Dear readers — welcome to the second (and final) week of our campaign, in which we try to get to 5,000 paying members so we can afford to bring in more freelance journalists, videographers and sound-guys, and possibly buy a 2-million-pound flat in Gary Neville’s big synagogue-crushing tower (more on that shortly).
The first week of our campaign has been a roaring success. First we started a city-wide argument about Beryl bikes.
Jack Dulhanty
Then on Friday we solved the biggest mystery on Market Street.
Lucy McLaughlin
And over the weekend we delved into the heart of darkness that is the personal finances of strangers.
Jack Dulhanty
Crucially, we welcomed 172 new Millers to our list in the space of only seven days! If you’re one of them — thank you, and we look forward to chatting with you in the comments. We’ve now got six days to get another 328… and we feel confident we’re up to the task.
That means that right now you’ve got six days left to subscribe to The Mill for just £69 for your first year, or £6.95 for your first two months.
This deal is part of our drive to get to 5,000 members, widening our audience and giving us the boost to do more of the journalism Greater Manchester deserves. Hit the button below to join today:
Multi-million pound flat latest: we can’t afford one
As readers will have seen in our weekend read about how much Mancunians make, Jack D is on a smooth £35k a year. That rather standard income didn’t stop him inquiring about a three-bedroom apartment in Gary Neville’s St. Michael’s tower, which is being built before our eyes outside the windows of Mill HQ. The high-rise – brought to us by ‘Relentless Development’, and which led to the displacement of the city centre’s only synagogue — is selling off-plan 3-beds for £2.1m. But maybe they have a deal on for first-time buyers? Anyway, after talking his way around the first few marketing calls by trying to sound convincingly rich and busy, Jack winced his way through the consultation to find out that there is a mere six three-bedroom apartments left, at a few mil apiece, suggesting the rest of the off-plan development has already sold, with delivery planned for late next year. Not bad business if you can get it!
Avanti West Toast?
Everyone’s least favourite rail operator – Avanti West Coast – is going to be taken under public control from 7 March. There has been cyclical news coverage of delays and cancellations on the west coast mainline – connecting Manchester Piccadilly and Euston – for years, but particularly since Avanti had its contract to manage the route renewed by the Conservative government in 2023. Heidi Alexander, transport secretary, said: “For years, we've heard stories of Avanti underperforming, with passengers left paying the price. Enough is enough.” Andy Burnham described Avanti as “a service that has failed them time and time again.” Management at Avanti, a joint venture between FirstGroup and Trenitalia, said they will work with the government to ensure a smooth transition from private to public ownership. The question is: how will things actually improve?
The government says nationalising Avanti will mean: “faster and more reliable services through changes to existing timetables, focusing on routes going in and out of Manchester”. Railway engineer and commentator Gareth Dennis has so far been unimpressed by the government’s excited nationalisation announcements, and isn't convinced by this one either. “They release a press release saying it is going to be magical, then nothing happens.”
He questions how taking operators under public ownership is meant to help with delays and network fragmentation (as promised by the department for transport in its press release), because those things are related to infrastructure, which the government already had control over. “I’ve found every single one of these releases to be incredibly insulting and patronising to the public,” says Dennis — who, we should stress, is an overall supporter of publicly owned railways. “They’re just putting GBR stickers on an organisation remaining in the same fragmented shape.” For now, there is no clear indication of how the operator will improve under public control, or if the extortionate fares for trains from Piccadilly to Euston will start to come down.
Eti-had a mare
After a weekend of wall-to-wall coverage of the reports Manchester City have been found guilty of breaking 114 financial rules (did anyone notice England were playing?), it feels like there’s little else to add. Except that Liam Gallagher says he’s been told that the club with receive a transfer ban and a fine (might be wishful thinking); Roberto Mancini – manager of City for much of the period covered by the charges – says it’s nothing to do with him; chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak insists the club are innocent; Gary Neville has strangely said nothing; and Alec’s lifelong City-fan dad is very bemused by the whole thing.
While every football journalist in the world will cover the micro-details of the case over the next however many years as City’s appeal drags on, we want to know what City’s long-term fans make of it all. Like Alec’s dad, have you followed the club since the 1970 European cup victory, through to Paul Dickov’s equaliser against Gillingham in the 1999 Division Two playoff? If you’d like to reflect on it all and give your opinion on this latest drama, email alec@manchestermill.co.uk.
An update from our man inside the Labour conference
Social housing halved in Trafford plan
The Trafford Local Plan, an emerging key document by Trafford Council setting out how land will be used until 2039, already appears to have hit a bump in the road.
More than 30,000 new homes are proposed in Trafford, the area with the highest average private rent in Greater Manchester. In the April 2025 draft policy on affordable and social housing, all major residential developments needed to provide affordable housing according to their locality policies. 60% of those affordable homes would be rented, comprising 40% social rent, and a further 20% affordable housing. However, in the July 2026 revised proposal, these figures have been flipped. Now, the plan proposes that of the 60% rented affordable homes in each new development, 20% should be social rent, while 40% should be affordable rent. This means the target for the proposed proportion of rented affordable homes allocated to social rent has been halved. Joe Troop, who works for two food banks in Trafford, says one of the biggest drivers of food bank use is the high cost of private rent in the borough. He says he and his campaign group, Social Homes for Trafford, are "devastated" by the proposed change.
Trafford Council told us they remain “totally committed to the delivery of social rent housing” but that when the first draft of the Local Plan was tested against “current economic conditions”, it needed adapting. They added that the plan sets out “minimum requirements for affordable housing”, but that this isn’t the only route through which such homes can be delivered. Social rent requirement in the policy reflects housing secured through planning obligations, the council says, rather than a “wider target… for social rented housing delivery across the borough.” The council pointed to work they are doing with several partners, like Homes for England, to deliver new affordable housing and social rent homes in the borough, adding that they aren’t in a position to directly fund the delivery of social housing, which is mostly achieved via grants.
Commotion in Chinatown
Last Thursday, around 25 Chinatown residents and business owners gathered in a small room to one side of Pin Wei Restaurant, away from the bustle of diners. Inside, Manchester City Council officers addressed a range of concerns from attendees, and they all centred on the recently erected scaffolding around the iconic Chinatown arch – the paifang – and the road beneath it being blocked off.
Restoring the arch is estimated to take 18 months to two years, and it’s this timeframe – which several in the Chinatown community see as unnecessarily long – and the lack of prior consultation with locals that has caused particular upset. During the meeting, attended by The Mill, one of the council officers told the group the short notice “wasn’t intentional”, but that pieces of the archway were beginning to fall off. “There is no underestimating what a complex project this is,” they said.
Their responses haven’t placated the community. “I get your team is trying to do their best, but it’s best to consult the Chinese embassy,” one local restaurant owner said. “They have more expertise on repair and can help things get done quicker.” Others are frustrated that no maintenance has been done on the arches since its installation more than 40 years ago. Another local business owner tells us he thinks the current scale of restoration could have been avoided otherwise.
In a separate statement, the council told us “it became clear that action was needed now… to ensure that the area was made safe for residents and visitors”. They said this meant it was impossible to engage with residents earlier, but additional engagement will continue to take place throughout the works. The council added that “the needs of the local business community are… extremely important to us and we will be speaking with them directly”.
In other news…
Our sister title in Leeds, The Exchange, had a major investigation out over the weekend about SystmOne, the medical records software used by thousands of GP practices and in every prison. They've discovered it keeps cropping up in inquests, with coroners and GPs expressing serious concerns over its safety. You can read it here.
A big clap for Manchester
And last and definitely least, Manchester officially has the highest STI rate of any university town, according to new research. Adult brand Erobella found that, in 2025, Manchester was venereal valedictorian with 924 new diagnoses of STIs per 100,000 residents, more than twice the national average. Curiously, towns with Russell Group universities had 32% more instances of STI diagnosis than towns without them — making the argument for more polytechnics and less polyamory.
This week’s weather
Our indomitable weatherman Martin Miles tells us weather is staying warm into October, with “no imminent cold period as temperatures will be above average for the time of year”.
Tuesday 🌦️ Largely cloudy and warm with occasional light rain. Breezy. Max 21°C.
Wednesday 🌦️ Heavy rain clearing to warm sunny spells later. Warm but still breezy. Max 20°C.
Thursday️ ⛅ Mostly dry with sunny spells and light winds. Mild, but cooler than recent days. Max 17°C.
Friday 🌦️ Showery rain at first then drier with pleasant spells of autumn sunshine. Max 17°C.
Weekend ️⛅ Predominantly dry with sunny spells and light winds. Milder than average, with temperatures reaching the high teens
Home of the week
This four-bed Victorian town house 20 minutes walk from the centre of Rochdale is both stunning, and though not cheap, provides hefty bang-for-your-buck. There’s a decent looking pub at one end of the road and a padel club at the other. There’s also a huge cellar. On the market for £390,000.
This week’s recommendations
🎭 Jane Austen is back. First Sense and Sensibility returned to the big screen with Daisy Edgar-Jones, and now Altrincham Garrick hosts Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Andrew Davies, writer of the 1995 BBC TV version. Tickets for tonight’s performance are on sale here.
🗞️ If, like us, you just can’t switch off from the world of red hot news and political opinion, then you can hear from Marina Hyde as part of Manchester Literature Festival. A handful of tickets remain available for tonight at the Royal Northern College of Music.
🕺 Jack D will be letting loose on Wednesday as Dirty Dancing takes to the stage at the Palace Theatre. The very last tickets can be found here.
🌳 The beautiful RHS Bridgewater opens its new Chinese garden on Saturday. The Yangzhou Scholars' Garden is the largest Chinese garden in Europe, according to the RHS. Tickets general entry to the Gardens can be bought here.
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