Manchester’s Night Time Economy Advisor Sacha Lord has today launched a Christmas campaign to help save local hospitality businesses.
With rocketing energy bills and food prices caused by inflation compounded by two years of closures during the height of the pandemic, many bars and restaurants have already closed their doors – and more are warning that they are on the brink of following suit.
In response, Manchester’s night tzar and Warehouse Project founder Sacha Lord has launched a new campaign that he hopes will encourage people to put money back into their favourite pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes this Christmas.
Working alongside hospitality businesses from across the Greater Manchester region, his team has coordinated a new campaign that will see people encouraged to buy vouchers for local Manchester businesses as Christmas presents this year.
Sacha Lord pictured outside the old Sankey’s Soap, first opened in 1994 then revived by Sacha Lord and partners in 2000. It closed its doors in 2006. / Image: Sacha Lord Instagram
Manchester steakhouse Hawksmoor will be taking part in this year’s Christmas voucher scheme. / Image: The Manc Eats
These vouchers can then be redeemed over the Christmas season or during the quieter winter months, bringing much-needed revenue into an industry that is currently in dire straits.
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Sacha Lord, the city-region’s Night Time Economy Adviser, said: “Treating loved ones to a night out not only gives them memories to cherish, but will go a long way in supporting local landlords and independent venues across Greater Manchester.
“We all know the difficulties that our favourite restaurants, bars, theatres and hotels are going through, and January is always the bleakest time of the year for the sector.
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“Not only is footfall typically down as people choose to save and stay indoors, but as a result staff often find they aren’t booked for as many shifts as normal.
Today, we’re asking the public to Give The Gift of Going Out.
Let’s stop buying those unwanted Xmas gifts that end up in the cupboard.
“By buying a voucher or putting a deposit down now, we can support the sector through the difficult post-Christmas period, and move away from gifting presents that just sit unwanted in the cupboard.
“What better way to help your favourite venue, and the local workforce, than gifting a loved one an evening out this Christmas.”
Venues confirmed as taking part so far include Hawksmoor, Platzki, Cane & Grain, Abeja Tapas Bar in Stockport and Cocoa Cabana Chocolatiers in Ancoats and Didsbury.
Further businesses taking part include Alex’s Bakery, The Barking Dog Urmston, Atlas Bar, Three Little Words, Albert’s Schloss, Calcio! sports bar, 53Two, Riva Altrincham, A Tavola Gastronomia Siciliana in High Peak, WOOD Manchester and Con Club in Altrincham.
A number of cultural institutions are also getting involved, from The Royal Exchange and The Palace Theatre, to The Opera House and The Stoller Hall all contributing vouchers to the scheme. More are set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Feature image – Sacha Lord / Darren Robinson Photography
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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.”
Georgina Pellant -
24th November 2022 
