Manchester has been named as one of the top 10 best places in the UK for a night out, but it’s not so good news for Salford.
With Manchester being the home of 24-hour party people and having a nightlife scene that’s globally renowned, it’s probably no surprise to hear that a new public survey has crowned the city one of the country’s best for a night out.
A short trip over to the neighbouring Salford however, and it’s a different story as the fellow Greater Manchester city is ranked as being one of the worst nightlife spots.
The Night Out Index has been compiled using newly-conducted research by public opinion consultancy, Public First, and has looked at the size of the night time economy across more than 100 major towns and cities in England and Wales to create a top 10 best list, and on the other end of the spectrum, a top 10 worst list.
Manchester only narrowly secured its place on the favourable list, however, just managing to grab the coveted tenth spot.
Manchester named in top 10 best UK cities for a night out / Credit: David Dixon (via Geograph) | PickPik
The Southern coastal city of Brighton was named the best place to head to for night out, based on the number of restaurants, pubs, bars, and clubs it’s home to, while the picturesque city of Bath came in second place, and the historic Yorkshire city of York took the number three spot.
Fellow Northern cities Chester, Newcastle, and Harrogate also made the top 10.
On the flip side, Salford has found itself at the front end of the list of the top 10 worst places for a night out, grabbing the fourth spot and only being beaten by the the southern trio of Basildon, Bracknell, and Slough at number one.
Bradford was the only other northern representative to make the top 10, with the rest of the ‘worst’ list featuring southern towns and cities.
Top 10 Best Places for a Night Out
Brighton
Bath
York
Chester
Shrewsbury
Cambridge
Harrogate
Newcastle
Cheltenham
Manchester
Public First said that the Night Out Index focused on licensed establishments to measure the strength of nightlife, the Mirror reports, and did not consider unlicensed evening establishments – including shisha bars or late-night dessert parlours, which have both grown significantly in popularity.
Overall, Public First says northern towns have seen some of the biggest improvements in nightlife, with Leeds, Liverpool, and Halifax leading the way with a roughly 20% increase in the per capita number of night time establishments.
On another local level though, according to Public First, Rochdale has seen one of the biggest declines in the Night Out Index.
Just under half (46%) of major towns and cities in England and Wales have seen an improvement in nightlife over the past decade, as measured by the Night Out Index, while the remaining 54% have seen a deterioration.
It’s according to the Night Out Index compiled using a research survey by Public First / Credit: shawnanggg (via Unsplash)
Top 10 Worst Places for a Night Out
Slough
Basildon
Bracknell
Salford
Chatham
Harlow
Luton
Bradford
Redditch
Gillingham
Speaking on the findings of the Night Out Index, Scott Corfe – Data and Modelling Team Director at Public First – said: “Our Night Out Index reveals big differences in the health of the night-time economy in different parts of the country, as well as some major changes in the make-up of the night time economy with the shift towards restaurants.
“It’s encouraging to see the nighttime economy contributing to ‘levelling up’ in the North of England, particularly with the greatly improved nightlife scenes in Leeds, Liverpool and Halifax over the past decade.
“However, with the Night Out Index declining in over half of towns and cities over the past decade, much needs to be done to strengthen the night-time economy elsewhere.”
Manchester City issue statement as they reach agreement over ‘APT’ controversy
Danny Jones
Manchester City and the Premier League have agreed a settlement over their long, drawn-out APT rules controversy.
For starters, no: this is not to do with the outstanding 115 charges still alleged against the local side; that’s to do with FFP.
In case you weren’t aware of the latest with this story, after winning a watershed court case against the English top flight last October regarding ‘Associated Party Transactions’ (APT) – an outcome with the Premier League contested – Man City have now put the case behind them.
Updating supporters on social media this week, the club revealed that the situation has now been resolved and is essentially over.
Sharing the update on social media, they gave a brief overview of how the debate related to transparency surrounding sponsorship deals and commercial dealings was finally concluded.
A statement reads as follows: “The Premier League and Manchester City FC have reached a settlement in relation to the arbitration commenced by the club earlier this year concerning the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction, and as a result, the parties have agreed to terminate the proceedings.
“This settlement brings an end to the dispute between the parties regarding the APT Rules. As part of the settlement, Manchester City accepts that the current APT Rules are valid and binding.
“It has been agreed that neither the Premier League nor the club will be making any further comment about the matter.
Although the decision was ultimately reached following extensive investigation by an independent commission, some are already speculating about what this could mean in terms of wider controversies surrounding the club. It’s also opened the door for them to resume partnerships already in the pipeline.
#ManCity have accepted the Premier League’s new ATP rules and have received assurances that they will not be treated differently when securing sponsorship with companies linked to their owners.
Manchester City are now able to complete a hugely lucrative, long-term deal with… pic.twitter.com/oqn9seWSbS
Conversely, the Premier League itself is yet to offer any public response of its own, with the assurance that the City Football Group (CFG) accepts that said APT Rules are “valid and binding” essentially being the final word.
Many fans have been quick to question online whether this has any impact on the aforementioned FFP saga (don’t forget City’s 115 charges were actually increased to 130 back in December), but very little is still publicly known about the latter.
The hearing itself technically began this time last year, but we have yet to actually find out what the result was, despite the 10-week process ending in December.
Meanwhile, that isn’t the only concern for die-hard Blues of late…
Ruth Jones and James Corden are making a new Gavin and Stacey follow-up project
Danny Jones
TV writing, directing and acting double act, Ruth Jones and James Corden, are teaming up once again for a follow-up show to UK comedy favourite, Gavin and Stacey.
After the success of last year’s one-off reunion, de facto third Christmas special and series finale – which was one of the biggest British telly events in some time – the two are getting back together to deliver their next project.
The aforementioned 2024 conclusion broke multiple records when it aired on BBC One, so it’s little surprise that there was plenty of interest in commissioning the next chapter, though it’s still unclear as to how connected to the Gavin and Stacey universe it will be.
Either way, you know there’ll be plenty of people grabbing a subscription to watch this one.
Ruth Jones and James Corden in 2008, at the height of Gavin & Stacey‘s popularity. (Credit: Ben Salter via Flickr)
Amid Netflix, Amazon Prime and their long-time collaborators at the BBC all courting the new series, it is Apple TV that has picked up the latest script from Jones and Corden, as per the Radio Times.
Set right here at home, the duo will be keeping things domestic, as they are set to star alongside an all-British cast over the course of 10 episodes.
Having picked up the inaugural season for a reported £8 million, Apple’s streaming platform will no doubt be banking on a big hit.
Once again, details remain tight-lipped at the moment, and it’s unclear if any familiar faces (be they actors and/or their actual on-screen characters) will be returning besides Jones and Corden, but an insider told RT that fans can expect it to be “uplifting, gentle and very funny.”
The source goes on to add that, besides just appealing to folks on our side of the pond, by introducing a “new format and new characters, they wanted to let an international audience enjoy their work”, and hopefully, have moments like this:
It goes without saying that America is obviously a big target market, given the former Late Late Show host’s eight years spent in the States, but Apple TV’s global reach is a big plus for the pair.
Nevertheless, they are hoping to achieve a similar heartwarming feel and those ‘water cooler’ moments with the Gavin and Stacey follow-up, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Already said to be hard at work writing the show, we don’t care if it’s a sequel or spin-off show per se, we just pray it’s as touching and funny as their magnum opus.
That ending was pretty perfect, wasn’t it? Well, by one little niggle we had…
Emily Sergeant -
10th July 2023 
