News

TfGM issues travel warning ahead of Manchester’s ‘busiest’ weekend of the year

What an exciting few days we've got on the horizon.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 22nd August 2024

An annual travel warning has been issued ahead of what is always one of Manchester’s “busiest” weekends of the year.

Greater Manchester‘s social calendar is never any more packed than it is on August bank holiday weekend, and 2024 is set to be absolutely no different – with Manchester Pride, Bolton Food & Drink Festival, Festa Italiana, major gigs at Wythenshawe Park, Peter at the AO Arena, and loads of other exciting fringe events on the lineup this weekend.

That’s not all either, as it’s also a big weekend for sport too, as Premier League football returns to the Etihad Stadium when Manchester City face Ipswich Town, as well as Test cricket at Old Trafford for England vs Sri Lanka.

So, as you can see, we’ve got a pretty hectic few days on the horizon… and along with that comes thousands of people travelling into Manchester city centre and across the wider borough.

With an influx of people expected, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has, unsurprisingly, done what it does every year and issued a travel warning, urging passengers to “plan ahead” if they want to avoid delays with the number of different events taking place over the next four days.

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Saturday is set to be the “busiest day”, according to TfGM, with the cricket, football, annual Manchester Pride Parade, Peter Kay, and New Order at Wythenshawe Park all happening on this day, so in this instance, the region’s transport provider is reminding people that the tram is the best way to travel in and out of the city.

On top of this, TfGM is also “strongly advising” against driving into the city centre, due to a number of road closures that will be in place over the weekend.

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There will be several road closures and parking suspensions around Wythenshawe Park over the weekend, with New Order and Blossoms headlining the Saturday and Sunday night events respectively, and more details for this can be found on TfGM’s dedicated Wythenshawe Park webpage, while everything you need to know about the two gigs can be found here:

TfGM has issued its annual travel warning ahead of Manchester’s ‘busiest’ weekend of the year / Credit: TfGM

On the Sunday for Blossoms, a dedicated shuttle bus service will operate between Stockport Interchange and Wythenshawe Park – with buses leaving the interchange every 10 minutes from 4pm, and following the concert, services will run to Stockport until the site is clear (approximately 1am).

Trams will be running with a 15-minute frequency across the whole Metrolink network, and 7.5 minute frequency for the weekend events.

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“This bank holiday weekend is shaping up to be a busy one with lots of fantastic events happening across Greater Manchester,” commented Fran Wilkinson, who is TfGM’s Customer and Growth Director.

“While you’re heading out for a good time, we’ll be here to keep you moving and make sure you can get where you need to be, so if you are heading to one of the many fantastic events this weekend, we’d urge you to plan ahead to make your journey as smoothly as possible.

“But most importantly, we hope everyone has a great time.”

Read more:

More general travel information about the bank holiday weekend can be found on TfGM’s dedicated webpage here.

Featured Image – TfGM

News

Plans submitted for new £250 million mixed residential neighbourhood in Stockport

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Stockport 8 neighbourhood planning permission

Plans have officially been submitted for a brand-new £250 million neighbourhood in the heart of Stockport town centre.

The new mixed residential mini-village simply dubbed, ‘Stockport 8’, has been put forward by the local LLP of the same name, set up as part of a partnership between Stockport Council and ECF (English Cities Fund – itself a joint venture between Homes England, Legal & General, and Muse).

Set to cost a quarter of a million, the proposed neighbourhood is just the latest step of the ever-growing Stockport Mayor Development Corporation (MDC) masterplan, a wider £500m scheme to transform the specific Stockport Town Centre West area into the most sustainable, liveable town centre in the UK.

With a planning application now submitted, we’ve also been given another look at what the new Stockport neighbourhood would look like if green-lit.

when is Stockport 8 due to be finished?

We first heard reports of the new Stockport 8 neighbourhood back in January after CGIs of what the developers envisioned were shared with the public, alongside how it fit into the West blueprints.

The overall goal of the development is to create a high-quality, green neighbourhood featuring a mix of housing tenures to suit existing and new homeowners and tenants.

Aiming to build a grand total of 1,300 high-quality, energy-efficient homes all told as part of a whipping £1bn investment in Stockport town centre, there will also be room for businesses and community spaces on the ground floor level to knit into the existing centre and its community.

There’s also an insistence from those behind the project to create different atmospheres, creating new environments for people to meet, socialise, relax and enjoy, such as residential courtyards and green roofs, as well as the usual modern amenities re: parking, vehicle charging, bike storage etc.

All told, the council and their development partners – which include chief designers, shedkm, and landscape architects, Planit – are hoping to contribute nearly a third of the homes in Stockport MDC masterplan, which is hoping to surpass 4,000 homes over a total of 130 acres.

stockport 8 neighbourhood
stockport town centre masterplan

As well as helping contribute to the busy and vital road network that is continuing to be redeveloped, the goal is to create a safe and sustainable travel environment too, with a pedestrian-only street running through the centre of the scheme.

With one big road (Cook Street) running throughout the neighbourhood, the new builds will also look to knit into Stockport’s existing structure, celebrating the area’s rich heritage and character by even reintroducing historic street patterns and street names.

If you’re interested in the skyline-changing new project, you can find out more HERE.

Planning permission applications in Manchester can sometimes take upwards of 13 weeks due to the various individual stages and processes, so we’re still a while of way from knowing if/when Stockport 8 will begin work but with a summer 2027 completion date, it could be a huge moment for the town.

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Featured Images — Supplied

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Hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k exposed by police in Bury

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Police in Bury have exposed a drug den worth an estimated £100,000 hidden behind closed doors during early morning warrants.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained, earlier this week (9 December), officers from the Radcliffe and Elton and Church Neighbourhood Teams were joined by Bury’s newest district commander, Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, to conduct a warrant at an address on Mitchell Street.

The warrant was conducted by acting on intelligence that was gathered from members of the public within the community.

Officers the address, where they forced entry and discovered what has been described as a “sophisticated cannabis farm” within the property.

A hidden drug den full of cannabis plants worth £100k has been exposed by police in Bury / Credit: GMP

The set-up was spread across two floors, and according to police, resulted in around 300 plants being seized overall – with half of them being at the beginning of their growth-cycle, and 100 which had been harvested.

All the plants seized have a combined street value of an estimated £100,000, it is believed.

On top of this, a vehicle was also seized after officers found it suspiciously parked outside the premises, and following further inspection, it was discovered to be outstanding as stolen and had false registration plates.

No arrests have been made at this time.

Police believe that the warrant could be linked with West Balkan’s Organized Crime Groups, and are investigating additional lines of enquiry.

Chief Superintendent Kirsty Oliver, Bury’s new district commander, thanked the public for their help in yesterday’s warrant.

“We received information sent in by concerned members of the community who wanted to create a safer environment,” Chief Superintendent Oliver explained.

Read more:

“Communities are essential to preventing and solving crime, and I encourage you to continue to report any criminal acts or suspicious behaviour to us and let us know what is happening in your area.”

Featured Image – GMP

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