Oldham Coliseum says it’s “heartbroken” to announce that its general manager has sadly passed away over the weekend.
Lesley Chenery served as the Oldham-based theatre’s Head of Production from 2013 – 2021, before leaving the position and then returning in January 2023 as General Manager to help the theatre through “a difficult situation”.
Lesley has been described as the “backbone of the Coliseum”, as she helped guide the company through its recent loss of NPO Funding.
She was 58 years old when she sadly passed away.
Sharing the heartbreaking news of her shock death on social media last night, Oldham Coliseum Theatre said in a statement: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Coliseum General Manager Lesley Chenery this weekend.
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“Lesley was head of production from 2013 to 2021, and returned this January as General Manager to help guide the company through the loss of NPO Funding. Lesley was the backbone of the Coliseum, her presence at the theatre over the past weeks has brought immeasurable relief to us all.
“She was a friend, a support and a rock to many current and previous members of Coliseum staff [and] her knowledge, experience and love for the Coliseum and the team is unmatched – we will miss her beyond words.
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“Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”
Tributes pour in after Oldham Coliseum announces ‘heartbreaking’ death of general manager / Credit: Oldham Coliseum Theatre
Hundreds of people have been sharing their heartfelt tributes to Lesley since the announcement.
One person shared in tribute on social media: “Absolutely heartbroken to hear this news. She was such a fireball of fun, strength and fairness. Always a voice of equality & standing up for whoever wasn’t in the room, with a huge passion for theatre. Loved and admired by many.”
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Another wrote in tribute: “What awful news, Lesley was always so incredibly supportive to everyone working at The Coliseum. She was also a lovely warm funny person.
“Thinking of her family, friends and everyone at The Coliseum. What a terrible loss.”
A third person wrote: “Very very sad news. Lesley will be missed by so many of us who have worked with her across the industry. I remember working with her earlier in my career at the dukes Lancaster and then years later at the coliseum.
“She was a very experienced production manager, plus a thoughtful and caring person.”
Absolutley heartbroken to hear this news. She was such a fireball of fun, strength & fairness. Always a voice of equality & standing up for whoever wasn’t in the room, with a huge passion for theatre. Loved & admired by many. ❤️
The news of Lesley’s untimely passing comes just days after Oldham Coliseum Theatre announced that it was forced into making the “incredibly difficult decision” to cancel all its upcoming events and theatre shows after its funding was cut.
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The historic venue was dropped from Arts Council England’s National Portfolio from 1 April.
Full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Day 2024
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Day is back for 2024 this weekend, and the full list of road closures set to be in place has been confirmed.
Now that schools are officially out across Greater Manchester, and the summer holidays are well and truly here, the hugely-popular Manchester Day is making a return once again this Saturday 27 July, and as always, it’s set to be “the day summer officially starts” in the city centre – with a massive celebration of “all things Mancunian” on the cards.
The theme of this year’s annual event is ‘Let The Games Begin’, and it’s inspired by the international summer of sport, just 2024 Olympics kicks off over in Paris.
The day will be packed full of free events and activities to get involved with.
Some city centre roads will be closed on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 July for Manchester Day.
These will include:
🛣️Deansgate 🛣️St Ann Street 🛣️St Mary’s Gate 🛣️Market Street 🛣️King Street
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) July 21, 2024
But of course, in order for the all the fun to go ahead as safely as possible, and as tends to be the case for events like these, Manchester City Council says it will need to make some temporary road closures to facilitate it.
The full list of road closures has now been confirmed by the Council, and there’s some major city centre thoroughfares set to be out of action.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Manchester Day is back for 2024 to celebrate the international summer of sport / Credit: Manchester City Council
Manchester Day 2024 – Road Closures
Saturday 27 July
From 6am to 11:59pm, Manchester City Council has confirmed that the following roads will be closed:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street) – access will be maintained to Marks and Spencer’s car park and Number One Deansgate.
St Ann Street (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street (Cross Street to Deansgate) – no access for deliveries.
All accessible bays, bus lanes, and taxi ranks within the closed areas will also be suspended during from 6pm on Friday 26 July to 11:59pm on Saturday 27 July.
The parking suspensions set to be in place are:
Deansgate (Manchester Cathedral to John Dalton Street)
St Ann Street – including the bays outside St Ann’s Church (Deansgate to Cross Street)
St Mary’s Gate (Exchange Street to Deansgate)
St Mary’s Street (Southbridge Street to Deansgate)
Southgate (St Mary’s Street to King Street West)
Market Street (Exchange Street to Cross Street)
Fennel Street (Corporation Street to Cathedral Street) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cathedral Street (Fennel Street to Exchange Square) – access will be maintained for morning deliveries only.
Cateaton Street (Exchange Square to Deansgate)
Victoria Street (Cathedral Approach to Deansgate)
Todd Street (Corporation Street to Station Approach)
King Street (Spring Gardens to Southgate)
South King Street (Ridgefield to Deansgate)
Barton Square (St Ann’s Square to St Ann Street)
King Street West (Deansgate to St Mary’s Parsonage)
St James’s Square (John Dalton Street to South King Street)
Cross Street (King Street to Corporation Street)
Museum Street (Peter Street to Windmill Street)
Marsden Street (Cheapside to Brown Street)
Manchester Day 2024: Let The Games Begin! will take over the city centre on Saturday 27 July from 12pm-6pm.
Check out everything you need to know ahead of the event here.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete
Emily Sergeant
Work currently underway on the Rochdale via Oldham line is expected to take several weeks to complete.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has confirmed that land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has now “slowed”, and this means that detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works have been able to get underway.
In order for trams to run again on the crucial line from the city centre to the two major Greater Manchester towns, TfGM says that a small section of track has to be moved back – also known as ‘slewed’ – into its original position.
The overhead line poles also need to be repaired too, the transport operator revealed.
Rochdale line update
Land movement affecting the Metrolink network near Derker has slowed, enabling detailed ground investigations and temporary repair works to get underway.
To get trams running again, a small section of track has to be moved back into its original position… pic.twitter.com/byERjitdi1
Unfortunately though, due to the “complex” nature of these works, and despite the fact that TfGM says it’s actively looking to “accelerate” the repairs, the project is expected to take up to five weeks to complete in full.
On top of this, the detailed ground investigations will also establish whether any further work to strengthen foundations beneath the track will be needed at a later date.
TfGM has apologised for the inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘Complex’ Metrolink repairs to the Rochdale via Oldham line could take weeks to complete / Credit: TfGM
Speaking on the scale of works currently underway, and how long he expects them to continue for, Pete Sommers, who is TfGM’s Network Director for Metrolink, said: “I’m sorry for the impact this is having, and will continue to have, on people’s journeys.
“We are working to get trams running through the area again, but this remains a complex and challenging issue and it could still be a few weeks before this happens.
“We will of course keep passengers updated, and I’d encourage people to check our social media channels and website for the latest information and advice.”