A council in Greater Manchester has confirmed plans to open ‘Warm Banks’, to help people keep warm this winter as energy bills skyrocket.
Oldham Council will be creating welcoming, heated, sheltered spaces for those who ‘cannot afford to put the heating on’.
The move will see places like libraries turned into Warm Banks as part of the council’s £3m plans to tackle the cost of living crisis.
In a statement, Cllr Amanda Chadderton, Leader of Oldham Council, said that schemes such as Warm Banks ‘should not be necessary in 2022’.
It’s hoped that the plans will particularly help vulnerable residents, such as the elderly and families with young children, through the colder months.
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Oldham is setting up Warm Banks to help those who ‘can’t afford to put the heating on’. Credit: Unsplash
She said: “As part of our £3m commitment to tackle the cost of living, we’re setting up Warm Banks so that Oldham residents who are cold and cannot afford to put the heating on have a place where they can get warm.
“These should not be necessary in 2022, but the reality for many people is that the cost of energy is unaffordable and without support, they will be cold in their own homes. This is particularly worrisome for our vulnerable residents such as the elderly or families with young children.
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“Our Warm Banks are places already open to the public, such as our libraries. We’ll be investing into these spaces over the coming weeks to make sure they’re as welcoming as they can be. We’ll also be working with our partners to identify places in the community that can be used as Warm Banks to ensure none of our residents are forced to be cold.
“As we approach the winter months and face another rise in our energy costs tomorrow with the October price cap increase, this situation is going to get worse for residents. But they’re not alone and as a council, we can help.
“Our team are on hand to help anyone who is already struggling with their energy costs. Through our Warm Homes Scheme, residents can access a range of support including claiming for Warm Homes Discount, help to switch energy suppliers or tariffs as well as ways to maximise your income to help make the basics more affordable.
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“If you’re struggling, we can help. Please contact our emergency helpline on 0161 770 7777 and our staff will do everything they can to make things a little easier for you.”
Featured image: Oldham Council
Oldham
The Egyptian Room – Greater Manchester’s grandest new food hall has just opened in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
One of Greater Manchester’s grandest spaces has been reborn as a food hall and bar, with six traders inside.
This part of Oldham’s Old Town Hall, now with an ultra-modern new extension standing alongside its historic porticoed frontage, is now home to the 150-capacity space.
The old Egyptian Room’s original features, like its beautiful ceramic tiled walls and pillars, and its arched windows, have been perfectly preserved.
And now there are green leather booths and large tables sprawled around the space too.
The new food hall, The Egyptian Room, has traders serving everything from pizza and pasta to noodles and gyros.
Ply Pizza are here serving heaped bowls of pasta, including beef shin parpadelle and carbonara, plus their signature pizzas like the pistachio pesto topped with a gooey burrata.
TukTuk has a menu full of Cambodian goodness like light bite street food items, sharing platters, spicy noodles and stir fries.
TukTuk Cambodian food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc Group
Seacoles is a new name, a Caribbean trader serving tacos and ‘splits’ (which are fried dumplings stuffed with fillings like Cajun spiced stripped beef steak and jerk chicken), and huge plates of curry and rice and peas.
Then there’s The Last Stop, with smash burgers, gyros and loaded fries, and Wings of Power, where there are crispy-coated wings, tenders and burgers.
Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said: “The old town hall, what The Egyptian Room is part of and this whole complex here, was a really derelict, unloved building.
Pizzas by Ply at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc GroupSeacoles Caribbean food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc GroupTukTuk Cambodian food at The Egyptian Room. Credit: The Manc Group
“Jim [McMahon MP] had a vision for this whole building and the one thing Jim and I do share is our passion for Oldham’s heritage buildings and he had a vision to make use of something that was unloved and derelict for a long time.
“The importance of that was not just the history and the contribution of what happened in these buildings before us but actually as a nod to say that even in the most difficult of times, because it’s been hard the last 14 years, it’s a nod to say how much we value our residents.
“How even in the most difficult times, this inspiration and the ambition of our partners is a nod to every single one of our residents and communities, no matter who you are or what your upbringing is.”
The Egyptian Room is open now in Oldham town centre.
10 of the best music videos you didn’t know were filmed in Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
Manchester is the (self-proclaimed) city of music and as much as us Mancs may be loud and proud about our colourful music scene, it’s also good to know these artists think so too, choosing our city for some of the world’s biggest music videos.
Whether acts have come to lipsync in front of a familiar hometown set, or jetted over here to make the most of our vast landscape and scenery, Greater Manchester is no stranger to music videos.
Some are set in Oldham mansions while others were filmed live in concert, some feature global pop megastars and others star the world’s biggest rappers.
So we’ve rounded up 10 music videos you might not know were filmed right here in Greater Manchester.
10 Manchester music videos
1. ‘Hair’ – Little Mix
Gotta get him out my hair and gotta get down to this Oldham mansion instead as the four girls used this location to film their 2016 smash hit ‘Hair’.
The video sees the X-Factor girl group hosting a sleepover to forget their exes and focus on friendships instead, as they dance and sing around the grand staircase and various rooms inside of Ashcroft House.
Little Mix can be seen tucking into some delicious pizza and they’re clearly big fans of the Italian delicacy, with the homeowner revealing she got to chat with them over a slice or two after filming at midnight.
Not too far from Uppermill, anyone with a spare £2.35 million can snap this property up in a heartbeat and find themselves living in a piece of pop music history.
2. ‘Desire’ – Calvin Harris and Sam Smith
Ever wanted to do donuts at The Brick Community Stadiumin Wigan? Well Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris has beat you to it and he’s brought along company in the form of pop recording artist Sam Smith.
The pair are racing round Wigan as well as a few more urban settings in a host of fast cars. A BMW E46 Coupe was the perfect choice for this shot matching the same kit as home team Wigan Athletic.
This car-meet music video was released in 2023 and in true 80s/90s style, much like the instrumental, Harris and Smith dropped a translucent orange vinyl to coincide with dropping the song.
‘Desire’ was the second collaboration for the duo coming five years after its predecessor ‘Promises’ which took the world by storm in 2018.
3. ‘BeFoUr’ – Zayn
It’s not everyday you see a member of One Direction strolling the streets of Manchester, but in 2016 Zayn paid a visit to Miles Platting to create a visual pairing for his latest single ‘BeFoUr’.
Not too far from Ancoats, Malik decided the surroundings of inner city Manchester would be used as a backdrop for the music video, which assisted his debut solo studio album ‘Mind Of Mine’.
There was even a mural of the album, which acted as the music video’s opening shot, painted at this spot to commemorate the filming of the video.
The musician even tried his hand at spray-painting, writing ‘Mind Of Mine’ in graffiti in the same area.
4. ‘Great Pyramids of Stockport’ – Antony Szmierek
This track sees Szmierek discussing the northern landmark while posing right in front of it in all its shining blue-glass glory.
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From Stockport to the stunning desserts of Egypt, the spoken-word poet even got to visit the inspiration behind its British counterpart, the Pyramids of Giza.
5. ‘Perfect Me’ – Blossoms
Staying in Stockport, Manc favourites Blossoms have also shown lots of love to their hometown especially with their visuals.
The music video for ‘Perfect Me’ sees the band stopping off at multiple destinations around the Greater Manchester town including a school, a farm and even a care home.
The Gallagher brother can be seen peering over Manchester city centre from the roof of the Midland Hotel with an additional band arrangement keeping him company.
One of the speakers in the video receives a special feature too, denoting ‘MCFC Spezial’, a nod to his footwear collaboration with iconic brand Adidas.
Famous landmarks like Manchester Central and St. Peters Square can also be spotted in this 2022 video classic, as Liam professes wise words of wisdom followed by ‘Believe me, yeah’.
In his usual parka coat attire, this video is a fully-fledged homage to Manchester and the incredible thriving city it has become.
7. ‘Money Power Fame’ – Don Broco
South Midlands band Don Broco decided to travel north to shoot their video for 2019’s rock release ‘Money Power Fame’.
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Utilising the gas holders as a backdrop right next to Etihad Stadium and Manchester’s newest live music entertainment venue, Co-op Live, it’s a video filled with money, power… and fame.
The boys silhouettes are displayed in front of the large gas holder which had dominated the skyline of the Bradford area of Manchester before demolition commenced this year.
Although they may not be resident Mancs, the band have played our music-filled city over 20 times since their first visit to Satan’s Hollow back in 2009.
8. ‘Lights Out’ – Rick Astley
The King of ‘Rick-rolling’ filmed the video for his 2010 single ‘Lights Out’ right here in Manchester’s AO Arena, directed by none other than comedy legend and British-legend Peter Kay.
This was a milestone song for Astley, not only thanks to the directorial credits but also due to the fact it was his first musical release in 17 years.
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Obviously, the best place to record your comeback single is an iconic UK venue such as AO Arena’s standing section, main stage and rooftop.
The track welcomed its first play at the same venue, joining Peter Kay on his 2010 UK Tour to perform the new addition as well as his classic hits such as ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (At least we didn’t rick-roll you).
9. ‘Fix You’ – Coldplay
Yes, believe it or not, Chris Martin paces the streets of London before making his way to the home of Bolton Wanderers football club, Toughsheet Community Stadium.
The filming of this video linked to their 2005 tour and two-day residency at the landmark stadium in Bolton, with Martin joining the rest of the band part-way through the video on stage enthralled by a crowd of over 28,000.
This song has reached untouchable levels of success and has become a staple to their touring setlist since its release much like many of their other smash-hit singles, their achievements are never-ending.
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Not too long ago in 2023, they blessed the crowds of Manchester with four back-to-back nights of musical therapy and physical therapy with fans encouraged to use static bikes while watching the show to power the show run.
10. ‘The Way I Are’ – Timbaland and Keri Hilson
The year is 2007, Timbaland has the current music scene hooked and he’s perched up with fellow American singer Keri Hilson to promote their record ‘The Way I Are’ in a basement in… Salford!
It’s safe to say the record producer and performer had the early 2000s pop and R’n’B music scene in the palm of his hands and this track definitely didn’t break that record.
Filmed in a lock-up garage on Chapel Street in Salford, catches Timbaland and Hilson dancing in a spotlight-lit setting in some rather formal office clothing.
The three football players suited and booted doing keepy-uppys were apparently supposed to be stars from that year’s Manchester United lineup, but filming took place at the same time as the FA Cup.
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Honourable Mention
‘Take Me Back To London’ (Sir Spyro Remix) – Ed Sheeran (ft. Stormzy, Jaykae and Aitch)
Ginger-haired pop sensation Ed Sheeran called upon Moston’s own Aitch to add a couple of bars to his Stormzy remix ‘Take Me Back To London’.
The video sees these cheeky chaps chopping it up in a New Moston sandwich shop, indulging in some good scran and cheers-ing their cuppas.
Sheeran started his life in the cosy Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge just an hour away from the site of this music video and is now one of the best-selling UK artists of all time.
Fans spotted the star mid-filming and although he may not have had a guitar on hand to serenade them, he did in fact stop to take selfies with passers-by.
Music is an integral part of Manchester’s history and it’s great to see our city and its surrounding boroughs being represented throughout time and many different genres.
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Here’s to many more famous faces popping up in and around Manchester to promote their albums!
And to a certain Ms Swift, we’ve seen you filming in Liverpool… why not give this wonderful city a try?
Daisy Jackson -
3rd October 2022 
