A public footpath by the Irwell re-routed through a hotel lobby? Not anymore

Plus: More political drama in Stockport

Dear members — welcome to our end-of-week edition, which comes to you slightly later than usual. We’ve had a somewhat disrupted week thanks to the triple-threat plagues of staff sickness, annual leave and stories resolutely refusing to come together in time to publish, but that’s the joy of running a startup media operation, so thanks as always for bearing with us.

In today’s edition, we have an extended news roundup, a mini interview about a piece of Genuinely Good News in the city this week and some great recommendations for this weekend, including poetry in Bury, woodfired pizza in Withington and indie-rock in Wigan. Then, tomorrow morning, we have an interesting weekend read by Sophie, where she meets the author Alex Niven to talk about his experiences in the Manchester music scene and how he thinks “the North can rise again.”

Talking of Northern authors, our first Mill Members Club of the year, which takes place on Thursday 30 March, is filling up fast: 60 of the 85 tickets have …