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.
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.
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.”
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.
Emily Sergeant -
8th March 2022 
