Manchester City Council has launched the second phase of proposed permanent traffic changes to Deansgate this week.
It comes alongside a fresh consultation to “understand public opinion”.
The pedestrianisation of the city centre’s major thoroughfare has long been the subject of debate, especially after the Council declared a ‘climate emergency’ in July 2019.
But the conversation was brought to the forefront after a section of the road between Blackfriars Street and King Street was closed to vehicles back in May 2020 to help with social distancing and support the economic recovery of the city after the first COVID-19 lockdown.
Since the road was first temporarily closed, Manchester City Council says that support has “remained strong” for these changes to be made permanent.
The next phase of consultation on the proposed permanent changes to Deansgate is now open until 26 July, and we want to hear your thoughts on this important project.
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) June 28, 2021
A previous consultation – which was launched back in September 2020 – found that the general public was “overwhelmingly supportive” of steps taken to fully close this key route.
Council leaders now say they are keen to build on that support “in the best way”.
Currently, Deansgate is closed to general traffic yet open one way for buses and taxis only. Going forward, the Council is proposing to keep these current restrictions in place, while still allowing some access to these vital transport methods – but the authority is keen to hear the thoughts of Mancunians.
Do you think Deansgate should be closed to general traffic for good?
You can now have your say up until 26 July 2021.
Deansgate could be partially and permanently pedestrianised / Image: David Dixon
Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Environment, said: “The Council as part of the City Centre Transport Strategy has for over 10 years sought to make real and lasting change in the city centre, altering the way so many of us travel in our day to day lives.
“We have been listening and will continue to do so as this consultation progresses as we want a city centre that works for all of our residents, visitors and businesses.
“The Council has bold ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2038, and radically increase the number of people walking and cycling or using public transport to travel to the city centre – 90% of peak morning journeys by 2040.
“Changes like this to Deansgate will lay the foundation we need to achieve these goals.
“I’d urge as many people as possible to take part in this consultation, and have your voice on Deansgate heard.”
What changes are being proposed?
Some of the permanent changes being proposed by Manchester City Council in this latest round of consultation include access to the section of Deansgate between Blackfriars Street and King Street will be limited, except for open one-way travel in a southbound direction for buses, taxis and cycles.
Measures will be in place to improve pedestrian and cyclist usage and safety.
King Street to Quay Street will become permanently one-way only for all traffic, in a southbound direction with the northbound carriageway closed. A contraflow cycle lane will run for the length of Deansgate from Quay Street to Blackfriars Street in the closed off northbound carriageway.
St. Mary’s Parsonage will remain closed to traffic at its northern end to prevent traffic from diverting around the closed section of Deansgate.
The second phase of proposed permanent traffic changes to Deansgate has been launched this week / Credit: Manchester City Council
A bus gate will be created on Bridge Street after its junction at Left Bank, meaning that only buses, cycles and taxis will be able to drive out of the city centre across the River Irwell into Salford via this route – but traffic coming into the city is unaffected.
Gartside Street between New College Street and Bridge Street will be one-way northbound with a segregated cycle route in a southbound direction.
Buses will be permitted to travel northwards on Cross Street, and general traffic will not be able to proceed any further than the junction with New Market.
You can have your say on the proposed plans via the Manchester City Council website here.
Featured Image – Geograph (David Dixon)
UK News
New ‘postboxes of the future’ are being rolled out across the UK
Danny Jones
The Royal Mail is starting to roll out its line of so-called “postboxes of the future” across the UK this year, including right here in Greater Manchester.
It has been dubbed the most important and noticeable transformation to the classic British postbox in its entire 175-year history.
The national postal service teased the modern-day upgrade earlier this year, but the revolutionary new upgrade was officially announced this week, with Royal Mail ushering in a new era of digitally-driven units that should make many lives a lot easier – at least in theory.
Although they might look pretty identical to the iconic red boxes since before the turn of the 19th century have used up and down the country, there are marked differences between the new and the old ones.
Credit: Royal Mail
The biggest change made to the Royal Mail’s soon-to-be standard design is a digitally activated drop-down drawer, which will be able to fit parcels as big as a shoebox, hopefully saving us Brits on a fair few trips to the post office.
You will be able to scan a barcode via the updated Royal Mail app to activate the drawer for larger items; meanwhile, there will be a separate slot for letters and smaller packages.
Additionally, the new range of high-tech postboxes will also be solar-powered, helping the public limited company chase its ‘green’ targets.
Now owned by parent firm International Distribution Services (IDS) – who also oversee Parcelforce Worldwide – following the UK government’s approval of its historic sale to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský at the end of 2024, the group as a whole is undergoing a significant overhaul.
Britain’s new solar postboxes were first trialled back in April in four towns located throughout the Hertfordshire region: Letchworth Garden City, Ware and Hertford. A fifth was later installed in Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire, too.
Despite being quickly considered a success on the whole, the initial design featured an entirely black top, with polls of civilians and Royal Mail themselves agreeing that keeping them red all over was more in keeping with the brand.
It’s like the old school phone box, isn’t it? We can’t picture it any other way.
📮Attention Postbox Lovers 📮
Royal Mail is upgrading postboxes to accept parcels. They'll gaining a new slot and a solar panel on top
Speaking in a statement, the Royal Mail‘s managing director of ‘out-of-home and commercial excellence’, Jack Clarkson, said: “We are all sending and returning more parcels than ever before.
“This trend will only continue as online shopping shows no signs of slowing, particularly with the boom of second-hand marketplaces. There are 115,000 postboxes in the UK located within half a mile of 98% of addresses, making them by far the most convenient network of parcel drop-off points in the UK.
“Our message is clear – if you have a Royal Mail label on your parcel, and it fits, put it in a postbox and we’ll do the rest.”
The new generation postboxes are now being made permanent in the same locations, with Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester next.
Keep your eyes peeled on the streets as they’ll soon be making a debut in your area.
Rugby Football League to merge second and third divisions from next year
Danny Jones
The Rugby Football League (RFL) has officially announced that it will be combining the Championship and League One divisions next year as part of a larger restructuring.
Besides the push for phasing out automatic promotion and relegation with the top flight, these will be among the biggest changes in the RFL since the creation of the Super League.
Revealing their plans earlier this week, the rugby authority confirmed that the second and third-tier divisions will be merging, with the changes set to be implemented from 2026 onwards.
You can see the statement in full down below, which has been met with a mix of
Confirmed in a lengthier statement online this past Wednesday, 27 August, the update reads: “The RFL Board have confirmed that the Betfred Championship and League One competitions will be combined in a single division outside the Betfred Super League (BSL) in 2026.
“This follows the decision to expand Super League from 12 clubs to 14, subject to conditions – which was taken by the existing Super League clubs last month.
“A number of fixture formats are being developed following consultation with the Championship and League One clubs, but there will be no final announcement until after the number and identity of clubs in each of the two expanded competitions is confirmed, on Thursday, October 16.
“However, the reversion to a single division outside Super League means the Middle Eights that had been scheduled for the end of the 2025 season, as a means of determining promotion and relegation between Championship and League One, will no longer take place.”
It’s also worth noting that these changes will also see the proposed Super 8s end-of-season fixtures scrapped, as the 12 teams set to compete in the playoff-style tournament are obviously now being combined into one league moving forward.
The Super 8s competition that would involve the top four League One clubs and the bottom four Championship clubs has been abandoned by the Rugby Football League.
It is highly expected that the Championship and League One will merge into one big division of 21 teams next season… pic.twitter.com/WDkshjYTS2
As detailed in the latest communication from the RFL, the League One champions’ prize of £25,000, as well as the usual trophy and medals promised at the start of the season, are still up for grabs; the Championship Play-Offs will still also take place as scheduled.
The winners of the Betfred Championship Grand Final are to receive £100k and 0.25 club grading points.
Commenting on the impending overhaul, Rugby League Commercial Chair Nigel Wood OBE – who headed up the latest strategic review – said: “Following the decision of the Betfred Super League clubs that the elite competition should expand to 14 clubs in 2026, subject to conditions, this is a logical and equally exciting next step.
“The Championship and L1 clubs have been extensively consulted and were virtually unanimous that the two divisional structure for the part-time game wasn’t working as well as it ought, particularly League One – and it is a great credit to the Championship clubs that they recognised that position.”
Reiterating the belief that this is the best way to support and promote “historic and ambitious clubs” outside of the BSL, helping boost attendances, finances and hopefully future investment. It remains a touchy subject for some, though.
The RFL merging divisions may not yet even matter for some.
Speaking of clubs looking for further backing, questions remain over the vetting process for investors and the ‘fit and proper persons tests’ in both rugby and football, especially with the ongoing crisis at Salford Red Devils.
With all that being said, while everyone will have the chance to win the new Championship and perhaps Super League promotion, the likes of Salford are just trying to stay afloat.
Regardless, what do you make of the RFL merging the Championship and League, and do you think it’s the right step for the future of rugby league?
Emily Sergeant -
29th June 2021 
