Salford is set to see ‘play streets’ reintroduced to the borough once again 90 years after it pioneered the scheme in England.
The launch of the pilot scheme was confirmed by Salford City Council during a council meeting yesterday.
As part of the project, streets in the borough of Salford will be shut for four hours a day to allow children to safely play out and residents of the streets will be in charge of the closures with help from the council. The streets will be put forward by the residents themselves and will need at least 60% of the neighbourhood to be in favour of creating a ‘Play Street’.
The idea behind the scheme is that residents will be able to close off their street to vehicles and allow children to play safely, without the risk of oncoming traffic.
Those affected by the street closures will be consulted and Salford City Council is planning on releasing a consultation in due course, with guidance and risk assessment forms for residents who put themselves forward as organisers.
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Applications for Play Streets will only be considered on roads managed by the council, cul-de-sacs, through-route roads with low traffic numbers, and in areas with suitable alternatives for drivers.
Through traffic will be diverted, and residents who live on the streets will not have to move their cars.
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They will be free to enter or leave the street, however, will be asked to drive at ‘walking speed’ and will be escorted by a volunteer.
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This modern re-invention of the scheme is hoping to encourage young Salfordians to be more active, and to enable stronger neighbourhood bonds through the increase of friendships among children and adults.
The ‘Play Street’ project was first introduced in Salford back in the 1930s.
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It was the first place in the country to introduce a play street, and came after then Salford Chief Constable, Major Cedric Valentine Godfrey, brought the idea to the city upon seeing how the concept worked in the tightly-packed districts of The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan in New York.
Derek Antrobus – Lead Member for Planning and Sustainable Development at Salford City Council – said: “Salford, historically has been a leader in the creation of play streets.
“This is the modern version of it.
“It allows residents to close off their street for events, regular play activities, but it was a convoluted experience for people to go to and what we’ve done is to try to cut through all the red tape and make it easier for communities to create safe spaces for their children and families.
“It’s a response to what the communities were demanding and we’ve managed to address it in a very sensible way.”
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Erling Haaland breaks yet ANOTHER record as Man City look back at the races
Danny Jones
Erling Haaland has broken yet another record following his fantastic finish in the Champions League last night, and Manchester City look to be getting back to business as usual.
It was a night which was set up to be a glorious homecoming (admittedly, sooner than expected) for Kevin De Bruyne, who paid his visit to the Etihad Stadium since leaving the club this summer, but not everything exactly went according to plan.
Not only did an early red card for Napoli see the Italian champions down to 10 men and effectively trying to survive for just over an hour, but the need for a tactical substitution from ex-Chelsea coach Antonio Conte also meant that De Bruyne was hooked off after just 26 minutes.
Being given an even more premature standing ovation than his return to his former club – Conte actually apologising to the Belgian for what he deemed a necessary sacrifice – and signalling a collapse in the second half, said downfall was largely brought on by this bit of genius from Haaland and Phil Foden:
As you can see, the assist from the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ was arguably even more deft than the header, but take nothing away from the move as a whole, because it felt like yet more signs of City getting back to their ingenious best.
Special mention should go to Jeremy Doku as well, who’s speedy and direct drive then dribble into the six-yard box sealed the victory with a two-goal cushion and shared shades of his strike in the Manchester derby this past weekend.
However, it was yet another milestone moment for Haaland, who opened the scoring not only to put their first points on the board in the 2025/26 UCL campaign, but also became the fastest player to net 50 goals in the premier European competition.
Of course, we shouldn’t be that surprised by the achievement: Haaland was putting up serious numbers even before he arrived in England; he just seems to have increased the number of statistical feats he keeps surpassing since he got there.
Speaking to the media after the game, Man City manager Pep Guardiola said Haaland should now be seen as up there with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, remarking, “they are on another planet”.
“It’s not easy for Erling, always with many defenders around him”, he went on to add, “but he’s fantastic”, noting that he is improving already this season.
Do you agree with Pep’s bold claim – do you think he is ready to be considered among the greatest ever?
You watch Haaland reach another Champions League record and the rest of the highlights from Manchester City vs Napoli here.
Take That announce Etihad Stadium gig as they bring back legendary The Circus tour
Daisy Jackson
Take That are back – and they’re rolling back the years to reignite their record-breaking ‘The Circus Live’ tour from 2009.
The much-loved trio will be performing at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester as part of a run of 11 stadium gigs across the UK.
‘The Circus Live’ is one of their most iconic live shows, originally staged in 2009 and breaking records as the fastest-selling tour in history, attracting one million fans.
And now the remaining members of Take That – Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald – are hitting the road once again, more than 17 years after that iconic tour.
Take That will be back with The Circus Live for summer 2026, with two gigs at Etihad Stadium in Manchester
It’ll give fans who were there the first time around a chance to relive the magic, while new fans can see one of the most groundbreaking live productions in pop history for the first time – this time even bigger than before.
In 2009, the tour featured fire-breathers, stilt-walkers, clowns, acrobats, tap dancers, and a huge 30-foot-tall mechanical elephant, which carried the band through the audience.
They’ll be performing the original 2009 setlist, with a few surprises thrown in.
Take That said upon announcing their Etihad Stadium shows: “The Circus tour was one of our favourite experiences as a band and, in the years since, we’ve talked many times about how much we’d love to do it again one day. Well, that time has come!
“We’re so excited to welcome audiences old and new across the UK and Ireland to the spectacle of The Circus Live next summer. See you out there!”
Take That have so far announced two nights at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester (though we’re willing to bet they’ll add more), on 19 and 20 June 2026.
Take That will be supported by The Script (who supported on the original Circus Live Tour) and Belinda Carlisle.
Tickets for Take That at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester will go on sale from 9:30am on Friday, 26 September, or you can pre-order their upcoming tenth studio album for first access.
Tickets go on sale on Friday 26th September at 9.30am from www.ticketmaster.co.uk / www.gigsandtours.com / www.takethat.com
Take That – The Circus Live – Summer 2026 Full Tour Dates
Friday 29 May – Southampton St Mary’s Stadium
Friday 05 June – Coventry Building Society Arena
Saturday 06 June – Coventry Building Society Arena