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A Manchester thread for all things Manc

Oh, while I remember, here's a Manc thing happening soon:
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Can't fund much other public info about it so far but sure there should be more soon.
 
farmerbarleymow said:
The combos at Bundobust are nice - had the vegan combo for two last time I was there and it was probably too much food for two people. The okra fries were particularly good.

Menu items Archive - Bundobust

The Original Indian Street Food & Craft Beer Hall
bundobust.com bundobust.com
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Bundobust are at the beer festival I'm at in Leeds tonight. Selling their beer and food and they have a DJ 🕺I'm definitely having some okra fries
 
Well on Monday 30th I was considering going to see Crack Cloud at Gorilla, can try to be around before that though.
 
Anyway, unrelated to the above, bit of Manchester news, the long-running campaign by Hulme residents over the Gamecock site is now fundraising for a legal challenge:
www.crowdjustice.com

Fight for Manchester’s land: Ensure our Council stand up to Developers

A campaign by residents of Hopton Court & Aquarius Estate, fighting plans to turn the Gamecock into student flats.
www.crowdjustice.com www.crowdjustice.com

Private developers, Curlew Alternatives Eighth Property LP, have been pushing for permission to build student accommodation on the site of the former Gamecock pub in Hulme for years.

Not only do these plans ignore the needs of the existing community in Hulme, but building a 9-storey block on this relatively tiny piece of land would completely overshadow the surrounding area. Development work would also create gridlock at this key public transport artery for the city.

These are just some of the reasons that the planning committee had previously refused the plans on four separate occasions.

But Manchester City Council allowed the developers to come back again and again. The planning office exploited the use of the Council’s own written constitution, telling the committee that they could only make a ‘minded to refuse’ verdict, effectively permanently deferring final refusal. This gave the developers an advantage.

Now, on the fifth attempt, the development has been given the green light.

We believe that this decision was made unlawfully, and we need your help to stop this development going ahead!

We need £10,000 to protect the campaign from adverse legal costs. Donate now and share our appeal with friends, family and colleagues.

“We were astonished when the Planning Committee went back on its previous view on this proposal. It feels like somebody bent the rules to get this through.”
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What’s the issue?​

Councils must follow rules and policies when they grant planning permission for new developments. This decision will send a signal to other developers that our communities are fair game.

We want to take the council to the High Court, challenging the decision on the following grounds:

  • Planning officers told the committee that there was no lawful reason for them to refuse the application, and that if they did want to refuse, they would have to be ‘minded to’ refuse again. This was wrong. Planning committees always have the power to refuse
  • Planning officers seriously misled the committee - they said they could not refuse the application again.
  • Planning officers failed to give reasons for deviating from a decision to refuse planning permission for a similar project on the same site in 2012. Planning law states that a local planning authority must show consistency in their decision-making
This is not the first time that the council has allowed developers to make their case several times.

How can we trust that planning decisions will follow any due process if they can continue to apply to the planning committee until they get the answer they want?

What are we doing about it?​

We’ve been fighting to stop profit-hungry developers from encroaching on our community for many years. We already have a plan that includes a social centre and social housing to serve the existing community.

We need the decision to build student accommodation here to be quashed, so that the community plan can be re-platformed as an alternative for the site.

“I have nothing against students - but we are losing our sense of community as students are transient and leave when their studies finish.”
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Why do we need your support?​

Public Interest Law Centre with the assistance of Greater Manchester Law Centre are supporting us with our legal case.

Our legal team is working on this challenge on a ‘conditional fee agreement’, meaning that the resident bringing the case will not be liable for legal costs.

We need to raise money to protect the resident from legal cost liability should the judicial review be unsuccessful.

We believe the council has granted permission unlawfully, and that we have a strong chance of success. However, this resident simply cannot afford to take the risk without your support.

For updates on the campaign, follow @blocktheblock1 and @gmtenantsunion.

Where will my money go?​

All the money raised will go towards protecting this resident from adverse legal costs in the event that the challenge is unsuccessful.

As the PILC legal team are working pro bono on this case. Any remaining funds after all costs and disbursements will be used to cover some of their actual working time.

Should the challenge be successful, the donations made will be shared between PILC, Greater Manchester Tenants Union and Block the Block campaign, and put towards developing the alternative plan.

If you’d like further information about the case or have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch at office@pilc.org.uk.
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hitmouse said:
Oh, while I remember, here's a Manc thing happening soon:
View attachment 441195
Can't fund much other public info about it so far but sure there should be more soon.
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Thinking about it, I imagine there must well be some urbs who might be able to contribute something to a documentary about the history of resistance to deportations in Hulme and Moss Side - would it be of any interest to The39thStep or Serge Forward, maybe? Again, there's still a bit of a frustrating lack of contact details for anyone actually involved in the project, but I think it's being made by Northern Light Films, who apparently have the email address bysshe.harkavy@northernlightfilm.org.
 
Not too much I can say about it really. My main experience of Hulme was visits to the Russell club (the Factory) on Royce Rd in the late 70s and once getting chased by a bunch of bone heads through the flats at 2am. I moved out of Manchester in 1980 and was only ever back to visit my family.

When I was there, on Saturday mornings I would swing round to the South African Airways shop in town and meet up with friends from DAM (now Solfed) for the regular protests. These protests were run by the RCG, who I thought had terrible politics but all seemed like very nice people. Viraj Mendis was always there with the RCG and he came across as a nice fella too.

I was living in Stafford at the time, so I organised accommodation for that leg of the Viraj Mendis anti-deportation campaign march from Manchester to London. I put up the two or three anarchists on the march and two or three of the RCGs including Viraj at my gaff while everyone else stayed at various mates of mine. I met them at a roundabout a few miles north of Stafford, near Stone I think, and when they left town the next day, I marched down to their next stop in Wolverhampton and stuck around for the veggie food and chat at a gurdwara that was putting them up near Molineux. Like I say, they were all very nice people.

Can't remember much else. I didn't have much to do with them after that as I moved down to London shortly after and wasn't around for the whole Viraj holding out in the church business.

Bugger. I've just looked him up on the internet and found that Viraj died last month :( Viraj Mendis - Wikipedia
 
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I moved to Manchester around 1986/7 our union branch supported the Mendis campaign and some other anti deportation campaigns . I went on a Mendis demo but that was about it, I'm afraid I tended to give RCG people a very wide birth tbh .
 
"Midsummers Night Dream" at the Royal Exchange cancelled at very short notice. The Stage reports why:

References to the Israel-Gaza war were at the heart of the reasons behind the Royal Exchange Theatre’s cancellation of its updated production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Stage understands.
It follows news, as revealed by The Stage earlier this week, that the show’s planned four-week run at the Manchester venue has been cancelled in its entirety.
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Initially, the Royal Exchange said the show was only being "postponed", blaming "technical" problems. However, later, when confirming the entire cancellation, it said that a "number of issues" had led to the show being pulled.
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The Stage understands from multiple sources close to the production that these issues were related to references to the Israel-Gaza war that had been inserted into this new version of Shakespeare’s play, which relocated the story to Manchester’s clubbing scene.
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One of the points of contention is understood to have been the inclusion of "Free Palestine" graffiti, daubed on a piece of set. Meanwhile, the conflict is also understood to have been referenced in a rap that one of the rude mechanicals performed as part of the ‘play within the play’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
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The full details that led to the cancellation were not confirmed by the Royal Exchange when put to it by The Stage. The Stage has not been able to reach the production’s director Stef O’Driscoll, who was making her Royal Exchange debut with the production, for comment.
However, a spokesperson for the theatre said a "number of challenges" had led to the cancellation, including a delayed technical week and injuries in the cast.
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“At the Royal Exchange Theatre we want to work with artists who address complex issues. Sadly, in a Midsumm:er Night’s Dream a number of challenges occurred which led to a decision to cancel the production – including injuries, a delayed technical week and changes late in the process. Despite our best efforts we were unable to get the show on as planned and took the difficult decision to cancel the production. Every effort was made to get the production on stage," a spokesperson said.
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It is understood both O’Driscoll and many of the cast members were keen to stand by the content of the production, causing a dispute between the company and management: the "disagreement" referenced earlier this week by union Equity.
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In a new statement, Equity said it was requesting an "urgent" meeting with the theatre to discuss the impact of the cancellation on its members.
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The union also confirmed its members would be paid and would not be "out of pocket" following the cancellation of the show.
The statement said: "Equity has contacted the theatre requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the reasons for cancellation, the impact on our members and the steps being taken now. We remain very concerned about this situation and its impact on our members."
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Bit last-minute, but just to crosspost a bit:
1727460972644.png

All out on Saturday, 28th of September! Meet at 1PM, on Colony One Silk Street, M4 6AG! Banner and placards provided.

Let @spareroomuk know that we demand change in how landlords upload their listings to discriminate against benefit claimants!

The process of advertising on SpareRoom is limited to “Professionals, Students and No Preference”. This implies that there are only two types of renters that might be searching for housing: in a “professional” job or higher education. Renting costs are at an all time high, so further limitations make it even harder to find housing.
 
So I'm going to be spending 24 hours in Manchester this Mon - Tues.

Can some kindly soul produce a must-see/visit list of interesting places?

I fancy the Science and Industry Museum, Manchester Museum and Manchester Art Gallery although I doubt if I'll be able to see all three without overloading on culture.

What else is worth checking out? How about cafes/alternative spaces etc?

Much obliged!
 
Manchester Art Gallery doesn't open on Mondays for some reason.

MOSI is open every day.

People's History Museum is open every day except Tuesday.

There's more art and museum stuff dotted around - there's the Lowry Centre and Imperial War Museum in Salford Quays that's pretty easy to get to on the tram.

National Trust have Castlefield Viaduct which is free to get in.
 
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