Greater Manchester’s transport bosses are preparing to submit an updated Clean Air Plan to the Government.
According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the preferred plan set to be submitted would still mean that there would be no charges for any vehicle driven on a road anywhere in n Greater Manchester, as was first suggested back in December 2023, as the alternative plan that proposed a benchmark charging ‘Clean Air Zone’ in the centre of Manchester and bordering parts of Salford would not meet the legal deadline.
On top of this, the revised plan will also crucially include updates to air quality modelling, corrections to modelled emissions of Government-funded retrofitted buses, investment into new buses, and a fund to help taxi drivers upgrade their vehicles.
As mentioned, a key element of the proposed plan is investment in cleaner buses, especially as the latest figures show that improvements to Greater Manchester’s bus fleet is already helping to improve air quality.
🐝 We’ve set out a compelling plan to show how Greater Manchester can meet clean air targets with a non-charging approach, investing in:
🚍 Zero-emission electric buses on our @BeeNetwork 🚕 A Clean Taxi Fund 🚦 Better traffic management
Pollution in the region in 2023 was found to be “significantly lower” than the levels recorded pre-pandemic in 2019.
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Despite having been working at pace to deliver the electrification of bus depots across the region, the revised plan does take into account a delay to a new all-electric depot at Stockport, which is now expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
A total of £86.7 million of Clean Air funding has already been allocated to Greater Manchester, and from this, the revised plan is looking to use £51.1 million.
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This funding would go towards 40 new Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs), depot electrification in Manchester and Bolton, and 77 new Euro VI clean air compliant buses.
Greater Manchester is set to submit a new non-charging Clean Air Plan to the government / Credit: The Manc Group | TfGM
TfGM says that, in the revised plan, there is no change to proposals that would see £30.5 million made available to help owners of all eligible hackney carriage and private hire vehicles to upgrade to a cleaner vehicle.
£5 million will also be invested in local traffic measures to “better manage traffic flow” on Regent Road and Quay Street in the city centre.
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Speaking ahead of the revised plan being submitted to the Government, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, who is the Clean Air lead for Greater Manchester, said: “Given some of the changes that have occurred in the last nine months, there was a need to adapt and update our proposals for an investment-led, non-charging GM Clean Air Plan.
“We’re now in a position where that work has been done, and, subject to approvals, we can submit our updated plan to the new Government as soon as possible and await their decision.”
Featured Image – rawpixel
Travel & Tourism
Inside Soho House Manchester as rooftop pool finally opens
Daisy Jackson
Soho House Manchester finally opened its doors to members late last year – but there’s still more to come.
The exclusive members’ club, which costs from £2,400 per year to access, faced several years’ worth of unavoidable delays as it transformed the old Granada Studios.
And even now that members can finally visit the space for networking, dinner and drinks, events, and working, Soho House isn’t actually finished.
Instead, the hotly-anticipated venue is opening in phases – the latest of which is that beautiful rooftop pool, with views overlooking the city from the top of the former television studio.
New images taken inside Soho House Manchester show several of the completed spaces, from lounges with beautiful natural light flooding through skylights, to stylish candlelit dining rooms, to gorgeous bedrooms.
In keeping with the building’s history, the Soho House design team have stuck with a premium mid-century interior, including terrazzo flooring and warm wood details, muted green and orange colour palettes, and chrome furniture.
Have a look inside Soho House Manchester:
Soho House Manchester is now open. Credit: SuppliedBeautiful interiors. Credit: SuppliedA bar space. Credit: Edvina BruzasRestaurant spaces. Credit: Edvina BruzasDetails of Soho House Manchester. Credit: Edvina BruzasMid-century details at Soho House Manchester. Credit: Edvina BruzasInside Soho House in Manchester. Credit: Edvinas BruzasNew spaces are still opening. Credit: Edvinas BruzasThere are 22 bedrooms inside. Credit: Harry Crowder
There are now 22 beautiful bedrooms up on the sixth floor, exclusively available to Soho House Members, which carry on the 1950s heritage design.
As the build continues, members will soon have access to a Soho Health Club with a gym, reformer Pilates studio, smoothie bar, and infrared sauna and steam room.
Every Soho House has a strict no-photos policy to protect to privacy of members – which means unless you fancy forking out £333.33 a month, you might never see inside it beyond the club’s official photography.
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
Emily Sergeant -
19th September 2024 
