Manchester’s popular shopping event for students is returning for 2023, with massive discounts in shops across the centre.
Organised by Manchester Arndale and Manchester BID, the MCR Student Social is back and promises to be bigger than ever before, with live entertainment, competitions, games and experiences joining the huge discounts available all across the city centre.
Taking place on Thursday 28 September, from 12pm until 7pm, the MCR Student Social will be a chance for the city’s new and returning students to snap up big discounts.
There’ll be discounts of up to 30% off in more than 120 stores for students within the Manchester Arndale and across the city centre, including Levi’s, Harvey Nichols, River Island, Monki, JD, Mango, Superdry, Kick Game, Jack & Jones, Office and Schuh.
On top of that, hospitality venues including Urban Playground (where you can have a go at ITV’s hit show The Cube), Immersive Gamebox, Archie’s, Krispy Kreme, Pizza Hut and Barburrito will have up to 50% off.
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Free entertainment on offer will include Bonkers Bingo, where you choose your balls at random from the roaming bingo box for a chance to win a whole host of prizes, and Roaming Roulette, where you can win prizes for correctly guessing the weird and wonderful items inside a mystery box.
Soundtracking the whole thing, naturally, will be The Manc‘s DJ Truck, where our very own Dean will be playing the finest hip-hop, funk and party anthems throughout the day.
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Monki will have a ‘Ballnado’ machine installed where you have to catch as many balls as possible in 30 seconds.
On Market Street, the Entertainment Zone will have even more games and giveaways, from Skiddle, Urban Playground’s The Cube, Lush, Pure Gym and more pitching up to say hi.
Meanwhile, the Food Zone will have special offers, samples and prizes from PizzaLuxe, Franco Manca and more.
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You can hear demonstrations, advice and guidance from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), Oliver Cookson Foundation, HSBC and Recycle for Greater Manchester in the Info Zone.
There’ll be loads happening inside stores too. Find live DJs in Decent Cuts and win prizes or get goody bags in the likes of Schuh, Blue Banana and McDonald’s.
The MCR Student Socialwill take over the city on Thursday 28 September between 12pm-7pm.
Huge tunnel through the Peak District linking Manchester and Sheffield moves one step closer
Daisy Jackson
Ambitions plans to build a tunnel beneath the Peak District to connect Manchester and Sheffield has moved a step closer.
The proposed tunnel, which could completely transform travel between the two cities, has received a major £500,000 funding boost.
Picture the Eurostar, but plonk it going across the Pennines instead of London to Paris.
If it all goes ahead, journeys between South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester would be much quicker and easier, cutting times by up to 30 minutes, The Sheff reports.
The whopping £500,000 funding has been secured by infrastructure group Future Works, which is behind the proposed Trans-Pennine Connect scheme.
The money will be used to carry out technical and environmental feasibility studies to establish whether the project could actually go ahead.
The plans would see a 14-mile dual-carriageway tunnel built underneath the Peak District, potentially running between Langsett in South Yorkshire and Hollingworth or Tintwistle in Greater Manchester.
Michael Dnes, Future Works co-founder, said: “We’re very excited to be working with UK Dynamism Fund to unlock the next stage of our project.
“This funding will let us complete the technical and environmental feasibility studies needed to get the right outcomes for people and the Peak District as we deliver better transport connections across the Pennines.”
South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard has previously voiced his support for the proposals, describing them as a “really exciting opportunity”.
Speaking at a South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority meeting back in September, he said: “We all know the frustrations of travelling between two of the North’s biggest and best cities.”
He also stressed that any plans would need to take environmental considerations very seriously, particularly the impact on wildlife in the Peak District.
The project is still in very early stages, and the funding doesn’t indicate that planning has been approved. We’ll keep you updated with any updates as and when we know.
So, what do you make of this proposal? Would you be keen for a drive through the tunnel?
Town just outside Greater Manchester named one of UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live
Emily Sergeant
The UK’s happiest places to live for 2026 have been named, and a town just outside Greater Manchester is in the top 10.
Just as it has done for the last 14 years now, Rightmove has published its annual ‘Happy at Home’ index, which explores exactly what it is that makes people feel content about where they live, and highlights the happiest places nationwide ahead of the new year.
This year, thousands of residents across more than 200 locations told the leading property listing platform what they love (or don’t love) about their community – from the friendliness of their neighbours, to job opportunities, access to green spaces, and so much more.
The survey also outlines the differences in happiness in rural, urban, and suburban environments, as well as the way our sense of ‘home happiness’ changes as we age.
So, where do we have in the top 10 then?
Well, Skipton in North Yorkshire – last year’s winner – only ranked seventh in this year’s study, making way for Richmond upon Thames in London to take the coveted stop spot, but looking a little further down the list, you’ll find the Lancashire town of Chorley in sixth place.
Closest to the Bolton and Wigan boroughs, Chorley is about a 40-minute drive outside of Manchester, and sits on a direct train route into the city centre.
The UK’s top 10 happiest places to live 2026
Richmond upon Thames
Harrogate
Cirencester
Monmouth
Hove
Chorley
Skipton
Llandrindod Wells
Horsham
Hexham
With a deep legacy rooted in the Industrial Revolution, Chorley is now a popular place to live full of amenities, good local schooling options, and convenient transport links – with an average property price of £234,387, and average rent costing £1,011 per month.
When it comes to the wider rankings, and the North West ranking as a whole, two Greater Manchester towns made it into the region’s top five, Stockport at number two and Altrincham following right behind at number three.
Other of the region’s inclusions like Bury, Bolton, Wigan, and the Manchester borough itself all ranked towards the bottom.
Speaking on this year’s list, Colleen Babcock – a property expert at Rightmove – explained: “The balance between greenery and everyday convenience runs through the wider findings. Even among people who would ideally choose a rural setting, access to amenities, parks and public transport remains important.
“This year’s results suggest that the places people rate most highly aren’t simply urban or rural, but often bring together some of the best elements of both.”
Daisy Jackson -
21st September 2023 
