Manchester City Council has submitted plans of its intent to reduce the standard speed limit in the city from 30mph to 20mph.
As part of its new Active Travel strategy with Transport for Greater Manchester‘s (TfGM), which is aiming to make roads right across the region safer for pedestrians and cyclists, the Council has said it is keen to make default speed limits in Manchester 20mph, and also further reduce any 40mph speed limits to 30mph by 2028.
On top of this, the Council is also reportedly committed to closing roads outside at least one school in every neighbourhood at drop-off and pick-up times.
As well as attempting to improve road safety overall, the Council also says its strategy aims to wider benefit public health through contributing to less pollution, better fuel efficiency, and fewer road collisions throughout the city, according to ITV News.
The default speed limit could be cut to 20mph across Manchester / Credit: Unsplash
The new five-year strategy is being put before councillors at a committee meeting this week.
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The Council says it’s hoping the new strategy could make walking “the natural choice” for residents taking short journeys, and could double the proportion of cycle trips within five years.
Reports of plan to reduce the default speed limit to 20mph have already been met with positive reviews by local campaigners – with prominent campaign group Walk Ride GM describing the potential move as a “win-win” for all road users.
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They believe it would encourage more considerate driving, while also reducing noise and danger, and creating “less wear and tear” on the roads.
The Council wants to make Manchester “one of the best places in the country to live and work” / Credit: gov.uk
They also argue that lowering speed limits means vehicles travel at more consistent speeds, leading to less wear and tear and making it safer for others.
Manchester City Council’s leader Bev Craig says the Council wants to make Manchester “one of the best places in the country to live and work”, and believes the reduction of speed limits and the other travel propositions would contribute to this.
Louis Tomlinson at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist, and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson is heading out on a UK tour, visiting Co-op Live for his biggest Manchester solo show to date.
10 years since launching his solo career with debut single ‘Just Hold On’, Tomlinson is hitting the road again for his tour, which shares its title with the name of his latest LP – How Did I Get Here?
Tomlinson’s last visit to Manchester saw him gracing the impressive 21,000 seater AO Arena – a stage he was already familiar with during his UK boyband days.
But now, the Doncaster-born musician is visiting one of Manchester’s biggest indoor live music venues, Co-op Live, and it’s sure to be a jam-packed night of live music.
Are there tickets left for Louis Tomlinson at Co-op Live?
Well if you’ve made it this far through, it’s safe to say the fact you’re after Louis Tomlinson tickets is ‘Written All Over Your Face’.
If you’re wanting to ‘Face The Music’ or ‘Jump the Gun’ you can do so as there’s tickets to his Manchester show at Co-op Live HERE.
Louis Tomlinson is bringing the How Did I Get Here? tour to Manchester on 24 April / Credit: Flickr via Javie Rosh / Wikimedia Commons via Kurt Kulac (Supplied)
Louis Tomlinson setlist for 2026 tour
The How Did I Get Here? Tour officially kicked off in Europe and it prioritises songs from his latest LP.
Here is the set list:
Lemonade
On Fire
Written All Over Your Face
Out Of My System
Bigger Than Me
Saturdays
Angels Fly
Dark to Light
Broken Bones
Defenceless
Just Hold On
Lazy
Sunflowers
Lucid
Jump the Gun
Imposter
Sanity
Kill My Mind
Face the Music
Silver Tounges
The Observer
The Answer
Miss You
Palaces
Stage times
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning you can get home before having to watch the sky turn from ‘Dark to Light’.
Anyone attending this show is in luck as the North has been well and truly represented in the form of Manc-based rock group Pale Waves and Doncaster talent ADMT.
Great to see another one of our own, Alex Spencer, also joining the bill for the EU leg, even if it means Manchester just misses out on getting to him hit the stage.
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
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The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
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Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of one Greater Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few ocassions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Emily Sergeant -
10th February 2023 
