Boroughs

Waterloo Road has boosted Greater Manchester’s economy by a staggering £6.5 million

I may not be a maths teacher, that sure sounds good to me.

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia - 11th September 2024

Waterloo Road has boosted Greater Manchester’s economy by a staggering £6.5 million, according to the BBC.

The British high school classic has seen strength after strength following the new BBC reboot.

Waterloo Road first reached our TV screens in 2006, where we saw Salford’s-own Chelsee Healey burst onto the scene as the fiery Janeece Bryant, a disruptive but loveable student who always found herself getting into trouble. 

Since then, the school-based drama has gone on to see 14 seasons and more than 200 episodes, with an eight year interval in between, befoore returning to our screens again in 2023.

And with a new season dropping just yesterday (10 September), the love for the show certainly isn’t over yet.

ADVERTISEMENT

The show has been filmed in Greater Manchester since airing, with three seasons retreating to the Scottish lowlands of Greenock in Scotland. 

The first seven series of the TV drama were filmed in the former Hill Top Community Primary School in Rochdale, with the filming location for the most recent season taking place at a former Manchester College building in the city centre.

ADVERTISEMENT

The newest series sees famous faces like comedian Jason Manford, and ex-Coronation Street star Kym Marsh join the cast.

In new statistics provided by the BBC, it was revealed that the production of the first three new series generated more than £9.5 million for the broader North West area, and at least £6.5 million for Greater Manchester’s economy alone.

“It’s a series that helps nurture and champion local talent and directly supports the economy in the North West,” commented Charlotte Moore, who is the BBC’s Chief Content Officer, “and it’s also part of a much bigger story.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The BBC now invests more than 60% of its TV budget outside of London – supporting hundreds of production companies and suppliers.”

Read more:

You can catch Season 14 of Waterloo Road on BBC one every Tuesday at 9pm, or all episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer here.

Featured Image – BBC

Boroughs

Manchester restaurants to add an extra £1 to bills to help fight homelessness this Christmas

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A handful of local restaurants will be adding an extra £1 onto every bill over the festive season to help fight street homelessness.

People in Greater Manchester are once again able to give back while they dine at some of the best restaurants the region has to offer in the run up to Christmas, as the successful StreetSmart fundraising initiative is back for another year.

This year, 13 fantastic restaurants have come together to support local homeless charities as the campaign launched last Friday (1 November).

Manchester independents such as Mana, Climat, 20 Stories, and Tariff and Dale are among those taking part in the campaign this year, alongside several city centre branches chains such as Tampopo, Banyan, BOX, Manahatta, and San Carlo.

StreetSmart works by each participating restaurant adding an extra £1 to every bill they deliver throughout November and December, with all of the money raised going directly to local homeless organisations, thanks to StreetSmart’s official sponsorship from LandAid.

The funds raised by StreetSmart in Greater Manchester this year will support the crucial work of organisations such as CentrePoint, and Akt – a charity supporting LGBTQ+ young people aged 16-25 into safe homes, employment, education, or training. 

In 2023, Manchester restaurants alone raised a whopping £25,000 for these life-changing services in the local community.

Manchester restaurants are adding an extra £1 to bills to help fight homelessness this Christmas / Credit: Supplied | Rifqi Ali Ridho (via Unsplash)

“Many of us want to help the vulnerable people in our community during the festive period, and StreetSmart provides an easy way to do this,” explained Glenn Pougnet, who is the Director of StreetSmart.

“We’re grateful to see so many local restaurants stepping forward to help our city’s homeless.

“It’s amazing to witness the kindness that our community has to offer, and see the tangible impact of our efforts and funding in the community.

Read more:

“This year, we’re proud to be taking another step towards the eradication of homelessness, and look forward to seeing even more restaurants getting involved over the Christmas period.”

Featured Image – John Carey (via Supplied)

Boroughs

Andy Burnham calls for ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport as he slams Northern rail services

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Andy Burnham has called for an ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport system as he slams Northern’s rail services for being ‘not good enough’.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has been vocal about his condemning views of rail travel across Greater Manchester and the North West over the past couple of years, notably calling for widespread reforms across the board, and particularly taking aim at Avanti’s running of the West Coast Main Line – especially as regular delays and cancellations have become commonplace for many.

But now, Mr Burnham, along with a handful of other Mayors across the North, have written to the Government to highlight poor performance by Northern.

This comes after Mr Burnham called an emergency meeting of the Rail North Committee last Wednesday, which saw regional mayors and leaders seek “immediate assurances” from Northern after a spate of cancellations, overcrowding of services, and ‘Do Not Travel’ warnings on Sundays.

Greater Manchester now regularly sees between 30% and 40% of its services cancelled on Sundays, and in many cases, no replacement bus services or alternative travel methods have been provided.

Andy Burnham has called for ‘efficient and reliable’ public transport across the north / Credit: TfGM

The Committee members said they fear that, without intervention, the situation could get worse, and ultimately affect confidence amongst shoppers and travellers as we head into the busiest time of year.

“The situation must be reversed in the interest of passengers and the region’s businesses, especially those in the retail and hospital sectors,” the Committee concluded.

Some of the topics discussed in the Committee meeting were the fact that, within the past week alone, with it being half term for many in the region, a total of 1,600 trains were cancelled across the network, and there was a lack of mitigations in place, such as ticket acceptance with other operators, when this happened.

Infrastructure challenges, high staff sickness levels, and Northern’s reliance on staff working on rest days was also discussed.

“Efficient and reliable public transport is a critical enabler of economic growth,” Mr Burnham said.

“What we heard from Northern at the meeting of the Rail North Committee was not good enough for residents and businesses across the north. That is why, on behalf of the Rail North Committee, I have written to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State to urge them to support us to bring the service back to an acceptable level.”

Read more:

Mr Burnham concluded that “significant modernisation” is needed by Northern if they are to match the Committee’s ambitions for growth.

Featured Image – Northern

More Boroughs

Art & Culture

10 of the best music videos you didn’t know were filmed in Greater Manchester

Affiliate

The big Manchester guide to Bonfire Night – everything you need to know

Boroughs

Manchester’s major Jurassic World exhibition is sticking around until the new year

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches