Section 27 follow up

To follow up the incident in 2008 in which Stoke City fans were served with a Section 27 order whilst innocently drinking in the Railway Pub, the police have finally admitted they were in the wrong. The orders were served illegally and the rights of UK citizens were breached. GMP have now paid out £185,000 to the fans involved, some of whom were escorted to Stoke even though they lived in Manchester.

Baby Deli & Junior Deli

Baby Deli is an Irlam based company supplying specialist baby-food products for the more discerning parent and restaurant. A local success story in the sense that their business has expanded this year to include two new restaurants, Baby Deli, perhaps might also be considered as a prime example of niche marketing. The theory goes that in a Post-Fordist and global world, there will be ever-expanding opportunities for small suppliers to occupy niche positions where outputs are too small for larger companies to operate profitably. This leaves markets gaps for small operators like Baby Deli. I guess the danger is that many small companies who do this well eventually come to the attention of larger suppliers, and become subject to buy-outs or takeovers. The now defunct DTI estimated in the 1990s that almost 80% of British SME's (small to medium sized enterprises) have lifespans of less than 5 years - some fail, but many are simply bought out to become parter of much larger enterprises.

Toxic Waste Processing Award

CSG Lanstar - polluting the air of Cadishead for many decades is up for an award for innovation.