Will the new Old Trafford be the ‘biggest regeneration project in the North’?

Dear Millers — good day one and all and welcome to this week’s briefing. As ever, this is an eclectic, rangy affair. First off, we’re taking a look at what could be “the biggest regeneration project in the North of England” in the future of Old Trafford. There’s also a coroner’s strange conclusion after a three-year-long inquest into a Greater Manchester death, recommended reads about the monster hunters of Bolton (ever seen the Rivington Dog Man?) and your usual weekly to-do list, including moonlit wild swims and lectures on women’s literature published during the Spanish Golden Age. Go forth and enjoy!

Over the weekend, we published a piece by Jack, who spent some time in Didsbury Village speaking to local residents about what some feel is the area’s declining fortune: fewer independent stores, more vape shops and Gregg’s bakeries, all against a backdrop of a very popular pub crawl that has thrown off the area’s vibe. “Didsbury problems eh”, commented one member. The piece has been described as both a “bit of a non-story” and “great reporting, proper journalism”. To make up your own mind, read it below.

🎧 Help us out: We’re looking for an excellent podcast editor who can work for us on a freelance basis to edit our weekly podcast. Ideally, you’ll have good availability during the week, great attention to detail on audio levels and you’ll have a good ear for where you can trim audio and help us sound crisp, clear and engaging. If this sounds like you, please get in touch with Mollie.

Find a great home for your team

From today's sponsor: Big ambitions for your business? You need much more than just a place to work. Bruntwood SciTech offers spaces tailored for your team, while connecting you to a 1,100-strong national community of science, tech and innovation-led businesses including the likes of Roku, AO and Deliveroo. Whether you’re growing your team, or looking to make stronger connections within a tight-knit community, we can find the perfect space for your business to flourish.

See workspaces in Manchester and enquire today.

🌦️ This week’s weather

Our local weatherman Martin Miles says we’re in for a “windy and unseasonably chilly week” after last week’s burst of sunshine. Wrap up warm — there’ll be a risk of a touch of frost on Wednesday and Thursday night.

Tuesday 🌦️ A wet morning with spells of rain then turning drier and brighter for the afternoon with just an odd shower. Windy. 14°C.

Wednesday 🌧️ Another windy day with unsettled weather consisting of heavy showers and brief bright spells. Feeling very chilly for the time of year. 12°C. 

Thursday 🌦️ An improvement on previous days with sunny spells and isolated showers. Feeling a touch less chilly with lighter winds. 14°C.

Friday ⛅️ A calmer day with mostly dry conditions and occasional sunny intervals. 15°C.

Weekend 🌦️ Turning warmer into the weekend but conditions will be mostly cloudy and there will be showers at times. Temperatures will peak in the high teens. 

You can find the latest forecast at Manchester Weather on Facebook — daily forecasts are published at 6.15am.

The big story: Will the new Old Trafford be the ‘biggest regeneration project in the North’?

Top line: Manchester United has entered into a partnership with Trafford Council and Greater Manchester Combined Authority to decide the future of Old Trafford. The partnership will be an advisory board feeding into the broader Old Trafford task force, making sure its plans align with the redevelopment of surrounding areas.

Context: Plans to either redevelop Old Trafford or build a new stadium are a priority of INEOS, the company owned by Failsworth-born businessman Jim Ratcliffe, which bought a 25% stake in United in February.

• The plans will coordinate with GMCA’s growth strategy and the development of the Trafford Wharfside area, which has been master planned by Trafford Council.

• The master plan includes new transport links, retail spaces and 5,000 new homes.

The future of Old Trafford will be at the heart of the Wharfside plans, and act as a catalyst for the area. Lord Sebastian Coe, who is chair of the Old Trafford task force, said:

Details: It remains undecided whether the stadium will be redeveloped or rebuilt, but the task force — which includes Andy Burnham, Gary Neville and other business and political leaders — has said the club won’t move away from Old Trafford due to its long history there.

Two options: The task force could either redevelop the stadium or build a new one on adjacent land. Jim Ratcliffe’s initial preference was a new stadium, reports the Athletic. Whichever way it goes, the Mail reports that United wants a 100,000 capacity stadium, which could cost up to £2 billion. For context, Everton’s new 50,000 seat stadium cost £500 million.

So who’s paying for it? Finding private funding is one of the main jobs of the task force, but Andy Burnham confirmed in March that the project will require public funding too. This is mostly due to the railway station at Old Trafford, which hasn’t been open since 2018. “If you were to refurbish the stand, you would have to do something to move that station and that would require public money,” he said.

Bottom line: Burnham said Old Trafford has the potential to be “the biggest regeneration project in the North of England.” Lord Coe, who also chaired the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympic Games, said “We are overdue a project of similar scale and ambition in the north of England.” Bringing local partners on board is a big step forward for the project, and indicates the intention of the task force to develop the stadium in a way that is coherent with the wider area.

Your Mill briefing

🏛️ On Friday, a coroner ruled that Sarah Hussain, who died after being set on fire in Bury in July 2021, did not commit suicide. However, the coroner couldn't answer one central question: if Hussain didn't kill herself, what, or who, did? The open conclusion is a baffling end to what has been a hauntingly long inquest process into Hussain’s death, leaving questions for her family back in Pakistan. We’re working on a long read about the Hussain case, if you have anything you’d like to contribute, email Jack.

🖼️ L.S. Lowry’s Going to the Match is going on tour for the next 12 months, stopping off at five North West venues including Bury Art Museum, Oldham Gallery and the National Football Museum. Going to the Match has been at Lowry’s eponymous arts centre it was bought at auction for £7.8m 2022, and shows fans arriving to Bolton Wanderers' former home ground Burnden Park. We wrote about the bidding war at the time: Yours for £7.8m: How The Lowry pulled off an auction room coup and secured a local masterpiece.

🚌 The government wants to see bus services across the country following the lead of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network. More local authorities are set to be given greater control over their bus services under new legislation being proposed to parliament today. The plans would allow all local authorities to introduce franchising systems like the Bee Network.

Home of the week 

This beautiful stone house has a sweeping balcony that overlooks the River Tame and four bedrooms spaced over four floors. It’s situated in Delph village, a short walk from nearby wine bars and pubs. £435,000.

Our favourite reads

Ghost Houses — File on 4

Neil Tonge, housing standards manager for Wigan Council, is “a member of a secret band of officials” named the Empty Homes Network, who roam the area looking for homes with cobwebs, overgrown gardens and boarded-up windows where no one is living, aiming to bring these abandoned houses back into use. To those closely following the issue, Wigan is seen as a “trailblazer”, proactive about finding empty properties and linking them with developers to bring them back to life. 261,000 houses in England have been empty for at least six months, and the total number of families or single people who are homeless or living in temporary accommodation is 113,000, and the Empty Homes Network believes these vacant houses could be an answer to homelessness. 

‘Out of this world’: free app will offer tour of modernist Manchester — The Guardian

The Daily Express Building in Ancoats would have made quite the impression when it landed in Manchester in 1939, at a time when Mancunians were most familiar with “stone, classical buildings” and red brick. “It must have been like a space-ship landing,” says Eddy Rhead. Eddy Rhead and Jack Hale, founders of the Modernist Society, both fell in love with Manchester’s modernist buildings for their “ambition and optimism”, and have recently developed a free mobile app that guides you through the city’s 20th-century architecture. They have plans to expand the tours to showcase Salford, Stockport and Trafford’s iconic modernist buildings, such as the Maxwell Building on the University of Salford’s campus. 

Nothing will stop Bolton’s monster hunters — STAT Magazine

George Francis-Lee joins Lee and Mick Mclaren on a hunt for the “Beast of Bolton”, a mythical creature that has rarely been sighted but is said to look like a panther and leave behind carcasses of sheep and deer, and giant paw prints. The work is “simple common sense”, according to Lee, who builds monster traps out of wooden frames, mud and fish, designed to create a scent that will appeal to cats. Near the trap, they found a “porcelain white spine lying there, bleached and undeniably real”, but their camera trap had run out of batteries and they didn’t know what caused it. “You just have to keep trialling. People try for years. People try for the first week and get results. You have to keep trying at it but not think too much into it,” Mick says.

Our to do list

Tuesday

📚 The Institute Cervantes presents a series of four lectures on women’s literature published during the Spanish Golden Age, a literary period “marked by rebelliousness and creativity”. The lectures will be delivered in Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation in English, ideal for those looking to brush up on their language skills. The event takes place online and is free to attend, just reserve a spot here.

🎨 Contemporary painter George Melling, who has exhibited works at the Royal Academy and the National Portrait Gallery, has a new exhibition at Saul Hay Gallery in Castlefield. It’s showing until 21 September and it’s free to visit. 

Wednesday

🌒 Open Swim UK is hosting a moonlit swim at Sale Water Park guided by twinkling lights. The weather is looking less than ideal for a dip, but you’ll be greeted with a warm cup of soup and cakes as you retreat from the water. Tickets here.

🍛 Lily’s Indian Vegetarian, a cosy tea shop and vegetarian restaurant, lovingly named after owner PG Sachdev’s late wife Lilawati Sachdev, is a great place to try freshly-prepared snacks and meals inspired by the food traditions of North India, South India and Rajastan. They offer lunchtime tapas for just £9.99 every Wednesday — Friday, book a table here.

Thursday

🎉 2024 marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of the borough of Oldham. To celebrate, local people have curated an exhibition at Oldham Library of objects that tell fascinating stories of the area throughout the years, including life in the Industrial era and celebrations of those who fought for women’s right to vote. It’s free to visit.

✍️ There’s a free poetry workshop at the Pankhurst Centre, which aims to get you writing on the topic of feminism, inspired by the works of female poets. It’s free, reserve a place here.

Thanks to today’s sponsor Bruntwood SciTech. See their range of lovely spaces and get in touch by clicking here.