Would it come as a shock to you if we said that Manchester has earned itself a place in the top 10 for towns with the “noisiest neighbours” in the UK?
Is it a title us unspoken Mancunians would wear with pride?
According to new Freedom of Information data obtained by leading insurance comparison website, Confused.com – which looked at how many noise complaints were made in the top 100 most populated places in the country – more than a quarter of a million noise complaints were made to UK councils last year, and Manchester lands at number six on the top 10 list of places where those complaints were lodged, with 6,274 complaints made in total and a rate of 276 complaints per 10,000 households in the region.
The city was beaten to a top five spot by Cambridge, Portsmouth, Bath, Southampton, and probably unsurprisingly coming in at number one, London.
Perhaps more shockingly though is that Manchester was also joined in the top 10 by Stockport.
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The Greater Manchester borough town ranks at number eight on the list, with 253 complaints per 10,000 households.
The UK’s Noisiest Neighbours
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London (158,958)
Southampton (5,147)
Bath (3,288)
Portsmouth (3,490)
Cambridge (1,693)
Manchester (6,274)
Oxford (1,521)
Stockport (3,282)
Luton (2,003)
Brighton (3,182)
The research also revealed that of the some 250,000 noise complaints lodged across the UK within the last year, of those who did complain, more than half (52%) went directly to their neighbour to resolve the issue, 49% got in touch with their local council, and a third (33%) even went as far as reporting their neighbour to the police.
Researchers at Confused.com also conducted a survey of 2,000 Brits to find out what people think about their neighbours and what they are likely to complain about.
The largest source of noise pollution as voted by survey participants was loud music at 50%.
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This was followed by loud parties (43%), raised voices / shouting (29%), barking dogs / excessive animal noise (24%), and television noise (21%).
How about on the other end of the spectrum though?
Well, when it comes to the towns with the quietest neighbours, the sleepy Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham took the top spot, shortly followed by Solihull in second place, and then rounding out the top three is another Greater Manchester representative – Oldham.
There were 615 complaints of noise in Oldham, a rate of just 67 per 10,000 households.
Speaking on the research findings, Jessica Willock – Home Insurance Expert at Confused.com – said: “It’s no fun living in a noisy neighbourhood, and it seems some areas across the UK are a lot worse for noise pollution than others.
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“And living with noisy neighbours can be really difficult to handle without creating tension.
“More often than not, a friendly conversation goes a long way, but when that fails, where to turn to next can be confusing [which is why] we’ve created a guide to understanding basic neighbour etiquette, including how best to handle noisy situations.
“While calling the police might seem like the best route to take, you should in fact be getting in touch with your local council”.
‘Hairy men’ needed to play soldiers in returning major fantasy TV series
Thomas Melia
A huge TV series has issued an urgent casting call for, very specifically, ‘hairy men’ to play soldiers.
The exact show hasn’t been named in the casting call, but it’s definitely a major returning fantasy, and is reportedly House of the Dragon, the hit Game of Thrones spin-off.
This big on demand show is set to start filming in just two months’ time, meaning anyone considering shouldn’t wait to apply.
There are a list of key characteristics candidates should have if hoping for this role, including a great work ethic and a professional attitude, something all Mancs like to think we have.
The job description states that no prior acting experience is required, one of the only other things you need to be good at is waking up early (well that’s me out).
Most importantly, headhunters are looking for individuals to take on that have one big factor in common… lots of hair.
On the official website where you can submit your headshots and photos, you will find a mood board filled with ranging hairstyles that fit the desired look the show is going for.
Just one example of a long-haired man who fits the criteria for the returning series.Another similar hair style choice to the guide from the casting call.Credit via Unsplash
Most of the pictures on the site range from long curly locks to big bushy beards – it’s a shame Santa will be back in the North Pole by now.
All candidates must have grown-out hair, ‘overgrown scruff to longer beards’, this means no short, back and sides, or any ‘modern fades’ as stated by the casting team.
If the rumours are true and this turns out to be a shoot for House Of The Dragon, it would be great to see even more Northern talent feature in this show.
It wasn’t too long ago that fans and Mancs alike realised that actor Olivia Cooke, who plays Lady Alicent Hightower, was a local lass herself, born not too far away in Oldham.
One final and important note is that anyone who is likely to apply must make sure they’re 18+ and have a right to work in the UK.
Filming will take place across North Wales and the South East from March onwards, with rate of pay roughly £140-£300+ per day (depending on hours worked).
To apply for a chance to feature in the returning major fantasy series, you can do so by visiting the site HERE.
Greater Manchester set to be battered by ‘impactful’ heavy rain and wind this week
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester is set to be battered by some heavy rain and wind this week, according to the Met Office.
While things have seemed surprisingly more settled for the time of year over the last week or so, with clearer skies and chilly winter mornings being fairly commonplace, all that will change very soon, as the Met Office has forecasted that the UK is set to be battered by some ‘impactful’ heavy rain and strong winds as the week goes on.
Low pressure systems will bring a more ‘unsettled’ spell of weather, with a severe weather warning for wind issued for certain parts of the UK.
Today is expected to be filled with grey skies and light rain here in Greater Manchester, with cloud covering much of the rest of the country, and other outbreaks of rain elsewhere, whereas on Wednesday, the focus of rain will shift to southern England instead.
The weather looks set to turn more unsettled during the forthcoming week 🌧️ 🌬️
Thursday is where it’s set to take the biggest downturn though, as a front bringing heavy rain moves eastwards through the day, and it’s us here in North West England that are expected to see the highest accumulations too, with 20-30mm could falling over the hills, and some hill snow even possible over the Scottish mountains too.
A deep area of low pressure will also have ‘deepened rapidly’ by Thursday, bringing ‘strengthening winds’ to western parts of the UK along with it overnight, followed by more heavy rainfall.
Greater Manchester is set to be battered by ‘impactful’ heavy rain and wind this week / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“A very deep area of low pressure will bring a very unsettled, potentially disruptive, spell of weather to the UK through Friday and into Saturday,” explained Chris Almond, who is the Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist.
“Winds will begin to strengthen on Thursday night, with the peak gusts forecast through Friday in Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The wind will also be accompanied by heavy rain bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week.
“We have issued a Yellow weather warning for wind, and with several days before the impactful weather, the forecast details are likely to be fine-tuned during the week, so stay tuned to your local forecast and keep up to date with Met Office warnings.”
Emily Sergeant -
30th March 2021 
