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The Manchester Weekly from The Mill

Serious allegations about Manchester Confidential - how we published the story

Season 1, Ep. 73

The Mill's staff writer Jack Dulhanty discusses his widely-shared long read about the founder of Manchester Confidential. Plus, Joshi Herrmann and Darryl Morris discuss the opera coming to Manchester, the death of two year old boy in Rochdale, and a fascinating New York Times long read about a controversial murder case.

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  • The strange death of Levenshulme Market

    16:34
    Levenshulme Market was a local success story, cementing a narrative of a neighbourhood on the rise. For ten years, it ran weekly markets on a council-owned car park near the train station serving everything from craft beer to books, cocktails and gifts, and the market became celebrated for its role as an incubator for small businesses that managed to make the jump from a market stall to a spot on the high street. Then, in 2023, the directors announced that the market would have to cease trading for the rest of the year after a "painful planning permission process" made it impossible for them to proceed, but that they hoped that the market could come back stronger in 2024. It's now 2024, and there are no signs of the market returning anytime soon. Manchester City Council and Levenshulme Market both say they want the market to reopen. So why hasn't it?With thanks to this week's sponsor, The Davis Cup. With unrivalled drama, big names and an amazing wrap-around hospitality offer, there’s no better event for your business than a trip to the Davis Cup. Taking place at the AO Arena in September, packages include premium seating right next to the action, and complimentary drinks. There’s also a choice of tapas-style food or real luxury with a three-course lunch in the Skyline suite. Reward your employees for their hard work this year, or impress your most important clients with an unforgettable day of drama in the heart of Manchester.To find out more about the packages, and book your business in for the best VIP tennis experience, click here.Recommendations: The strange death of Levenshulme Market, The MillBattening down the Hatches: We all love a food hall, but does the model actually work?, The Mill
  • How did a semi in Harpurhey sell for £1.8m?

    21:07
    In this week's episode, Mollie and Joshi discuss the curious case of a semi-detached house in Harpurhey that was bought for £575,000 and sold for £1.8 million on the very same day. Manchester City Council cited the sale as an example of market manipulation, but the property company involved happens to be a major council partner. Mollie and Joshi talk about how the story showed up on our radar, and what the situation tells us about Manchester's housing crisis.Subscribe to read the full long-read here: https://manchestermill.co.uk/subscribe
  • Do Manchester's theatres have a class problem?

    37:38
    Do Manchester's theatres have a class problem? Robert Pegg, a playwright and police station representative, seems to think so. In a remarkable long read for The Mill, he argues that working-class creatives have been confined to the fringe scene, with commissioning editors mainly looking towards their own narrow class to fill vacancies. So how do we address these imbalances, and how do we ensure we hear from more great working-class writers like Shelagh Delaney and Trevor Griffiths in the future?Recommendations:Do Manchester's theatres have a class problem? The MillHave the arts been 'colonised' by the middle class? The MillHow to sell out in the ’70s, The MillIt's vast, it's beautiful — but does anyone know what Manchester's £210m venue is actually for?, The Mill
  • Britain doesn't have a second city

    18:56
    Has the question of whether Manchester or Birmingham is Britain's second city distracted us from another possibility: That Britain doesn't have a second city at all?David Rudlin, director of urban design at BDP, thinks so. A little-known law states that neither Birmingham nor Manchester are big enough to claim the title of Britain's second city, which brings us onto an interesting question: How have both cities fallen short? And what would it take for them to catch up?With thanks to Manchester Museum's Wild Show for sponsoring this episode. Wild is a brilliant new exhibition at Manchester Museum exploring how people are creating and repairing connections with nature, from post-industrial urban landscapes like Manchester to Aboriginal-led cultural revegetation projects in Western Australia and the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the US.Many readers have been sending in photos of their favourite wild spaces, if you’d like to join them, just email us a photo and description of your favourite wild space to editor@manchestermill.co.uk. Our favourite ones will be published in future newsletters and you will get a free curator’s tour of the exhibition. Read more about Wild and plan your visit via this link.Recommendations:Britain doesn't have a second city, The MillI value Brummie art, but who else does? The ObserverHow to invigorate Britain's second-tier cities, The EconomistThe Death and Life of Great American Cities, Jane JacobsThe Economy of Cities, Jane JacobsManchester Unspun, Andy Spinoza
  • Clinging on in east Manchester

    22:02
    Writer Alec Herron's gran’s house was on the Grey Mare Lane estate in Beswick, east Manchester. He can still remember Sunday afternoons "filled with rice pudding, sucking bone marrow and hours sat around the table hearing stories of tragedy and petty gossip told with the same veracity".It will all be coming down soon. The regeneration of Grey Mare Lane estate was initiated after a 2017 public consultation concluded the estate was being “left behind”. Late last year, a £70 million masterplan for the area was withdrawn, two years after being first presented to residents. Three weeks ago a new masterplan was released. 124 social rented homes are to be demolished, and at least 550 new homes built — more than double the number of the previous masterplan.In this week's episode, Alec discusses his memories of the estate — some happy, some painful — and why this area is ripe for regeneration, and asks whether the same community can live on after the demolish-and-rebuild scheme is complete.A warning: this episode contains a description of physical violence.With thanks to Manchester Museum's Wild Show for sponsoring this episode. Wild is a brilliant new exhibition at Manchester Museum exploring how people are creating and repairing connections with nature, from post-industrial urban landscapes like Manchester to Aboriginal-led cultural revegetation projects in Western Australia and the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the US.Many readers have been sending in photos of their favourite wild spaces, if you’d like to join them, just email us a photo and description of your favourite wild space to editor@manchestermill.co.uk. Our favourite ones will be published in future newsletters and you will get a free curator’s tour of the exhibition. Read more about Wild and plan your visit via this link.Recommendations:Clinging on in east Manchester, The MillEstates, Lynsey HanleyReclaiming East Manchester, Len Grant
  • General Election preview: Keir Starmer gets his candidates in Greater Manchester

    12:43
    It’s been a frantic few days of political shenanigans as Sir Keir Starmer’s ruthless operation in London moves to impose its favoured people on the safe seats that are up for grabs in Greater Manchester, the Lib Dems attempt to remove any Tory blue from the Greater Manchester map and the Tories fight to hold on in Bolton. So who are the people vying to be the next MPs of Greater Manchester, and what's going on with Labour's candidate selections? Mollie and Jack take a look.Recommendations:‘It’s basically a f*** you to the left’: Labour’s candidate selections are going down well, The MillYes, Galloway won Rochdale. But it’s the runner up who really tells us about politics in the town, The MillAfter Labour blows up in Rochdale, George Galloway seizes his chance, The MillWhy Labour stormed local elections across the country - but lost ground in Greater Manchester, The Mill
  • Sacha Lord has withdrawn his legal threat against The Mill

    30:26
    Last Thursday, The Mill revealed that Primary Security, a company controlled by Sacha Lord, had obtained more than £400,000 of public money from an Arts Council scheme that was supposed to support culturally significant organisations during the pandemic. Our story presented evidence that the application was deeply misleading and that Sacha Lord’s company Primary Security had recently changed its name to Primary Events. Fast forward to 5.04pm on Friday, and an expensive law firm in the capital sent a letter threatening to sue The Mill. Our story was defamatory, the letter said, and “factually wrong”. We had until 4pm on Tuesday to publish an apology and take down the story. Instead of complying with this deadline, we dug deeper. After we discovered new details, the Arts Council and the GMCA launched an investigation into the funding application, and as of yesterday evening, Sacha Lord has now withdrawn his legal threat against The Mill. In a lengthu public statement, which you can read in full here, Lord denies all of the allegations. In this special episode of The Manchester Weekly from Mill, Joshi Herrmann and Jack Dulhanty take you behind the scenes of our reporting and we sit down with the original source for the story, Mark Turnbull, the former director of Primary Security.
  • Co-op Live has finally launched. Now, it has to win back the public's trust

    15:06
    Co-op Live is finally live! Bury rock band Elbow performed at Manchester's new £365 million arena to a crowd of thousands on Tuesday night, after a series of disastrous mishaps where gigs were postponed or cancelled and an air conditioning vent fell from the ceiling. What was behind the delays in the first place, and what does Co-op Live have to do to win back the public's trust?With thanks to Manchester Museum for sponsoring this week's episode. Manchester wants to become a 'greener' city that embraces nature, but how can that be achieved given the scale of new development? That’s one of the many questions explored by a fascinating new exhibition called Wild, which opens at Manchester Museum on 5 June. Wild will explore how people are creating and repairing connections with nature, from post-industrial urban landscapes like Manchester to Aboriginal-led cultural revegetation projects in Western Australia and the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the US.We’d love you to take part. Just email us a photo and a short description of your favourite “wild” space in the local area, whether it’s the site of an abandoned mill or a lovely spot in your local park. Our favourite ones will be published in future newsletters and you will get a free curator’s tour of the exhibition. Read more about Wild here.
  • Manchester's homeless camp had good intentions. Was that enough?

    18:18
    On Friday 22nd March, tents started gathering under the porticoes outside Manchester Town Hall in St Peter’s Square. An activist named Emma was protesting the government not halting arms sales to Israel, and seeing the sleeping bags under the porticoes gave her an idea. Within a few days, dozens of tents were outside the town hall and there was a waiting list of rough sleepers hoping to join the camp. Manchester’s most pressing social problem was playing out right in front of the council’s nose.Now, Manchester City Council says the camp is over. 51 people from the camp have accepted a place in temporary accommodation, while five chose to remain. Deputy Council Leader Cllr Joanna Midgley said in a statement that “we cannot welcome an environment where vulnerable people are put at risk and others feel intimidated”, adding that “this camp is clearly untenable and not in the best interests of either the vulnerable people in it or the wider community who are impacted by it”, while the offer will remain open to those five people who initially refused temporary accommodation. Were the activists doing more harm than good? And what does this story tell us about the complexity of trying to help rough sleepers get off the streets?With thanks to Manchester Museum for sponsoring this week's episode. Manchester wants to become a 'greener' city that embraces nature, but how can that be achieved given the scale of new development? That’s one of the many questions explored by a fascinating new exhibition called Wild, which opens at Manchester Museum on 5 June. Wild will explore how people are creating and repairing connections with nature, from post-industrial urban landscapes like Manchester to Aboriginal-led cultural revegetation projects in Western Australia and the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park in the US.We’d love you to take part. Just email us a photo and a short description of your favourite “wild” space in the local area, whether it’s the site of an abandoned mill or a lovely spot in your local park. Our favourite ones will be published in future newsletters and you will get a free curator’s tour of the exhibition. Read more about Wild here.Recommendations:Manchester's new homeless camp has good intentions. Is that enough?, The MillManchester has a homelessness crisis. But it's not the one you thought, The MillMonths after a violent attack on a homeless man, the police are still trying to rebuild trust, The Mill