Universities are expected to welcome around 80,000 new and returning students to Manchester over the next couple of weeks.
Manchester City Council has this week praised the extensive plans that have been put in place to manage the safe return of those students, but in the context of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic though, how exactly will this work?
In recent months, detailed preparations have been taking place through the city’s Student Strategy Partnership.
The partnership – which brings together the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, student unions, Manchester Student Homes, Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council – is already responsible for introducing a raft of COVID-safe measures.
According to a statement on the Manchester City Council website, these measures encompass both on campus arrangements for lectures, events and those living in halls of residence and in neighbourhoods around the city.
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These include:
Virtual-only events in Welcome Week, and a blended model of virtual and small group lectures on campus to reduce contacts.
Clear communications with students on COVID-19 guidelines and expectations.
The establishment of a local testing site at Denmark Road Leisure Centre in Hulme – a short distance from campus – which will operate five days a week, and there is also scope for mobile testing centres if further capacity is required.
Detailed plans in place to manage any potential outbreak.
Council liaison with businesses and licensed premises in areas with significant student populations, such as Fallowfield and Withington, to ensure they are COVID-secure and be clear about the expectations on them and the potential consequences of not meeting those expectations.
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The measures come after vice-chancellors and National Union of Students officers from the Universities of Bolton, Manchester, Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Royal Northern College of Music banded together to urge students to avoid mass gatherings and stick to the rules when the new term begins.
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Sir Richard Leese – Leader of Manchester City Council – said: “We are used to welcoming an influx of students but obviously this year is like no other.
“A great deal of planning has gone into ensuring that the return of students to Manchester is as COVID-secure as possible and that they can have a great experience in our city without putting themselves or others at risk.
“In particular I want to commend the universities, who have done some brilliant work around communications with students and their own on campus arrangements. They have engaged really constructively with wider planning around off campus elements. They have also shown leadership by making clear to students that while everything is in place for them to learn and enjoy themselves safely, any irresponsible behaviour which flouts COVID-19 restrictions, such as holding house parties while restrictions are in force, will not be tolerated and could have disciplinary consequences.
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Thousands of students will return to Manchester over the next couple of weeks.
The Student Strategy Partnership have worked closely with partners & the council to make sure students return safely.
— Manchester City Council #StaySafe❤ (@ManCityCouncil) September 9, 2020
He continued: “Students are always welcome here and form an important part of the life of our dynamic city. Many stay after they graduate and become proud Mancunians. We want them to feel safe and we also want them to feel part of the community, which means being good neighbours where they are living off campus.
“As well as working with the universities to communicate COVID-19 safety information, we are continuing our regular work to encourage students to be part of their neighbourhoods.”
You can find out more about the Student Strategy Partnership via the Manchester City Council website here.
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
9th September 2020 
