The £5 million repair of Heaton Hall is now complete – and you can book a tour
"This amazing heritage asset has been painstakingly worked on to protect and preserve its unique architectural features and restore it to its former glory."
The latest phase of £5 million repair works to the historic Heaton Hall have now officially been completed, and tours will begin next month.
Standing as one of a very few Grade I listed buildings nationally, and designed in 1772 by esteemed architect James Wyatt, Heaton Hall is undoubtedly one of the North West’s most important heritage assets, yet despite this, has remained on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ list for many years.
To help preserve the building, Heaton Hall received key funding support from Historic England and Manchester City Council to ensure the building is protected in the future and to complete essential maintenance works.
It has since undergone five phases of essential maintenance works.
The previous four phases have consisted of work including repairs to the east and west wings, replacement of the windows and shutters, and fixing the roof of the Orangery to protect the Hall, and the most-recent phase has consisted of ongoing maintenance repair works including the replacement of recently-broken windows, rendering repairs, and internal repair work on the first floor.
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Maintenance and ongoing repairs were started over three years ago, and have now been completed to help protect the architectural gem for future generations, according to Manchester City Council.
The current works are now complete and further maintenance will take place in the future.
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The Grade I listed Heaton Hall dates back to the 18th century / Credit: Manchester City Council
Now that all the maintenance work has been complete for the time being, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the popular walking tours of the building and its impressive grounds will resume, so people can see the repairs in all their glory.
The Friends of Heaton Park will conduct free monthly guided tours for groups to enjoy throughout the year, with the 2022 dates being:
Sunday 10 April
Sunday 8 May
Sunday 19 June
Sunday 10 July
Sunday 14 August
Saturday 10 September
Sunday 11 September
And on top of those tours, there’s also the chance for people to book guided tours around the Hall conducted by the extremely-knowledgable Blue Badge Guide Jonathan Schofield, which take place on every second Sunday.
Heaton Hall isn’t the only thing to have received a bit of TLC either, as according to Manchester City Council, Manchester’s flagship Heaton Park has also benefited from “major improvement works” that will help maintain the much-loved green space and cultural attractions.
Over the past five years, the Council says it has been refashioning aspects of the park in a sustainable way to help ensure accessibility and to further enhance the setting of the Hall and make the Grade I building “a fitting focal point of the wider park landscape.”
Improvements include the planting of trees, the provision of new toilets in the park, creating wider entrances, the resurfacing of main paths, and installing 23 new benches.
Speaking on the £5 million repair works to Heaton Hall, Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar – Executive Member for Neighbourhoods at Manchester City Council – said: “As custodians of Heaton Hall, the Council takes its responsibility to ensure it is properly looked after very seriously, and we can’t wait to give the public the chance to see all the work that has been done inside this remarkable building.”
“This amazing heritage asset has been painstakingly worked on to protect and preserve its unique architectural features and restore it to its former glory,” he added.
“Heaton Hall, and its surrounding park, are really valued by people in Manchester and far beyond and these last couple of years have shown us all how valuable these spaces are to communities,” added Catherine Dewar, North West Regional Director at Historic England.
“The hall is one of a tiny proportion of buildings across England to be listed at Grade I, which is reserved for buildings of the highest significance.
“Working closely with Manchester City Council since 2015, Historic England has provided advice and £758,000 in grants to get to this point, and we’re thrilled that locals and visitors will soon be able to get inside this North Manchester heritage gem once again.”
Sharing an official update online, the RFL wrote: “Wane, who has led England since February 2020, has taken time to reflect on the programme and believes the timing is right for new leadership to guide the team into the next phase, including the upcoming World Cup.
“During his tenure, Wane oversaw memorable series victories over Tonga in 2023 and a star-studded Samoa a year later, as well as a semi-final in the World Cup. He finishes with 14 wins from 19 matches.”
Crediting him as one of “a very small elite number of coaches to have won the full suite of domestic club honours and achieved World Club Championship success”, hailing his experience and longevity both as a player and as a coach.
As for Wane himself, he said: “It has been the honour of my life to coach England Rugby League over the last six years, but after careful reflection, I believe the time is right to step aside and allow the programme to move forward into its next chapter.
England are on the lookout for a new coach heading into the World Cup after being swept in the Ashes.
Coach Shaun Wane has reportedly resigned from the post after a disappointing 3-0 whitewash against Australia last year.
The 61-year-old ex-pro goes on to add, “The privilege of leading my country in a World Cup, an Ashes Series on home soil and securing victories over Tonga and Samoa will live long in the memory.
“I’m incredibly grateful to all the players, coaches and staff I’ve worked alongside during that time; their commitment and professionalism made those moments possible. I wish everyone involved with England Rugby League the best going forward and for the World Cup later this year.”
According to the latest reports online, St Helens boss Paul Rowley is now said to be the favourite to take over in the interim.
The 2026 Rugby League World Cup is still months away (scheduled to take place in October and November), but the governing body will want to get the new setup and coaching in place as soon as possible to prepare for the tournament.
Greater Manchester town named as one of country’s worst at fixing potholes
Emily Sergeant
A town in Greater Manchester has been named one of the worst in the country at managing roads and fixing potholes.
For the first time ever, drivers across England can now see how well their local highway authority is tackling potholes on their roads thanks to a new traffic light rating system published by the Government this weekend.
The new ratings grade local highway authorities as red, amber, or green.
The ratings – which have presented on a new interactive map – are based on current road condition and how effectively local authorities are spending the Government’s record £7.3 billion funding to fix potholes and investing in long-term measures to maintain roads.
The Government funding is meant to allow local authorities to repair potholes ‘effectively’ and move away from short-term repairs that work out to be more expensive – with these fixes meaning more money in drivers’ pockets, as the average repair bill from hitting potholes is said to be around £320.
We’ve launched a Red, Amber, Green rating system, so you can see how well your local highway authority (LHA) is fixing your local roads.
🟢 Green = best practice, long-term preventative plans 🟠 Amber = on the way, but room to improve 🔴 Red = support in place to raise… pic.twitter.com/gRwkEx5kdm
The condition of local roads, how much local authorities are spending on road repairs, and whether they are following best practice in maintaining highways are all key areas taken into account when deciding on an area’s rating.
Those that scored ‘green’, like Manchester, were able to demonstrate they are following best practice, while also maintaining good road conditions and investing significantly into improving local roads, and those that scored ‘amber’ – which the majority of Greater Manchester came under showed that there was room for improvement in individual areas.
However, one Greater Manchester town did not fare well at all, and ended up with an ‘red’ rating… and that town was Bolton.
The colour-coded map showing each local authority’s pothole rating / Credit: OS / Crown Copyright (via gov.uk)
Those local authorities that are rated ‘red’, like Bolton, are not yet meeting the expected standards in one or several areas measured, according to the Government, such as the current state of the roads, their plans for preventing potholes, or investment into maintaining their local roads more widely.
“For too long, drivers have paid the price because our roads were left to deteriorate,” commented Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander.
“We’ve put our money where our mouth is, increasing the funding for local highway authorities with £7.3 billion to fix roads and given them the long-term certainty they have been asking for.
“Now it’s over to them to spend the money wisely, and for the first time, we are making sure the public can see how well councils are doing in delivering the improvements they want to see in their local area.”
Emily Sergeant -
8th March 2022 
