life.

Even the ‘purer’ pools will cost less money and water to run, not to mention the bonus of safe storage for bikes, nearby travel links to the Bee Network and EV charging points in the car park.

A long time coming.
Credit: move Altrincham

Speaking on the impending opening date, Cllr Aidan Williams – Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Climate Change – beckoned the reborn leisure centre as a shining example of the borough’s commitment to crucial environmental change.

“move Altrincham is a great example of how we’re setting new standards in Trafford that will help the Council achieve its zero carbon goals and send a powerful message to our communities that we treat climate change seriously and are working hard to create a greener, cleaner future,” says Williams.

Once again, the new and improved Alty Leisure Centre opens its doors on Tuesday, 26 August, and we can’t wait to see what the neighbours make of it.

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Featured Images — move Altrincham (via Facebook/Press Shots)

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