Cadishead in Space

Election results: 5 May 2011 - Salford City Council

2011-05-06T09:59:00.000+01:00

No major surprises from yesterday's local elections. The Lib Dems hardly registered in Irlam or Cadishead. Indeed The Greens pushed them to fourth place in Irlam. Also pleasing there are relatively few numpties in Cadishead voting for the BNP who polled just 195 votes out of 2742 votes cast - a mere 0.07% share and just 0.02% of the total electorate for the ward. This is really heartening when compared to the 2010 results when this odious, but irrelevant party managed 346 votes (0.07% of votes cast).

Local election news

2011-04-28T10:46:00.001+01:00

Good and bad news when reviewing the list of local candidates for the up and coming local elections in the Cadishead and Irlam wards. One positive is the presence of a Green Party candidate on the ballot sheet in Irlam. Residents concerned about the environmental impacts of peat extraction, methane gas extraction, housing development, warehouse development and port development + the proposed biomass generator at Barton - all within or close to the Green Belt separating Irlam from Eccles, perhaps should give due consideration to this candidate, or at the very least ask their preferred candidates what are bloody hell they are going to do about the potential environmental decimation of Irlam - and the impacts that will have on traffic, pollution, global warming, your health, your children's health - and if anything - your house prices. If you are not concerned by any of the above then perhaps I should also throw into the mix the development of heavy freight traffic and a long term proposal to expand Barton Aerodrome (nee City of Manchester Airport) into the conurbations second major commercial airport. Rant over.

Of equal concern, however, is the presence of a BNP candidate on the ballot sheet for Cadishead. There is no room in mainstream politics for right wing extremists, who if they ever got into power, would takeaway mine and your right to criticise them on blogs like this. My grandad fought against the Nazis in 1945 - and was wounded in battle on D-Day. His brother, a brave paratrooper, flew in the night before the landings to take a vital bridge, but never returned. My grandmother chucked fruit at Oswald Moseley in Manchester in 1930s and at his reprehensible blackshirts. My grandparent's generation were not prepared to see a Fascist flag planted on British soil and neither am I, and neither should you. These people are racist scum, in a party lead by an idiot, and populated by criminal thugs. A vote for them, isn't a protest, its a waste. You might also want to think about brave British troops supporting the resistance in Libya. I wonder what Nick Griffin thinks about this conflict, having flown to the country at Gadaffi's expense to seek financial support from this evil monster.

Robinson in Ruins

2011-02-12T20:25:00.000Z

The dream has gone but the Daisy is real

2011-01-27T16:36:00.001Z

Talk Talk, the company which provided the telecommunications infrastructure for Carphone Warehouse provides one those nice capitalism stories. The brainchild of a local entrepreneur, the decision to locate in Irlam was driven less by logistics and more by a passion to give something back to the community, by providing investment and jobs. Unfortunately Talk Talk's relationship with Carphone Warehouse went sour and they seperated last year leaving several hundred employees in Irlam and Warrington concerned about their futures. Unfortunately their worst fears have been realised with today's decision to axe about 600 posts - around 13% of the workforce. The expanding Daisy Group, based in Nelson, has offered to take on about 70 staff, but this is a major blow to the local economy. So much for Con-Dem prediction that the private sector will soak up lost public sector jobs.

Cadishead Library to close?

2011-01-17T16:36:00.000Z

Reported in today's Salford Star are rumours that Cadishead Library is to close as Salford City Council is forced to cut services following budget cuts imposed by the Con-Dem government. As bankers pocket millions in bonuses from tax payers' money, your children's education and future becomes at risk. The closure of Cadishead Library will leave many young people within the town without access to valuable resources and community space within walking distance of their homes. This is the reality of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

243 homes to be built in Cadishead

2010-11-16T00:42:00.000Z

After a long process Wimpey and Redrow have finally gained planning permission to build in 243 new houses in Cadishead. The new homes are planned for the former industrial site on Hayes Road. The positive here is that construction will take place on brownfield land, rather than in the Greenbelt. It was hoped that the issue of building houses on Chat Moss disappeared with the new government's decision to abandon the crazy targets adopted by Salford under the old Regional Spatial Strategy. If you have been watching the news, however, you will know major house builders have challenged this decision,claiming the decision to cut the construction targets was unlawful. So there remains a possibility that Salford again will adopt a strategy to construct 10,000 new dwelling units in the city, with many 100s targeted for what is currently greenbelt land. Watch this space as they say, because it will probably get built upon if the housebuilders have their way.

Source: Property / Commercial Property / Housebuilders win consent for 243 homes in Salford THEBUSINESSDESK.COM

11th Day of the 11th Month.

2010-11-12T01:06:00.000Z

Three reasons why I wear a poppy this month. 1) someone I knew from poly died flying a helicopter in a tragic accident in the opening days of the Iraq war in 2003. He shouldn't have been there in an illegal war. The poppy reminds me of this injustice and that violence isn't the answer. 2) my younger grandad landed in France on 6th June 1944 in D-Day and got as far as Caen before being wounded in a mortar attack and returned to England. His brother, a paratrooper landed the day before, to take a vital bridge. He didn't return. The poppy reminds of the war against the Nazis and how we must continue the fight against the Far Right and extremists. 3) My older grandad survived World War I. He signed up as a 15 year old, lying about his age because Lord Kitchener wanted him to fight for King and Country. He was poisoned by mustard gas and lived a life afflicted by bronchial problems which eventually killed him. The poppy reminds me of the futility of war. Three generations of death. Three generations of ordinary people who gave their lives in wars constructed by the State. That's why I wear the poppy. So stick your jingoism, and stuff your nationalism where the sun doesn't shine. Instead think about your fallen brothers and sisters, comrades in arms.

Entologi unveils expansion plans - Manchester Evening News

2010-11-10T09:50:00.000Z

Reported in the Manchester Evening News, Entologi, the new owners of RTS, have plans for expansion. Let's hope this secures jobs for local people.

Gas is a Blast!

2010-11-06T20:09:00.002Z

Irlam has featured heavily in national news media, because of the event on Merlin Road/Silver Street this week. It is alleged that a gas pipe disconnected during improvement works, led to explosion which will mean that 10 homes will now be demolished. Not the best thing to happen before Christmas, but the fact no one was killed is nothing short of a miracle. A local fund has been set up to support the families and the Vesperados are planning a charity bike run, indicating that there is some community spirit left somewhere. Even David Cameron has pledged that the victims will receive special assistance.

National news coverage, rather unsurprisingly, has focused more on the human interest angle of the disaster. An investigation is under way as to the exact cause of the blast, although many other local resident remain concerned about the continuation of housing improvements undertaken by City West Properties, the arms length organisation that owns and maintains many houses in Irlam and Cadishead. The Manchester Evening News has made some damaging allegations about the contractors used by City West to carry out work on their behalf, although the voracity of their claims is open to question. But it is going to be an interesting few months, with so many homes controlled by City West.

It may come as a surprise to many people, and especially readers of the Daily Mail, that there are few genuine council houses left in England. Between1979 and 2003, 2,657,000 properties were taken out of public control (ONS, 2010). Some 60% of these transfers occurred through the Right-to-Buy scheme, and around 29% via Large Scale Voluntary Transfers, whereby local tenants on an estate vote to move en masse out local authority control, with management passing to a Registered Social Landlord or an Arms-Length Management Organisation (ALMO). City West Housing Trust are an ALMO established in 2008 who manage 14,600 properties on behalf of Salford Council in the west of the city. They are currently investing £235m over five years to renovate and improve this housing stock. A typical 3 bedroom terrace will cost around £76 a week to rent from City West.

It may also come as a surprise that most local authorities have failed to benefit financially from these developments. Council's were forbidden by Thatcher from re-investing the capital receipts from council house sales into repairing their existing stock. Consequently local government loss most of its prime stock to private individuals who often acquired properties way below their market value. Good news for them, but not local government who left with limited funds to manage its most problematic estates. As such, the 'sink estate' was born, isolated housing estates which were poorly funded, until mass transfers took place from the 1990s onwards.

Clearly it is good news for residents to have their homes improved, even if they are paying rents now much closer to market averages. But concerns remains about the opening up poorer estates to the vagaries of financial markets and the quest for profit, which often sees public service standards replaced by cost-cutting and lapse safety regimes.

ocal people, especially those who have lost their homes this week, I am sure will be extremely interested in the current investigation into the explosion on Merlin Road.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11681714
http://www.salford.gov.uk/councilhousing.htm
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7712

Breaking News

2010-11-02T07:58:00.000Z

Terrible news with reports that three houses located on Merlin Drive have been destroyed by a gas explosion at 7:10am this morning. Hopefully no one is injured. Let's see how this plays out in the media, with reports on Radio Manchester and even Radio 5.

Incinerator fears

2010-10-31T11:04:00.002Z

I came across this really sad letter in the Messenger (see link below) of someone describing the long term health impacts of working in industry, which led to the early death of her husband who had worked for many years at Irlam Steel. The letter has been written to express concerns about Biomass Incinerators and the potential risk to health posed by such installations. Peel Holdings are planning such a facility at Davyhulme near Barton Bridge. At one level these installations provide a source of renewable energy - an attractive proposition to politicians seeking support on a green ticket. However, there are many concerns about the efficiency and health impacts of biomass incinerators. The emissions from this plant are likely to spread over a large populated area including Irlam and Cadishead.

Air pollution does not respect local authority boundaries, so this proposal which is being considered by Trafford Council, is as much of a concern for Salford residents. And when you start to look at evidence from around the world,we perhaps should be concerned as this quote from Oregon suggests:

"Burning biomass is ... a dirty air problem. Even with air pollution controls, these plants will collectively pump ton after ton of toxins into the air every day -- chemicals that will rain down on the neighborhoods closest to the plant. A number of professional medical societies are warning the public that breathing sooty emissions from biomass incinerators is known as the most dangerous form of pollution and a significant health risk. The Oregon Chapter of the American Lung Association is predicting that patients, particularly children with asthma, respiratory and cardiac ailments, will experience increases in the incidence of respiratory problems. These diseases can be worsened by small micro pollutants, the type of pollution that will increase with the proliferation of biomass plants in Oregon" (Oregon Live, 2010).

Contact your local councillor!

Sources:

No 6 Sloop Irlam

2010-10-31T01:16:00.000+01:00

Samuel Walters is famous for this paintings of 19th Century ships, including No 6 Sloop named after our town 'Irlam'. The vessel was built in 1831, but was wrecked in 1852 after running around near Warren Point in Northern Ireland. Would be good to see some way of commemorating Irlam's maritime heritage, perhaps some postcards. The painting itself is held by the Merseyside Maritime Museum.

The Container Storeroom

2010-10-26T01:08:00.002+01:00

Industrial storage may not seem like the key to globalisation, but the shipping container has revolutionised the global economy, enabling the safe transit of bulk volume across huge distances, reducing the cost of transport from 30% of the price of a product to just 1%. Shipping containers are also used as homes, retail space and even as a debating space during Manchester's Future Everything festival in 2010.

An obvious extension of the container's internal logic is to reuse these ubiquitous boxes, not only for storage en-route, but as storage in lieu of permanent warehousing at ports or at factory sites. This provides companies with added locational flexibility ensuring components only hit the factory floor as and when needed. The implication is that business can save on valuable floor space, which would normally be used to store stuff.

It also means that the traditional landscape of the port has changed radically. Shorn of its romanticism, the modern port has few cranes, warehouses or even dockers. Rather they resemble the port facility at Irlam, which comprises a single lonely crane surrounded by containers and an access road.

Port Strategy - Storeroom key

How manufacturing really works

2010-10-25T13:35:00.000+01:00

You may remember from geography lessons at school how national economies are broken up in 3-4 sectors - Primary (farming, mining), Secondary (manufacturing), Services (finance, shopping etc) - and maybe an elusive Quaternary Sector - which I could never get my head around - basically all the stuff which wasn't in any of the first three sectors.

The problem with this analysis is that it is complete bunkum. The reality in a globally interconnected world, is that vast global corporate empires effectively sew together all these sectors into one business network, rendering their division meaningless, but also making analysis much more difficult to interpret.

The case of Irlam based RTS is a case in point. At first sight, this innovative company makes stuff. It manufactures robots for industry, including those clover bomb disposal robots which have help saved the lives of many service people and citizens. So according to our Sectoral model - we should place it in the secondary sector.

In a world without international financial services, this perhaps would be the case. But as I've often observed on this blog, the local and the global are connected in dynamic and complex ways. RTS are simply seen as a vehicle for raising share prices and the capital values of shareholder portfolios across the world. It is now seen appropriate that RTS no longer makes stuff the way it does, and does things differently in order to extract further surplus value from the local, another victim of the vague Alternative Investment Market. And so RTS is no longer RTS, but Hephaestus Holdings, whereas the actual making of stuff will pass to a new company Entoligi.

As an ordinary employee you make think making profit has to do with the actual quality and demand for the product, marketing and efficiency on the factory floor. But the reality is that shareholder returns are by in large made through acquisitions and mergers on an international scale through City dealers. As an ordinary employee you will be aware that the consequences of the constant changes in ownership is restructuring and job losses.

Hephaestus Holdings is another one of those global companies who are notoriously difficult to pin down. It is a new company, formed in 2005, based in the US where it runs 15 subsidiary businesses in the engineering sector in the mid-West region.

According to Greek mythology Hephaestus was cast down from Mount Olympus by Zeus, crippling his legs, who fashioned magical contrivances for the gods, but cut a rather comic figure as the cuckcolded husband of Aphrodite. I'm not drawing any analogies but it is a strange name for a company.

Source: RTS unveils break-up plans - Manchester Evening News

Irlam - International Centre for the Denial of Human Rights

2010-10-25T11:26:00.001+01:00

This weekend saw Manchester United play at Stoke City, which for the Guardian newspaper raised the spectre of the infamous incident at the Railway Pub whereby GMP used a spurious Dispersal Order to forcibly move a group of innocent Stoke City fans. This event has raised questions about civil liberties in Britain and the denial of basic human rights to ordinary people. It would seem the moment you don a football scarf in this country, you are unwittingly signing away these rights. All this is justified by the police, who make the case that if they deny a handful of football hooligans gaining entry into a football stadium, the denial of rights of hundreds of innocent people is a piece of liberty forgoing for a bit more safety.

Cadishead job's crisis

2010-09-13T23:37:00.000+01:00

Another excellent article from Salford Star revealing the immediate impact of the recession on local people - namely redundancy and job losses - with Cadishead experiencing a major hike in unemployment. Although projects such as Media City raise the profile of Salford, the reality is that this development and Salford Quays in general, has had little impact on the fortunes of local people, an island of regeneration in a sea of deprivation.

Irlam and Cadishead Community Festival

2010-08-19T19:17:00.003+01:00

This annual Irlam and Cadishead Community Festival aka The Irlam Show takes place this August Bank Holiday weekend. In a return to tradition, the show will take place over two days - Sunday and Monday. Over recent, the struggle to fund the festival had seen it reduced in overall scale and to just one day. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the event. There are three main events:

Sunday 27th August - Picnic in the Park featuring live music between 2-8pm
Monday 28th August - Diamond Day- including an array of entertainment from 12.30 to 4.30
Monday 28th August - Diamonds Are Forever fireworks show from 9pm

Silcocks Fair will be open all day both Sunday and Monday.

Double Dip

2010-07-20T20:24:00.000+01:00

Sure signals of a double dip recession occurring as local people are set to lose their jobs at Ingersoll Rand who operate a security technology business in Irlam. The corporation is massive, real global player with 40,000 employees worldwide and a business worth £11billion, although their Irlam plant is very small. I guess the irony is that security needs tend to increase as people lose their jobs, with a clear statistical relationship between rises in unemployment and increased property crime.

Section 27 follow up

2010-06-27T23:07:00.000+01:00

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

2010-06-11T13:39:00.000+01:00

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

2010-06-07T18:34:00.000+01:00

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

Zero Sum Gains in regional development

2010-05-26T11:00:00.000+01:00

A major criticism of regional inward investment strategies is that public money simply gets diverted to unelected regional development agencies who spend the cash competing against each other to attract companies to move into their boundaries. Sometimes this has been done in a quite underhanded or corrupt manner. For example, see the antics of the Welsh Development Agency in the 1990s who simply went around the country poaching companies from other places by convincing them to move to Wales by offering a ridiculous level of grants or tax breaks.

Whether any national interest is being served here is questionable. Whereas there is some value in relocating jobs from growth regions to places which lack local employment opportunities, there seems to be little logic in companies moving from one declining region to another. So news that a recycling company is moving to Irlam, bringing 30 skilled jobs, is obviously good news for local people and businesses. The reasons for doing this maybe perfectly legitimate, for example, to access lower cost premises, skilled workers etc.

But Irlam's gain is the West Midlands' loss. In national terms this is a zero sum gain. No new jobs or investment are created, there are simply moved around the country. In fact evidence from other company relocations suggests that when companies do relocate they often rationalise their business in the process, resulting in job losses not gains.

From the perspective of Regional Development Agencies, inward investment is an easy option, a quick fix and short term way of fixing the employment crisis in their area. It is much easier to 'create' jobs in this way, than for example, working with indigenous companies to build their skill capacity and promote local in-situ growth over time. Evidence suggests that companies who develop in this way or more likely to become embedded in the local economy and therefore much less likely to move on if they receive a better offer from another region.

Another concern is that companies who move in are much more likely to move out again compared to embedded firms. Often many inward movers move on again within five years. Global corporations, such as Nike, have this locationally built-in to their business model, to enable to move free across national boundaries extracting the best surpluses they can get from what are otherwise poor national governments. Other companies also use locationally flexibility to threaten government, to extract benefits simply to remain in the same place.

With the recent change of government the future of regional development agencies is being brought into question. Is there a better model of promoting local economic development without recourse to needless and vicious spiral of place competition for mobile investment?

Coalition confirms plans to abolish regional spatial strategies - Regen Daily Bulletin - Regen.net

2010-05-24T13:20:00.000+01:00

The much derided Regional Spatial Strategy is to disappear courtesy of the Con-Dem coalition. Hopefully this will mean Salford is no longer committed to building a ludicrous 10,000 new properties within its boundaries. A temporary reprieve for Salford's Green Belt, then? Perhaps, but now Salford City Council will have to deal with the might of Peel Holdings by itself.

Coalition confirms plans to abolish regional spatial strategies - Regen Daily Bulletin - Regen.net

Transport plans to be scrapped

2010-05-10T08:21:00.000+01:00

Plans to improve Irlam Station announced prior to the election, identified as one of the most unsafe, least accessible stations in the county, now look likely to be scrapped after the election. Hmmm?

Local Election Results

2010-05-08T20:33:00.000+01:00

Cadishead ward

Candidate	Party	Votes cast
CARR, Jennifer	Liberal Democrats	679
HUDSON, Christine	Labour Party	2,014
KELLY, Tony	Conservative Party	1,267
WARD, Colin	British National Party	346

Elected: HUDSON, Christine (Labour)
Electorate: 7,614
Votes cast: 4,334
Turnout: 56.9%
Majority: 747
Void votes: 28

Irlam ward

Candidate	Party	Votes cast
ARMSTRONG, Mark	Independent	500
BATES, Chris	Conservative Party	1,095
JONES, Roger	Labour and Co-operative Party	1,791
MIDDLETON, Katriona	Liberal Democrats	663

Elected: JONES, Roger (Labour and Co-operative Party)
Electorate: 7,208
Votes cast: 4,069
Turnout: 56.4%
Majority: 696
Void votes: 20

Multisol Group and the Nomads of the Global Economy

2010-05-03T13:18:00.000+01:00

Multisol (Irlam)

Multisol are head-quartered in Nantwich but have a small presence in Irlam. Essentially they distribute chemical, lubricants and solvents to an international market. The company also has offices in Spain, France and South Africa. This profitable business generates around £113m sales and employs 120 people.

Nomads of the Global Economy

It might not come as much as a surprise to regular readers of this blog, that the ownership of Multisol is opaque, rendering the question of where its business is exactly located (See: Cadishead in Space, 24.8.08). Resorting to binary geographies of global v local simply doesn't provide us with adequate theoretical tools to explain the complex geography of the firm in contemporary times. Multisol is local, regional, national and global at the same time.

In 2008 the company was bought out by its own management team, even though the previous owners continue to hold a stake in Multisol. The deal was rushed through to avoid the impact of changes to the Capital Gains Tax rules. The move was facilitated by KBC Capital - a vision of KBC Bank NV (in other words they stumped up the necessary loan to enable the buyout to take place). KBC Bank NV are actually based in Antwerp Belgium, which is in itself a subsidiary of the Belgium KBC Group. Perhaps the bank is not too well known in the UK, but it is actually one of the largest in Europe.

If Wikipedia is to be believed then the history of this bank can be traced back to 1889 with the foundation of the Catholic Volksbank van Leuven. Perhaps not enough is understood how global companies with humble beginnings diffuse particular cultural practices across the world as they expand. Whereas there is always something distinctly American about KFC or McDonalds, there appears to be something distinctly Flemish about KBC. In 1935 KBC merged with two other banks to form the Belgian Kredietbank - which under the leadership of Fernand Collin, aimed to define a Flemish postwar economic recovery.

The Manchester Evening News recently reported there were plans afoot to float Multisol on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). This was news to me, an alternative self-regulating stock market, which runs in parallel to the Stock Market we love and loathe! Companies floated on this alternative market are advised by a Nominated Adviser or Nomads, according to their jargon. This figure of a nomadic financial advisor perhaps personifies the liquid and mobile qualities of the global market place, a world in which the notion of place has little fixed meaning, a figure left drifting on streams of financial data and investment flows, like a dull accountancy version of the Matrix.

Sources:

http://www.mmparch.co.uk/case_office_and_warehouse.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBC_Bank

http://www.multisolgroup.com/

Multisol Group is set to take AIM - Manchester Evening News

http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/article/20100422/FREE/100429954/-1/breaking

Blooming regeneration

2010-04-24T15:41:00.000+01:00

Plans are afoot to assist retailers on Liverpool Road to improve their store fronts. Whilst this initiative is only to be welcomed one wonders about the broader context which has seen the collapse of independent retailing in Irlam, Cadishead and Eccles. Each of these places were once retail destinations in their own right, but are now littered with cheap booze shops, charity shops take-aways and empty properties - all signals of long term retail decline.

At the same time there is pent up demand to find space on the high street, from small producers, creative businesses, restaurants and cafes, plus demand for living space above shops, as a source of cheap housing.

Putting two and two together however seems to be beyond the remit of powerful landowners and local government.

The key reason why so many shops have disappeared from the high street is the growth of hugh superstores, like Tesco, and out-of-town shopping malls, like the Trafford Centre.

These businesses act like retail vacuums, in the sense that they suck up as much retail trade as possible, whilst creating a business environment which makes it impossible for even niche businesses to compete.

Another fundamental problem is that Liverpool Road remains - in the main - a no parking zone. Parking restrictions that were put in place decades ago to assist traffic flow along what used to be main road in Manchester, are no longer relevant. However, the yellow lines remain in place. And so passing trade passes by.

Retail, however, rarely figures in the urban regeneration policy. In fact for decades it has been deliberately left out of urban renewal initiatives from the local to the European level. Policy makers assume that if they can sort out socio-economic problems then the retail growth will automatically follow. This is a flawed logic. It ignores how retailing can contribute to job creation and generate local sources of wealth through the growth of independent businesses on the high street. Independent retailing needs to be protected, otherwise huge retail chains move in and suck out the profit.

To improve Liverpool Road - this is what really needs to be done:

1. Stronger planning to restrict growth of superstores

2. A withdrawal of excessive regulation of parking in declining retail areas

3. Deregulation of land use restrictions to enable the conversion of shops into alternative uses

4. Crackdown on absentee landlords who allow properties to fall into disrepair.

5. Shifting public services to empty high street locations

6. Environmental improvements to hard and soft landscaping

7. Improved public lighting schemes

8. Introduction of alternative traffic control measures which don't involve additional regulation.

9. Rent-caps to protect the supply of cheap property for low margin businesses like creative producers and artists.

Nominated Candidates for Election in Irlam and Cadishead 2010

2010-04-10T18:46:00.004+01:00

Nominated Candidates for Election in Cadishead

Christine Hudson (Labour)
Tony Kelly (Conservative)
Jennifer Carr (Liberal Democrat)
Colin Ward (BNP)

Nominated Candidates for Election in Irlam
Roger Jones (Labour and Co-operative Party)
Mark Armstrong (Independent)
Chris Bates (Conservative)
Katriona Middleton (Liberal Democrats)

Analysis of Regional Spatial Strategy Housing Targets for Salford

2010-04-08T15:21:00.001+01:00

Analysis of the North West of England Plan: Regional Spatial Strategy 2010 for Salford

Published by the Government Office of the North West. 2008.

Regional Overview

The North West regional housing target is 416,000 new units. The region's population is approx 6.7million (Census, 2001). The North West is an area of 5469 square miles (14,165km2). On average the region is expected to build 76 new homes for every square mile.

Each local authority within the region is set allocation of this broader target. Clearly some authorities are bigger than others in terms of area and population. So Manchester, for example, is expected to provide 15% of the 416,000 units - around 62,000 new homes, which will be quite of challenge given that Manchester is already relatively built up and has little space in which to expand.

But what are the implications for Salford?

Table 1: Greater Manchester Housing Targets

Local authority	Housing target as % of NW total	No. of units (000s)	Population (000s)	% of NW Population
Manchester	15	62.4	393	5
Salford	7	28.8	216	3
Wigan	4	16.0	301	4
Bolton	3	12.0	261	3
Tameside	3	12.0	213	3
Trafford	3	12.0	210	3
Bury	2	8.0	181	2
Rochdale	2	8.0	205	3
Stockport	2	8.0	285	4
Oldham	1	4.0	217	3

Table 1 shows the housing targets identified in the Regional Spatial Strategy for Greater Manchester. The data is ranked according to size of the targets. Salford is ranked 2nd after Manchester, as the city is expected to provide 7% new units to be constructed in the North West. This equates to 28,800 new properties to be constructed within Salford's boundaries. In other words – Salford with just 3% of the region's population plans to build 7% of the region's houses!

Several important questions emerge from this:

What is the justification of this whopping target? Comparable local authorities have been allocated much lower targets. Oldham, for example, has almost an identical population, but its target is just 4000. So why is Salford required to build over 24,000 more new homes than Oldham?
Where are these homes to be built in Salford? Salford is an area of just 37.5 sq miles. To meet its target Salford will need to provide 768 homes per square mile. However, Chat Moss takes up 10.6 sq miles, almost a third of the city's area. If we take this out of the equation, then Salford will need to build 1071 homes per square. This is probably not feasible, and hence the pressure to release green fields for development.

But, the stated policy is to concentrate new housing in the inner city on empty brownfield sites or redeveloping existing houses. The regional strategy asks local government not to convert open space or green space:

“Manchester / Salford and Liverpool / Knowsley – provision of sufficient new residential development to support the role of the Regional Centres and inner city areas, including those parts involved in the Government’s Housing Market Renewal Programme’s Pathfinder Initiative (including replacement and renewal of housing stock), as priority areas for economic growth and regeneration. Outside the inner city areas, development should be complementary to the regeneration of the inner core, and be focused on regenerating existing housing areas which suffer from high levels of deprivation” (emphasis added). Section 7.18. Part a. Page 63.

But if Salford is meet its target, inevitably this will put undue pressure on the release of green belt land for housing development. This is preferred option of private sector developers, who in the most part oare unwilling to risk the expense of converting brownfield sites into habitable land. Its much cheaper and profitable to build new homes in empty fields.

Where next?

We need an explanation and justification of the 28,800 target figure? Given the demographic trends of the region and the city, I would suggest the target for Salford needs to be a lot lower to bring it into comparison with similar local authorities.
Why are there planing applications already going in to construct houses on green fields, when there is an abundance of empty land and empty existing properties within the city? A thorough survey of the existing housing stock and availability of brownfield sites for housing development either needs to be completed or made public before any construction begins on greenbelt, farmland or unmanaged open space.

I would love to see this data, because I suspect what it will show is that there 100s acres of suitable space within the city available for new housing which is currently lying empty because of unscrupulous private landlords just sitting on the land or through failed property developers, victims of the credit crunch. I also suspect such a survey will show that the city suffers from a massive under-occupancy problem. Salford has an ageing population, with many large family homes occupied by single people or couples. And many new apartments in central Salford, like Manchester, are currently empty - as much as 40%. Essentially the private sector has built the wrong type of housing and in the wrong type of area and nobody wants to live in their tiny expensive flats. What is needed is stronger policies to construct family housing in inner city areas like Blackfriars, Chapel Street, Seedley and Langworthy. But hey ho, we have just witnessed the demolition of hundreds of terraced houses in these areas.

Author: Steve Millington 8th April 2010

Contact: s.millington@mmu.ac.uk

Links

Communities.gov

Government Office for the North West

Drawing the battle grounds

2010-04-06T21:56:00.000+01:00

Here is a link to a page which explains the boundary changes which affect Irlam and Cadishead for the General Election on May 6th. These changes probably enhance the chances of a Conservative being returned for this area for the first time, especially if the turnout is below 60%. History suggests that most non-voters would probably favour Labour - so if turnout is over 70% we can expect a swing back to Labour.

Of course the imponderables are Labours' national record - and their relatively new candidate Barbara Keeley.

There are four candidates:

Richard Gadsden, Liberal Democrat

Barbara Keeley, Labour

Ian Lindley, Conservative

Paul Whitelegg, English Democrat

I guess the unknown here is Paul Whitelegg. This party was established as an English equivalent of the SNP or Plaid Cymru, demanding a separate English Parliament, and return to the political conditions of middle ages. They also seek a withdrawal from the EU (where 80% of our international trade is) and return to the virtually defunct European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Despite claims distancing themselves from the Far Right, the party hold robust views about immigration - claiming they support the "wishes of the English people". I have strong misgivings about any political party making claims about Englishness, Scottishness or whatever. Ultimately such politicians are attempting to fix and essentialise something which is by definition fluid and dynamic and beyond a fixed definition.

Source: Worsley and Eccles - politics.co.uk

The complex geographies of demerger

2010-03-30T10:35:00.000+01:00

Many of the company profiles on this blog refer to the spatial impact of mergers - the tendency for big companies to buy-up smaller companies - appropriate their skills, knowledge and market share - in a bid to monopolise markets as much as possible. This is an inherent tendency of capitalism, as observed by Marx 150 years ago. It also explains why all the micro-economic theory they taught you at school or college is bunkum - as free market capitalism doesn't behave in space in the same it is supposed to on paper.

But Carphone Warehouse and Talk Talk, however, now have demerged. When they merged a few years ago in a move which was heralded as a significant development in the regional telecoms industry. Their demerger, however, is also heralded as a key development in the regional telecoms industry - and so good for the North West economy.

There are plenty of reasons to demerger - competition laws which act against the formation of monopolies or cartels - as a way of priming the newly created subsidiary business for sale to another company (something which is flatly denied by Talk Talk BTW), or as a means of establishing a clear business focus for the two demerged companies and therefore maintain profits (as seems the case with Carphone Warehouse and Talk Talk).

The spatial implications are interesting. All of sudden Irlam is HQ to a £1.5 billion company - establishing the town as in important node in the global industry - a move which refashions the town's economic identity - from industrial backwater to a global node. This probably will mean little for the local community, although the promise of 50 jobs + more to come - is obviously good news during an economic downturn. Talk Talk already employ 500 people in Irlam and 2000 in total across the North West. Their other key sites include a Warrington call centre + an office in Preston.

However, Carphone Warehouse have entered into a deal with US electronics retail - Best Buy - who plan to establish 14 50,000ft stores in the UK, including one in Liverpool - creating a total of 8000 jobs in the UK.

Best Buy were established in 1966 and are now a massive $45billion company - operating over 1100 stores the US, China, Mexico and Turkey - employing 155,000 people

Clearly the new British jobs are important, but Best Buy now have a 50% in Carphone Warehouse's 2400 UK stores. In effect an invasion through the back-door, which will threaten high street perennials such as Currys and PC World.

Source: Talk TalSk demerger 'good for NW' - Manchester Evening News

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2010/03/29/talktalk-telecoms-business-makes-trading-debut-after-carphone-demerger-92534-26128221/

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/38229/Best-Buy-dates-UK-invasion

http://www.trustedreviews.com/peripherals/news/2010/03/29/Best-Buy-Announces-First-Store-Opening-Dates-In-UK/p1

How modern groceries work?

2010-03-11T22:19:00.002Z

There was a time when Liverpool Road in Irlam was a bustling high street like any other in Britain, with dozens of local businesses, butchers, bakers, grocers and the rest. And like other high streets around Britain, retail trade has virtually disappeared leaving a trail of abandoned shops and derelict sites. Of course the loss of industrial employment had a major impact in the 1970s. But at the end of this decade Irlam had the dubious pleasure of welcoming the country's first 'hypermarket' a vast football pitch sized Tesco. Today the store has been rebuilt as a huge Tesco Extra, complete with a dodgy mezzanine level which adds a third to the floor space. The store is packed with everything you might need and sold as cheaply as possible. Although we might enjoy the opportunity to buy a tin of bins at 6p a pop, the cost to the high street has been devastating. As such Liverpool Road has never recovered its status as a retail area as local business finds it impossible to compete with this retail giant on their doorstep. The cosy 1950s image of the traditional British high street of friendly grocers, selling fresh local produce have long gone. Groceries is now big business, wrapped up in the world of global finance. It is perhaps no surprise then, that Tesco's Irlam store is now actually owned by Standard Life Investments - sold for just under £50m in January this year, as big city financiers rush to invest in long term and secure investments.

Source: Standard Life Investments buys Tesco Extra in Shrewsbury - Property Week

Green Belt - a temporary repreive?

2010-03-06T20:09:00.000Z

Salford CC announced yesterday, in the face of growing community opposition, to shelve plans to allow the development of 98 acres of Green Belt between Irlam and Barton. This was certainly a great victory for the effective community campaign which attacked the plans on several fronts. But I feel that this battle is not over. Certainly the Salford Star shares my suspicion that the timing in terms of the announcement and retraction of the proposals in the lead up to elections in May, suggests that local politicians have been playing power games with the community, as Labour attempt to regain control of the ward they lost to the pathetic and now defunct Community Action Party. It only takes a few hundred votes to swing it in Irlam, given poor turnouts at local elections. I wasn't surprised to see the Tories attempting to gain some political capital with the community either.

But everything has now come to a convenient end as Labour saves the day with the decision to take the Green Belt development out of the Core Strategy.

My concern in where next for Chat Moss? The port development and associated infrastructure is about to enter what will probably be a long and protracted planning consultation. This development will have a devastating effect on the local environment, produce even further traffic problems, will probably not create the level of investment and jobs created, damage the identity of the town, and will remove 200acres of unmanaged open space.

The situation regarding the continuation of peat extraction also raises further concerns.

Further, there are now suggestions the Peel are aiming to develop the aerodrome with a concrete runway, with a long term plan to extend this facility into a commercial airport.

The positive outcomes of the Green Belt proposal, however, is that there is now an organised group of like-minded local people who have shown the skill and tenacity to stand up against big local government and business. A Salford branch of Friends of the Earth has now been established. This growing network of concerned local and activists is much welcomed, but I fear they will be called into action again sometime soon.

Source: SALFORD GREEN BELT - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

Kingsland's high spirits - Manchester Evening News

2010-03-01T23:35:00.000Z

Kingsland are one of Irlam's success stories, employing 300 people at the former Co-operative bottling plant. Despite the credit crunch, the company has experienced a £20m rise in turnover over the last 12 months. Their story reveals some classic industrial location theory. Undoubtedly their continuing presence in Irlam is due partly to the Manchester Ship Canal, which Kingsland use to transport wine via barge from Liverpool. Their suppliers have a colonial feel - including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, America, Chile and Argentina.

Source: Kingsland's high spirits - Manchester Evening News

For Peat's Sake

2010-03-01T17:56:00.000Z

The continuing story of the destruction of Chat Moss is covered here in an interesting article in the Salford Star. It is now clear that 100acres of open land is at risk from development and peat extraction. I'm not an expert on peat extraction, but I know several people who are, who tell me any form of peat disturbance creates a significant contribution to Green House Gases. Peat takes 1000s of years to form - and is an essential store of carbon that otherwise would be floating around the atmosphere. As this research from Canada shows - any restoration will take 100s of years to replace the carbon lost - nevermind the impact on biodiversity and the negative visual impact on the landscape.

The devouring of the Moss, however, is not beginning to attract political interest from all sides. The Cons have been to quick capitalise on local votes in the run to both local and national elections, whereas Labour seem to putting out mixed messages - Salford is a Labour run council afterall - in control of the planning authority allowing these development to take place in the first place. Other than a band of committed local people the green movement is largely absent from the ongoing debate. Perhaps we should give them a call.

Source: SALFORD MOON WALK - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

Hampshire waste experts’ new acquisition (From Andover Advertiser)

2010-02-02T11:49:00.000Z

Cadishead - renowned centre of waste processing.

Hampshire waste experts’ new acquisition (From Andover Advertiser)

Club nominated for human rights work

2009-12-10T21:33:00.000Z

A more positive story from the sorry affair in the Railway which made international news.

Source:Club nominated for human rights work | Stoke City News

Local authority shenanigans: a hip-ocratic state?

2009-12-01T19:30:00.000Z

Regular readers of Private Eye will notice the frequent appearance of Salford City Council in their Rotten Boroughs section. The antics of Salford CC have come to the attention of the national news media several times over the last couple of years. On the one hand we have local government complaining of budget restraints and attacks on local democracy through the centralisation of decision making in Whitehall. On the other there are certain local authorities who spend £100,000s on a 'community' magazine and a pink ice-rink, services few people want or value. Local government is also quick to complain about the costs of litigation culture, but at the same time contributes to punitive culture of speeding fines and fixed-penalties. Throw in the widespread use of ASBOs to regulate community behaviour and installation of CCTV on the high street, we kind of end up with a local state best described as Big Brother Lite.

The on-going battleground about wheelie bins continues with the £600 fine issued to one local resident who didn't put his bins away. Now you might argue that it is easy to put the bins away at night, but this kind of misses the point. Someone from local government has been employed using tax-payers money, not only process this prosecution to also monitor and gather data. In other words this miscreant has been under surveillance.

I can think of worse crimes. But this wouldn't even been considered a crime 20 years ago. In many parts of the city, people don't have gardens and have to put their wheelie bins out in the back-alley way, as I used to do when living in Seedley. Are these people subject to the same monitoring and surveillance?

Further, residents don't have any choice but to use the wheelie bins. They were imposed by the local authority, even though many people find them cumbersome and difficult to move. And of course with the move to kerb-side recycling, many households now have not just one, but four wheelie bins - black, pink, blue and brown. Finding a place in your garden to store all these contraptions is problematical for many households, there is simply nowhere to put them, especially if you are doing work in your garden or cleaning the car.

The situation whereby local government is prosecuting someone for not putting their bin away, like the frivolous use of speed cameras, appears manufactured by the State itself. Perhaps we should rise up and resist the all-seeing eye of the wheelie bin police, and leave all four bins out for a fortnight, a wheelie bin uprising. Can the prosecute all of us .... probably :(

Source:Man fined �550 for leaving out wheelie bin - Telegraph

More merger and intrigue

2009-11-23T19:04:00.004Z

Crain's Manchester Business Review reports that Redrow is buying Harrow Estates, a company which was a major landowner in Cadishead.

Keeping track of who owns what is a tricky business when it comes to landownership. Owners are often absent from the local area, they hide behind a veil of holding companies, and exchange land like you or I might exchange currency when going on holiday. Some landowners, however, can be quite stubborn, holding onto sites for years in anticipation of selling the plot for greater value - 'hope value' as they say. Property developers may also take decades piecing together tiny parcels of land to assemble bigger plots before they decide to redevelop.

In Cadishead, the piece of land in question has changed hands frequently over the last 5 years - indicating how major investment companies may treat land as a commodity, as opposed say to piece of landscape invested with meaning and identity.

The site is located in Cadishead, forming part of the Northbank Industrial Estate, accessed by Hayes Road. There once was a tar distillery on the site, and as far as I can work out the site was once occupied by Clariant, who off-loaded the site to Bridgemere Properties, a Cheshire property investment company, in 2004. At some point the site passed into the hands of Harrow Estates who this month sold the site to Redrow Homes.

Clariant is a global chemical giant based in Switzerland. Although only formed in 1995, the company has a much longer history as Sandoz, originally a German textiles dyeing company dating back to 1863. Since 1995 Clariant have expanded through a series of acquisitions. They used the Cadishead site to store hydrocarbon chemicals, leading to a contamination threat to the local water system. Efforts to clean up the site were compromised by the construction of the Irlam and Cadishead by-pass, leading to Salford City Council having to compensate new owners Bridgemere (£225k) because the road construction compromised the existing remediation of the site.

Harrow are a major property development company, in some way connected to Bridgemere, but their website gives little away. Once the Environment Agency had passed the site as clean, the land was sold to Redrow, one of Britain's biggest house builders, a Welsh company formed in 1974.

I guess this final move pretty much reflects what has happened more generally in the British economy. A site once used to store oil and tar for industry is now derelict and was once contaminated. At great cost it has been cleaned and brought back into effective use - the very essence of urban regeneration. Now the site is primed for residential use, allocated for several hundred new properties as part of the Salford Unitary Development Plan.

However, with the credit crunch it is now longer clear what will happen. The site remains derelict - a muddied barrier between Cadishead Park and the waterfront of the Ship Canal.

Sources:

Redrow buys owner of key East Manchester site -
Crain's Manchester Business: "Clariant"

2,000 jobs go as more First Quench stores shut

2009-11-21T09:15:00.006Z

Now you can't even drink yourself out of the recession

Threshers is quickly disappearing from the British suburban landscape with the closure of another 381 stores.

First Quench are one those elusive companies, which sit in the background quietly managing popular high street names - in this case Threshers, Wine Rack, Haddows and The Local. The first us ordinary folk hear about them is when the go bust or do something amazingly crass, like sell mortgages to people who can't afford to repay them thus sparking a global financial meltdown.

In the distant past, First Quench was owned by a very familiar and comforting name - Whitbread. Whitbread conjures up images of frothy beer in the 1970s and beer skittles with Fred Trueman. The subsequent history of the company, however, is one global corporate machinations. The tale is a familiar one in terms of the development of corporate capital, even though the mantra from the main political parties these days is the private knows best and that the market will resolve all life's problems. The reality is somewhat different, but a well-rehearsed story of merger, take-over, restructuring and job losses.

Without laying it on thick, it was Marx who first observed the tendency in capitalism for businesses to merge and increase their size. Their objective, he argued, is not to be competitive, rather it is to produce the opposite conditions - to monopolise the market and kill off competitors. Hopefully you can see that this runs counter to popular opinion that unregulated free-markets promote competitiveness and innovation.

Merger and intrigue

The short life of First Quench Retailing can be traced back to 1998, with the merger between Whitbread's Threshers chain and Allied Domecq (Victoria Wine to me and you. This brought together 1470 retail outlets - including Thresher Wine Shop, Drinks Cabin, Wine Rack, Huttons, Victoria Wine Cellars, Haddows, Martha's Vineyard, and The Firkin - under one umbrella company.

The clear aim of this strategy is similar to that of Starbucks. It is called 'crowding-out' - replacing every booze/coffee provider in a neighbourhood with a sole supplier, until there is simply no room left for local or independent retailers to operate. In this way a single company can establish control over a network of local monopolies. Such retailers will argue they have to do this in order to compete more effectively with even bigger companies, such as Tesco, who can use their shear size to buy supplies in bulk and drive down the unit cost of products in order to undercut competitors on price. Consumers may get cheaper booze, but they end up buying it from a limited range of suppliers.

Corporate Irresponsibility

But isn't just a story of neighbourhood change. What happens on the high street is explicitly connected to a system of global operations and decision-making.

Business mergers are no longer confined to regions or individual states, they occur on a global scale, facilitated through a menageries of equity or holding companies which comprise the international financial system. And so, there are much bigger companies out there, who are not just interested in controlling individual neighbourhoods, rather their goal is to monopolise whole continents. Consequently the story of First Quench enters the murky world of the City and the international financial system.

Just one year after the initial merger, Allied Domecq sold their 50% share to the notorious pub-co Punch Taverns. In 1991 Whitbread purchased the Peter Dominic Group from Grand Metropolitan for £50m, bringing the Bottoms Up brand into the group. Grand Metropolitan manages a portfolio of luxury brands and companies - diamonds, jewellery, liquor, tobacco, fashion, golf and nightlife across the world. They are like the Alan Whicker of portfolio managers - so understandingly Thresher didn't quite fit this image of exclusivity. Interestingly although Grand Metropolitan are based in California, the company claims to the lineage of The Group dates back to aristocracy of Brittany, France in the Middle Ages!

The Peter Dominic Group, now a separate retail division, disappeared from history, purschased by a Japanese private equity group - Nomura Holdings in 2000 for £225m (Nomura recently bought the failed Lehman Brothers bank).

First Quench, however, was then purchased by the London based Terra Firma Capital Partners in 2002. Threshers then expanded further - purchasing 370 outlets from the failed company Unwins. 170 shops closed and the rest were rebranded into three market niches - 'The Local', 'Thresher' or 'Wine Rack'.

This expanded group then became attractive prey to other equity companies - and so the whole group was sold to Vision Capital in 2007 for £250 million. Notice how after each transaction a zero seems to be added to the value - making some people very rich indeed.

Threshers Group then became First Quench Retailing, with it head office in Welwyn Garden City. But just two years later the new owners put First Quench into administration, closing over 700 stores with some 4000 people losing their jobs.

Vision Capital are one of those companies who don't actually seem to make or do anything. Rather, they manage portfolios, including the aforementioned Terra Firma, Northern Foods, Bridgepoint, AEA Technology, Legal & General, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank.

Vision Capital's intention is to buy up 'mature' companies and 'Build stronger companies and create competitive returns for our investors'. They do this by:

- developing a clear strategy for each business

- building and re-energising management teams

- ensuring that operating plans are executed

- reducing and managing risk

- injecting investment capital to support each company’s strategy and optimise its balance sheet

- making follow-on acquisitions and disposals.

In others words they are interested in asset stripping and restructuring. Vision have absolutely no interest in your local outdoor and providing you with a cheap four-pack for Dave's party. Their priority is the capital value of the whole business, and more importantly the property assets they now own.

At times of crisis this is what capitalism does. It transfers capital from businesses which make things and provide services, and transfers that investment into less risky investments, such as property. You might be thinking the property market is depressed and this strategy makes no sense, but these companies operate on a different scale in terms of space and time, thinking globally and anticipating future trends. They are quite happy to sit on property and land assets for decades before realising a return, with additional zeros always added to the value. The human costs of this though are huge, with your local local high street going into decline and people losing their livelihoods.

The people who run these global investment groups simply don't share the same moral perspective of ordinary folk. They are remote from the impact of the decision they make. Their primary concern is making as much money as possible for their investment backers. The rules of the market simply don't apply. Supply and demand as we might know it, is undermined by the actions of these huge corporate entities who pay no heed at all as to whether people in a particular community wish to have an off-license in their neighbourhood. The wishes and demands of individual consumers hardly come to it.

As know from the credit crunch, it is also very difficult to regulate and control the international financial system. It operates nowhere and everywhere, beyond the reach of any single national government. The companies which make up this system pretty much do what they want without fear of retribution.

But here we are with the three main political parties in the UK advocating private and market led approaches in all aspects of everyday life - from education, public transport, health to waste collection and beyond. But the reality is that we begin to expose services we rely on to the same kind of global investment activities which led to the end of Threshers. People might remember, for example, how 100s of local authorities lost millions of tax-payers money because the Thatcher government encouraged them to hold equity funds with the bank BICC. Unfortunately this went bust and so your local nursery or care-home had to shut. A similar thing has happened to Universities recently, with many holding funds in an Icelandic bank which also went bust. These universities have lost millions are now cutting back spending one education facilities and getting rid of staff.

We might be able to live without local access to cheap booze, but we certainly we would miss access to cheap/free health, education, or transport.

But this is the direction we are going in - following a pernicious mantra that the public sector is all bad and couldn't manage a piss-up in a brewery, whilst the private sector has all the answers and never makes mistakes. Remember this when you pick up your P45 on the way out.

Footnote: there's always a bigger fish

Allied Domecq were themselves taken over by Pernod Ricard, a French company established in the early 1970s, which operates a global network (Italy, Ireland, Cuba, Australia, Asia), around a core business of wines and spirits, including many Irish and Scottish distilleries.

Pernod Ricard, however, are simply another company owned by a bigger holding company - Fortune Brands (who also own Beam - Jim Beam, Courvoisier, Teachers etc). It would seem that there is always a bigger fish.

Sources:

2,000 jobs go as more First Quench stores shut -
Crain's Manchester Business

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Quench_Retailing

http://beamglobal.com/

http://www.visioncapital.com/investmentapproach/default.asp

Environmental Disaster

2009-11-20T11:59:00.001Z

Environmental disaster

Salford City Council continues with its strategy to blight the lives of its residents with plans to build warehouses on 98 acres of Green Belt land to the west of the A57 between Irlam and Peel Green. This will involve the loss of top grade farming land and likely closure of Boysnope Golf Course.

This proposal comes after recent planning decisions which will lead to the loss of over 200 acres of open space to the East of the A57 to accommodate:

- a waste dump, with specific loss of tree habitat adjacent to Boysnope Wharf

- a port which will handle 300,000 containers a year

- a rail freight terminal

- rugby stadium and related commercial developments

- rail and road infrastructure to service these facilities

Don't be fooled by the 'green credentials' of the Port. Shipping is about to ovetake air transport as a contributor to green house gases. Unlike road and air travel, shipping has not been subject to the same stringent environmental regulation, and is highly polluting (The Independent, 2007). Locally the Port development alone will lead to an additonal 1500 traffic movements at peak times, contributing further to increasing emission, especially as this route is already congested (Salford City Council). As these developments take place, developers Peel Holdings will also begin to lobby strongly for an upgrade of Barton Airport as Manchester's second airport, which in the long term will wipe out reduction in CO2 resulting from the transfer of freight from road to rail/ship.

In addition to the loss of green belt, other parts of the Barton and Chat Moss will be compromised by the construction of a rail freight spur to connect the port to the Liverpool-Manchester railway. This line will run adjacent to housing and across the safety zone currently used by aircraft at Barton.

In short, the combination of these development will be an environmental disaster.

What does this mean for the local community?

The economic argument is fairly clear. These developments will attract around £100m of private investment and create around 2000 jobs, if the estimates prove true.

However, the quality of these jobs is open to question. They will involve mainly low-grade warehouse work. The employment created is small relative to the total size of the development, with relatively few jobs being created spread over a large area.

The communities of Barton, Cadishead and Irlam may benefit from these additional employment opportunities, but jobs have to be balanced against the other impacts:

- loss of amenity space including natural habitat and leisure facilities

- the loss of local green-belt

- the threat of Irlam becoming subsumed into urban sprawl, losing its identity as a unique place

- the worsening of traffic conditions in and out of Irlam at peak times

- the threat of employment losses as existing business can no longer operate within the town because of congestion

Irlam, has already lost 15 acres of open space to an inappropriate housing development which has compromised the local environment with raw sewage leaking into the Irwell wiping out the local fish population (Salford Advertiser)

As it stands there is no meaningful committment from the private developers to address problems of access to and from this new development - indeed the proposal on the table - Western Gateway initiative is likely to excerbate problems for the community, by closing access to J11 of the M60 and re-directing traffic to the Peel's developments around the Trafford Centre. There is simply a vague consideration that at some point down the line Metrolink will be extended into the Port area. Big deal!

What's actually needed is a comprehensive strategic review of transport infrastructure in western Salford.

What to do?

The decision to build on 98 acres of Green Belt underlines Salford Council's hollow proclamations about the city's green credentials.

We need to question whether this development is needed at all. Salford is a shrinking city, with some 20,000 fewer residents today compared to 1991. With the decline of industry there are 100 acres of brownfield sites within the city boundaries. Under the current economic conditions there is absolutely no reason to develop on green belt land.

You can have a voice, but you need to express your views by January 10 2010.

Click Salford's Core Strategy to have your say.

Source: Salford wants to build on green belt land - News - Manchester Evening News

SALFORD HOUSE PRICES - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

2009-11-06T18:43:00.000Z

SALFORD HOUSE PRICES - Salford Star - with attitude & love xxx

Empty homes in Irlam given new lease of life � Housing � 24dash.com

2009-11-03T08:46:00.000Z

Empty homes in Irlam given new lease of life � Housing � 24dash.com

RTS has money in the bio-bank - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

2009-10-17T13:40:00.000+01:00

RTS has money in the bio-bank - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

Morson boosted by EADS aerospace deal - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

2009-10-17T11:44:00.000+01:00

Morson boosted by EADS aerospace deal - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

Allotment arson attack - News - Salford Advertiser

2009-09-04T10:26:00.000+01:00

Cheers for the 'community spirited' persons who did this. Your victims this time ... disabled children. What next - taking candy from babies?

Source: Allotment arson attack - News - Salford Advertiser

Manchester port development goes ahead

2009-09-04T10:21:00.000+01:00

Irlam is set to become a hive of construction as preparatory works for a new port development take place. There is an irony here that just 27 years Salford Docks were closed and its regeneration as Salford Quays involved ripping out the very infrastructure that is now being proposed for Irlam and Barton. Back then they said rail and water transport were things of the past.

The construction is likely to cause plenty of disruption and the proposed highway improvements seem piecemeal and lack strategic vision. Surely a motorway spur connecting the site to the M62 would be most appropriate.

Source: SME Web - news, tips and information for small businesses in the UK | Manchester port development goes ahead

Oldest city line to go electric

2009-07-23T13:26:00.000+01:00

The world's oldest inter-city railway line passes just north of Irlam and Cadishead across the enchanted Chat Moss. In a typical example British planning its only taken 150 years to modernise a line which connects two of Britain's largest cities. Of course this line was scheduled for improvement in the 1970s until Thatch got into power. Now Britain has a public transport to match any found in the Third World (apart from India, where rail transport is vastly superior). The decision comes shortly after Peel's successful planning application to construct a spur from the line to handle freight traffic heading to their planned port facility at Barton.The benefits to the town however will be minimal, other than slightly reduced noise and pollution across the Moss. The proposal to reopen the old Altrincham/Wigan line and the defunct Cadishead station, a victim of the Beeching Report, seem to have disappeared into a black hole of other infrastructure improvements proposed for the area.

Source: BBC NEWS | England | Oldest city line to go electric

Section 27 - now you know

2009-07-21T19:17:00.000+01:00

Irlam, believe it or not, or more specifically the Railway Pub has found itself at the centre of an international debate on civil liberties. This relates to the well documented case of a group of Stoke City fans en route to Old Trafford. As many away fans can testify, it is customary these days to stop at a suburban pub miles from the away ground because of drink restrictions. Often it is not possible to go to a pub, as police insist you travel straight to and from the ground without stepping foot outside the stadium car park.

Section 27 was introduced (or rather sneaked onto the statute books, in 2006 as a reaction to concern over alcohol related violence. The law gives police the power to enforce the removal of any group or individual from a specified area for up to 48 hours.

However, the police seem to be waywardly using this power to target football fans in particular even when there is no suggestion of alcohol related violence, as would seem to be the case in Irlam. Section 27 eats at the very heart of British freedom - undermining any notion of innocent until proved guilty. But the ordinary British folk are now only beginning to feel the wrath of a progression of measures to control the movement of working class people - dating back to the outlawing of secondary picketing and restrictions placed on ravers and travellers in the 1980s to New Labour's Asbos. People are being denied basic rights on the basis of what they might do, not on what they have done (supported by evidence of the facts).

The police have been roundly criticised for their actions in Irlam and elsewhere. Following on from the terrors of the G20 protest in London, never has it been more necessary to police the police. But with Anti-terror legislation, ID cards, the illegalisation of even taking a photograph of the police - even policing the police may become an offence.

What is most annoying, is that I actually find myself agreeing with that spurious rag, the Daily Mail. Atlee and Bevan must be spinning in their graves!

Source:JAMES SLACK: Now this Kafkaesque State is even targeting sport. Will this clamp down on our liberty ever end? | Mail Online: "Section 27"

Port plan could create 2,000 jobs

2009-07-18T11:45:00.000+01:00

The planning decision everyone has been waiting for has finally come, with approval of Peel's inland port on over 100ha of unmanaged openspace between Irlam and Barton. The scale of this development is huge, parking for a 1000 vehicles, a new rail spur across Barton Moss, 4 600m railway sidings, 180,000 sq m of warehousing, 8 25m loading gantries. Romantically the development restablishes the city as a port, and undoubtedly will impact on regional development. However, important improvements to the surrounding road infrastructure, such as a connection to the M62 and a new road bridge across the canal at Cadishead are no longer part of the planning application. A new road bridge linking the port to the Trafford Centre (another Peel development) will be created along with a complex reworking (again) of the M60 high level section. In other words, the transport plan for this development is a dog's dinner - a typically British approach of build it first, and then spend decades trying to sort the infrastructure. In a normal country, this development would not start until the surrounding access and transport issues had been dealt with first. However, the financial and political expediences of the regional governance regime take priority.

Source: Port plan could create 2,000 jobs - News - Manchester Evening News

Australian traffic flows to ITIS

2009-07-14T10:22:00.000+01:00

ITIS was formed in 1997 and principally provides real-time traffic and travel information over mobile phone networks and the Web

Based in Altrincham, the company operates widely across the globe including Barcelona, Baltimore, Missouri, Belgium, Israel; Australia, Prague, Ireland, South Africa and Asia. The company operates a data analysis centre in Irlam which provides information, for example, to Australians about traffic movement.

Source: Australian traffic flows to ITIS - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

‘Living Landscapes’ Mosslands Project.

2009-06-12T10:41:00.000+01:00

Although it doesn't look like it on first impression, Chat Moss is actually a valuable wildlife habitat, worthy of protection and conservation. ‘Living Landscapes’ Mosslands Project is a worthy restoration scheme which aims to conserve the natural peat on Cadishead Moss. Such schemes are essential as bulwarks against encroaching development in the Green Belt by certain aggressive property developers.

Cash boost for Manchester peat land project > Events > Events | Click Green

Engine manufacturer axes jobs

2009-02-05T20:50:00.000Z

I guess it was inevitable that this blog would eventually use the term "Credit Crunch" in relation to Irlam and Cadishead, but there you go. It seems that most things have been credit crunched, new cars, electronics, furniture, foreign holidays, Woolworths. But then again Pontins and Lidl don't seem to do be doing too badly. And as for the Co-Op Funeral Services, they are even advertising on TV now. Anyway, there is a particularly large anonymous shed on the Northbank Industrial Estate, distinguished only for the large 'Perkins' sign on the outside, visible from the new bypass. I've never really pondered what goes on inside or even considered who Perkins were until now that the plant is under threat of job losses from hitherto mentioned credit crunch. But then you delve a little deeper, and Perkins comes alive with a rich industrial heritage.

This English company was established by Frank Perkins and Charles Chapman during a previous credit crunch in 1932. Frank had worked as an engineer in Kent, and both his father and grandfather were also engineers. With Chapman, Perkins established a small workshop in Peterborough with the bright idea that there might be some future in making diesel engines. They were right and the company began to grow, acquiring new larger premises in 1938 to manufacture their range wolf and lynx engines.

Perkins today is a global business. The HQ remains in Peterborough (who would have thought the town is a command hub of global corporate capitalism). Assembly and manufacturing continues in the UK, but also in the Griffin (Georgia,USA), Stafford and Singapore (think of another reason to link these three places together)! Worryingly they operate an engine manufacturing plant in Curitiba (Brazil), the most polluted city on the planet. Perkins also runs sales and service operations in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore.

Irlam's function within this global corporate network is as a parts distribution centre, probably located there because of the town's proximity to the motorway network and the industrial heartlands of the North West.

Sources:

The Press Association: Engine manufacturer axes jobs

"http://www.perkins.com/cda/components/fullArticle?m=96906&x=7&id=286332

Salford masterplan on Facebook - News - Manchester Evening News

2008-12-04T10:50:00.000Z

Salford City Council has placed their consultation over plans to destroy hundreds of acres of Greenbelt onto Facebook as a means of encouraging 'young' people to engage in local planning. 'Young' people on Facebook! Surely they mean Bebo!

Anyway the plan to construct up to 21000 new houses in Salford seem somewhat flawed. Salford is a shrinking city. Its population has dropped 12.5% since 1981 - and mid-term Census estimates suggest the city's population has only marginally grown since 2001 (by around 1%)

Clearly lifestyle changes suggest that household size is shrinking as more people live on their own or in smaller family units than they used - therefore increasing the demand for individual dwelling units. But I can't reconcile how Salford needs an additional 21,000 new houses. Somehow I can't see thousands of families suddenly flooding into the city from elsewhere. Indeed given the city's social and environmental problems, the dominant movement of people remains towards the suburbs or out the city completely. In other words, those who have the means to leave Salford - do so.

Families in particular, have left areas such as Seedley, Langworthy, Weaste and Blackfriars - ironically areas where 100s of solid Victorian terraced houses have been demolished.

The assault on the greenbelt is very worrying. Not only will this contribute to the loss of greenery and ecology, but the ensuing urban sprawl will only contribute to traffic problems throughout the city - as people will have little to choice but to use their cars to access jobs and services from their newly constructed isolated housing estates stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Gravy trains?

2008-11-24T10:47:00.001Z

John Merry takes up a new post with the North West Rail Campaign following his local election defeat. Development of the heavy rail network is essential. Trains, unlike trams, have the capacity to manage to manage increasing passenger numbers. Hopefully Mr Merry will be able to use his new position to start lobbying for an improvement to rail facilities in Irlam - one of the most over-crowded commuter lines outside of London. Despite some recent investment Irlam possess one of the poorest quality stations in the country - with limited seating and shelter, no official parking area, no security system, no ticketing facilities and no real-time information. Commuter huddle together in buffeting winter rain for comfort before stepping onto expensive, crowded and filthy trains, with little chance of a seat. Irlam needs better quality facilities and trains now! Peak time return fare to Manchester is now almost £5 - considerably more expensive than the proposed congestion charge. Something to reflect upon before next month's vote.

clipped from www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

“Fifty-two million passengers use rail in the North West, with the vast majority being concentrated within the Mersey Belt that includes rail journeys between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bolton, Preston, Manchester Airport and Crewe,” said Geoff Muirhead CBE, group chief executive for Manchester Airports Group and chairman of the campaign’s steering group.

Jones is expected to focus on congestion in the southern “Mersey Belt,” which is the area in and around Manchester Piccadilly station, the organisation said in a news release.

The North West Rail Campaign was established in 2003 to lobby for extra rail capacity in the North West and to boost investment in the region’s rail network.

Jones previously was a Salford councillor and chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority. He lost his Irlam seat in the May local elections.

The North West Rail Campaign has appointed Roger Jones as its campaign director.

Defeated councillor named to North West Rail Campaign post

You get what you pay for

2008-10-15T16:58:00.001+01:00

I didn't want to start this blog entry off with 'I told you so', but 'I TOLD YOU SO!'. I guess this is the final insult/injury in what was a farcical local election. I don't know who to blame here, the poor sop put up by the CAP to 'represent' the community (I use the term 'represent' loosely here), the dubious actions and policies of the Community Action Party itself, the lackluster and complacent local Labour group, or an idiotic local electorate who can't see past the end of their own noses. If there isn't anyone who I haven't insulted above, then please let me know. I think Trotsky was right, time for an intellectual vanguard to step in and sort these things. Bugger democracy!

clipped from www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

CAP councillor's attendance row

Neal Keeling

15/10/2008

AN ANTI-congestion charge councillor who pulled off a shock victory at the local elections has only attended two out of six council meetings.

Vernacular Culture

2008-10-14T23:01:00.001+01:00

This story about Anthony Jones who has customised a VW Camper in a 'Mod' style has been circulating the local press for some time, but has since gone international with this press cutting from Vancouver. Interesting how circuits of cultural capital transcend both time and space to produce particular geographies and flows of creativity.

clipped from www.bclocalnews.com

Anthony Jones, centre, a construction worker from Irlam, Manchester, was the winner of the The Who Magic Bus that was provided by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles to raise funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Deprivation in Irlam

2008-08-18T20:54:00.001+01:00

clipped from www.salford.gov.uk

Vaillant appoints Ryan ACS as distributor

2008-08-15T10:27:00.000+01:00

Ryan ACS provide wholesale ventilation, air conditioing and refigeration supplies. There HQ is located in Trafford Park, but they also have a regional office based in Irlam.

Source: Vaillant appoints Ryan ACS as distributor

Green link plan for inter-city waterway - Liverpool Echo.co.uk

2008-08-12T09:29:00.000+01:00

Another report relating to the environmental benefits of waterbased transport, referring to Peel Holdings plans to the expand their use of the Manchester Ship Canal. I can't help thinking about the irony of Peel's position here. The company's pernicious interference in the May local elections brought into question the democratic process. Peel is now running an explicit anti-congestion charge campaign in the run up to the referendum, sponsoring a video, posters and petition in the Peel owned Trafford Centre to pursuade local people to vote against the charge and so block a planned £2.7 billion investment in public transport in Greater Manchester. Green travel indeed - as long as you go by water - or more specifically the Peel owned Ship Canal.

Source: Green link plan for inter-city waterway - Liverpool Echo.co.uk

Boating Business: Soaring fuel prices drive freight onto waterways

2008-08-12T09:21:00.000+01:00

Another report referring to Tesco's decision to use a barge to transport wine to a bottling plant in Irlam, suggesting that it saves some 50 lorry journey's a week. For many decades - the formerly heavily polluted (and somewhat smelly) Ship Canal, was hardly a locational advantage. Now it seems the combined attributes of a cheap transport and expansive waterfront is contributing to the economic revival of Irlam.

Source: Boating Business: Soaring fuel prices drive freight onto waterways

Goldman Sachs cuts cables and dumps robots

2008-08-12T09:15:00.000+01:00

News about RTS - the Irlam based robotics company - which has lost investment from Goldman Sachs. This move demonstrates how local development is open to the vagaries of local decision making and shows how powerful City based institutions can affect distant places and people with somewhat arbitrary decision making. Countries with regional banking systems tend to make less decisions like this in order to retain investment within specific localities - not in the UK - where a deregulated and globalised financial industry - simply aims to make a fast buck wherever it can no matter what the local consequences might be.

Source: Goldman Sachs cuts cables and dumps robots - Crain's Manchester Business

Multisol

2008-07-18T10:34:00.001+01:00

Multisol are a global chemicals company with operations in the UK, France, Spain, South Africa and the middle East.

clipped from www.logisticsmanager.com

The new site has filling facilities for IBCs and drums.

Chris Haynes, managing director of GreenChem UK, said: “We are working with our supplier Multisol to create a network of production plants, giving a good spread of distribution opportunities throughout the country.”

In addition to the Irlam facility, which is operated by Multisol, the company has a second plant in Peterlee, County Durham, and plans to operate from a further two plants by the end of 2008.

GreenChem is now producing AdBlue from a plant in Irlam, Manchester, tripling its UK output by potentially creating 30 - 40 million litres of the urea-based fuel a year.

GreenChem triples UK AdBlue production

Published: 17 July 2008 08:30 AM
Industry Channel: Transport & Distribution

Pigeon club boss in the mire

2008-07-14T14:39:00.000+01:00

This story relates to how pigeon droppings found themselves in a lay-by near Irlam en route from Oldham. The Moss and surrounding area is prone to fly-tipping - which is somewhat bewildering especially in this case - as the perpetrator would have had to drive past at least one municipal dump in Salford to get from Failsworth to Irlam - so why on earth dump the stuff.

Source: Pigeon club boss in the mire - News - Manchester Evening News

Carphone Warehouse in deal with JDSU

2008-07-11T09:16:00.002+01:00

The California based JDS Uniphase Corporation has signed a deal to provide maintenance support for Irlam based Carphone Warehouse, embedding Irlam into another global corporate network.

JDSU employ around 7000 people and currently have manufacturing operations in Bloomfield (CT), Commerce, San Jose and Santa Rose (CA), Ottowa (Canada), Beijing and Shenzen (China - making a whole bunch of stuff I've never heard of including dispersion compensation modules, lithium niobate modulators (surely this is the title of the next Fall album), wavelength lockers, coaxially packaged photodetectors and PIN-TIAs and lasers (cool!). The company offers Photonic Power as a customer service...

The history of the company is difficult to trace - following numerous mergers and acquisitions, but the they seem to have their roots in Canada dating from the early 1990s.

Source: Carphone Warehouse in deal with JDSU

Irlam, Congestion and Shopping

2008-07-09T10:02:00.001+01:00

Apparently we won't have to pay to go shopping at the Trafford Centre. Is this some sort of plan to completely destroy the city centre.

clipped from www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk

Irlam Lil asks about travel to the Trafford Centre.

SHB Response: Irlam Lil will not have to pay to travel to the Trafford Centre from Irlam if she remains within the outer ring, if she travels to the Trafford Centre via the M60 and then exits towards the city centre during peak times (7am -9.30am) she would face a £2 charge – though I believe the Trafford Centre does not open to the public until 10am so she should be able to avoid this charge also.

Exclusive: Sir Howard Bernstein talks Congestion Charging

Sir Howard Bernstein replies directly to your questions about the Transport Innovation Fund bid

Campaigners target Merry - News - Salford Advertiser

2008-06-27T13:51:00.000+01:00

Yet more electoral shenannigans.Campaigners target Merry - News - Salford Advertiser

Local disappointment

2008-06-09T21:34:00.001+01:00

Another letter complaining about the decision to leave Illuminations in place over the year, rather than to take them down for storage at Rigby Road.

clipped from www.blackpoolcitizen.co.uk

Illuminations from last season have been left in place all over the town. They are now looking dirty and shabby. Why? Early visitors will go home after seeing this neglect. It is a poor advertisement for the resort.

Blackpool has done tremendously well receiving large generous Government grants, the latest for the new sea wall/promenade and the tram track improvements.

Our council should be doing their part in keeping the resort as smart as possible not allowing neglect to become the norm.

Franzen Comes Alive

2008-05-29T00:01:00.000+01:00

The local election fall out continues with the sinister Community Action Party now facing a legal challenge from Labour regarding "You Tube slurs", which could breach the rules and regulations regarding the electoral process. I noticed that during the local election campaign both Labour and the CAP used You Tube to deliver electoral messages. This is an interesting development, because it is unregulated. Broadcast election messages are carefully monitored and there are strict rules regarding bias and content. This doesn't apply to You Tube. Although I can't imagine that many people tuned into the Interweb to view the CAP's antics, apart from sad geeky bloggers like myself who are trying to maintain an objective eye on what has been an interesting local election, albeit one which reeks with the stench of dirty tactics - especially following the discomfort about Peel Holdings 'market research' in the locality over the proposed Congestion Charge. I am not a big supporter of the Charge, but I am now hoping it goes through if only to piss off the Little Napoleons intent on disrupting the democratic process in Salford.

Source: Police probe YouTube `slur' - News - Manchester Evening News

A winning combination at Fairhills Point in Irlam

2008-05-28T11:17:00.001+01:00

The City of Salford Stadium, a new 20,000 sports arena for Salford Rugby League, is under construction. Much local debate about this development has focused on the negative externalities, mainly relating to traffic access on the already congested A57. In this respect the stadium represents all the worst features of British planning. Build it and then worry about the infrastructure second. There is much talk about new road crossing across the Canal, a link to the M62 (across greenbelt) and even an extension to Metrolink to the site. Any of these developments would be welcome if it enabled commuters to get out of the town without spending 20mins on Liverpool Road rolling frustratingly in first gear towards Junction 11 on the M60. However, I imagine they are all years away and so we will have to endure further traffic problems once the stadium is complete in two years time. Hopefully by then Salford will be back in the Premier League.

That said not many people refer to the positive economic development impact of the stadium. New jobs will be created and, according to the linked article, even people are relocating to Irlam. I for one will be attend more games at the stadium because it is only a short bus or taxi ride away.

So the stadium may become an Irlam attraction, but I am bit confused by the article's reference to the town's array of restaurants and services. We have three sit down restaurants in a town of over 20,000! The local independent retail sector has largely thanks to Tesco and numerous properties remain empty on the 'high street'. That said, a lack of on-street parking and access to local shop doesn't help. 10 years on we are still waiting the for A57 Improvement Corridor to take effect - that is when will the local authority actually do something other than superficial landscaping and road improvements. Moan moan moan.

Source: Manchester Property News | A winning combination at Fairhills Point in Irlam

Woodrow Business Centre

2008-05-22T16:18:00.001+01:00

Good news for Irlam as the town receives inward investment from an unexpected source. Molift are a global company with a positive philosophy "Molift strive to give healthcare workers a better life with less strain, which again means more energy to provide attention, love and care".

clipped from www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

Molift UK is the British subsidiary of Molift, based in Norway.

Bulgin said: “To achieve our target market penetration, we have had to relocate, to achieve the office and storage space to enable prompt processing and delivery of orders, and room to properly display the products.”

Both ground and first floors of its new 5,000 sq ft premises feature disabled toilets, and landlord Willan has installed a lift to enable easy transfer for all visitors from the entrance to the first floor showroom. The office and “public” space has level thresholds throughout and extra wide doors for wheelchair access.

Molift operations director Geoff Bulgin said changes in health and safety regulations meant a growing need for hoists and lifting equipment.

Molift UK, a supplier of hoists and lifts to care homes, has moved from Stockport to a new office and showroom at the Willan Woodrow Business Centre in Irlam.

Molift relocates to Irlam

Thickening Plot

2008-05-19T12:15:00.001+01:00

clipped from www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

Michael Fahy: Jones blames Peel for voters' wrath

But c-charge anger ultimately caused loss of office

Roger Jones, the former chair of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) and until recently the figurehead of its bid for £1bn Transport Innovation Fund cash (which includes the controversial road pricing scheme), appeared on Radio Four's You & Yours this week discussing what he clearly feels was an unfair, if ultimately successful, campaign to oust him from his Salford council seat during the local elections earlier this month.

Jones believes that Peel broke election rules by exceeding the amount that can be spent either promoting or disparaging campaign candidates. “There is absolutely no doubt over what Peel has done. The firm they hired asked people about the congestion charge and if they were opposed to it, told them that a vote for me would be a mistake as I was a champion of the congestion charge,” he said.

The Hague in Irlam

2008-05-19T09:56:00.001+01:00

Its not often Irlam forms part of a national political agenda. Probably the last time Irlam got a mention on BBC National News, was when the decision to close the Steelworks was announced back in the 1970s (unless you dismiss Richard Branson's visit to the town to launch a national cleanup campaign). And so the William '14 pints' Hague was wheeled to lend his support to local election candidates.

clipped from www.salfordconservatives.com

William Hague Visits Irlam

Published on April 29, 2008

in Irlam & Cadishead.

Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague dropped in to Irlam & Cadishead yesterday to lend his support to Conservative candidates Stephen Fitzsimmons and Lyn Bramer-Kelly and talk to shoppers and staff outside Tesco Irlam about the effect of Labour’s 10p tax bomb for hard-working local people.

William and local activists spoke and handed out flyers to hundreds of local residents in Irlam & Cadishead and received an excellent response.

Channel M News Feature on the May local elect

2008-05-07T09:48:00.001+01:00

Relocation Relocation Relocation

2008-05-06T20:05:00.002+01:00

The Morson Group was established in 1969 and currently comprises of two companies Morson International and Morson Projects, based in Eccles and Irlam respectively.

Morson are best described as a specialist producer service, providing engineering consultancy in areas such as aerospace, power generation (including nuclear), telecommunications, transport and utilities.

Their Post-Fordist credentials are perhaps best summed by the Group's key aim which is to "focus .. on the future and the genuine competitive advantages delivered to our clients through innovation-enabled, flexible solutions". However, this is a big company with 8,900 "white-collar engineers", although they only direct employ some 500 staff. That said Morson are a family business, controlled by Gerry Mason.

The Group plans to construct a new headquarters in Eccles and relocate both its company operations on to one site by 2010, which will mean jobs been shifted from Irlam to the new £10m 55,000 sq ft building. The company currently occupies the stylishly renovated Darwen House - one of few remnants left after the demolition of the Co-Ops Margarine Works.

Local Election Results May 2008

2008-05-02T10:10:00.001+01:00

Developments in Irlam ran pretty much as expected, with Labour councilor Roger Jones - Chair of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive - losing his seat to the dubious Community Action Party, following a campaign which attempted to take advantage of opposition to the proposed Greater Manchester congestion charge. Worryingly for Labour, they were beaten into third by the Tories. Where has this Conservative support come from Irlam? Have people already forgotten what happened to this area in the early 1980s when manufacturing disappeared and half our school leavers went immediately onto the dole, under a Conservative government seeking vengeance on the working class?

clipped from www.salford.gov.uk

Candidate
Party
Votes cast

FITZSIMMONS Stephen
Conservative
832

HOULTON Rick
Community Action
1152

JONES Mariska
Liberal Democrat
161

* JONES Roger
Labour
650

Electorate 7268
Majority
320

Turnout 38.4%

Local Election Results May 2008

2008-05-02T09:58:00.001+01:00

Worryingly Cadishead has voted in a Tory for the second time running. Again it appears the Labour vote has been split by the dubious Community Action Party. The likelihood is that many Labour voters stayed at home, with a turnout of just 36.9% (although this is better than usual for this election). If just another 500 people had turned out then we would see big differences to the result, which makes it difficult to extrapolate. The local Labour group, however, have done little electioneering and their complacency now means Irlam and Cadishead no longer appear red on the political map.

clipped from www.salford.gov.uk

Candidate
Party
Votes cast

BRAMER-KELLY Lyn
Conservative
1047

DICKENSON Chris
Community Action
653

* HUNT Jimmy
Labour
865

OWEN Melanie
Liberal Democrats
130

Electorate 7334
Majority
182

Turnout 36.9%

Crunch vote for C-charge

2008-04-29T19:56:00.001+01:00

As one of the few people who seem to take an interest in local elections, this year's vote on Thursday this week promises to be a very intriguing affair. There is a tendency in national media to view local elections as an opportunity for people to report back on the performance of central government. However, such simplistic generalisations hides local feuds and battles, like the one we will witness in Irlam and Cadishead on Thursday.

Last time round the suspicious Community Action Party made significant inroads into Labour's vote, enabling a Conservative to take a council seat here. I have outlined my concerns about the CAP before on this blog - they appear to be a rag tag mob of reactionaries with no clear political ideology. Their leader, a Wigan Councillor was once ejected from a council meeting whilst attempting Nazi salutes. Their campaigns simply consist of cheap jibes at Labour's record in Salford. Labour have retaliated this year to attack the CAP through a leafleting campaign and through a bizarre but lame video on YouTube. But I fear their efforts will be undermined by voter apathy, a backlash against Gordon Brown, and concern over the proposed Congestion Charge for Greater Manchester, which may well cost another Labour council here - this time the prominent Salford Councillor Roger Jones.

Source: Crunch vote for C-charge - News - Manchester Evening News

Jobs boost for Irlam

2008-04-27T17:55:00.000+01:00

Irlam was once famous for the manufacture of steel, soap, lard and matches, but is now emerging a s key site for the management of mobile phone networks.

Source: Jobs boost for Irlam - News - Salford Advertiser

Multisol sold to management team

2008-04-24T06:09:00.000+01:00

Multisol are a profitable Nantwich based chemical distribution company who have been subject to a management buy-out, with a sales office and chemical facilities based on Irlam's Northbank Industrial Estate and at Immingham.

Such companies provide excellent examples of contemporary business organisation. For instance, the company appears to be vertically disintegrated, operates within a niche market, has spatially separated internal functions to different locations, and operates within international markets.

Multisol, for example, have operations in the UK, France, Spain and South Africa serving markets in Europe, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.

According to their website, Multisol distribute: "specialty solvents, chemicals and lubricant additives, as well as providing in-house facilities to blend, toll manufacture and package custom formulations" although I'm not sure what the latter means.

The North West of England remains a key location for chemical production and distribution and a network of specialist producer services, such as Multisol, have emerged to support this industry.

The Irlam site has bulk storage facilities for 2,000,000 litres with capacity to handle a further 450,000 litres of viscous materials. Irlam also possess "Blending capacity" including solvents, emulsions and viscous products and "Blending facilities" which includes a Silverson disintegrator equipment for toll polymer dispersions (basically a big paint mixing machine designed by an American company). Irlam also possesses an on-site laboratory.

Source: Multisol sold to management team - Crain's Manchester Business: "Multisol"

Also see:

Irlam firm wins award

2008-04-23T10:42:00.001+01:00

clipped from www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk

An Irlam-based business selling high definition TV cables, which has been trading for just 18 months, won the Business of the Year Award at the inaugural Salford Business Awards. Chris Pinder and Lianne Price were aged just 21 and 23 respectively when they set up HD Cables from a room in their flat 18 months ago. It now turns over £130,000. “For us to have won the premium award of the evening, being such a small operation, is great motivation. This is a real confidence boost,” said Pinder. Other winners were: robotic automation company RTS Flexible Systems (Innovation Award); mobile software business Esay (Technology Award); industrial filter bags manufacturer Allied Filter Systems (International Trade Award); recruitment company Linda Taylors (Service Excellence Award); meat producer Andrews Continental Delicacies (Entrepreneur Award); Salford City Reds (Community Award) and Salford Quays Laundry and Dry Cleaning (Green Award).

Local Global Interplay

2008-03-27T18:18:00.000Z

RTS has featured several times on this blog. They are located on the Northbank Industrial Estate and basically make robots! I guess this would be kind of cool if the robots they made would be of the sort used by mad scientists bent on world domination, and not of the type that assist food to packaged more efficiently. However, the company is suffering at the moment, partly because of the way the global economy operates. Cheap dollars are great if you are a tourist visiting the USA, but not so great if you are trying to sell products there and exchange the dollars for Sterling. A weak dollar means you get fewer pounds back. However, the reverse is true for your American competitors, who are now able to compete more effectively through price cos they can get more dollars for selling the same products in the same way.

A key problem in the UK is that nationally controlled fiscal policy has traditionally affected manufacturing industries in a negative way. Interest rates in this country are kept artificially high, in order to satisfy the requirements of the powerful financial services industry, but this doesn't help exporters, home-owners or anyone with or seeking credit. The US Federal Reserve Interest rate, for example, is currently 2.25% and in Japan the central rate is being held at just 0.5%. Compare this to UK where the bank rate is currently 5.25%. OK, these figures are not necessarily entirely comparable due to structural differences in the way the fiscal systems of each country operates, but the central message is clear - lending money in the UK is twice as expensive as it is in the USA and over ten times more expensive than it is in Japan. Yet the Bank of England cannot bring itself to consider even a 0.5% cut because of fears over the banking system caused by the shenanigans at Northern Rock. This affects new firm formation, innovation, exports, house prices, tourism and the cost of living etc in a very pernicious way. Another factor is that high interest rate also produce uneven geographical impacts, because of spatial variation in the production of manufacturing exports.

Source: RTS losses up - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

Salford firm sold for £4m

2008-03-26T00:22:00.000Z

Another Irlam firm, Auto Electrical Services, has been taken over. Although good news for the owners, such takeovers reveal an implicit weakness in any local economic development plan which aims to encourage the development SMEs. Ultimately, if they are successful, they will be snaffled up by other companies which are often located elsewhere. This creates a structural weakness within the local economy which becomes increasingly vulnerable to the vagaries of 'remote decision making'.

I can't find much information on AES, other than they provide specialist support for operators of emergency vehicles. Such specialism is a typical attribute of post-Fordist economic development. So maybe it all comes together on the Northbank Industrial Estate, if you are trying to understand or analyse how the contemporary economy works.

The new owners, AssetCo, seem to be a recently formed company, which is part of a wider management structure - Asfare Group plc - located in Ruislip. They employ 850 people in twelve locations. They specialise in vehicle support for the fire and rescue services. Asfare are located in Southampton.

Such developments again reveal complex geographies of ownership and management, which make it difficult to analyse the impact of change in the local economy.

Source: Salford firm sold for £4m - Crain's Manchester Business

Delayed, decision on C-charge

2008-03-22T11:15:00.003Z

The Congestion Charge proposal seems to be rumble on like a vehicle trying to get out of Irlam before 9am. A decision was expected this week, but has now been delayed again, until after the local elections in May. This will come as a relief to those Labour councilor's who are under pressure from a local electorate dissatisfied with what appears to be a flat rate tax on mobility. Worryingly, the freaky Community Action Party are trying to cash in on Labour's failings again (I get kind of worried by political parties which don't seem to subscribe to the principles of any recognized political ideology).

Clearly the issue of sustainable transport has to be addressed - particularly in Greater Manchester - which is the most car-dependent urban area in the UK, with some 78% of journeys to work made by car. Ideally we should be moving to a third-third-third model, whereby only a third of journeys to work are by car, a third by public transport and a third by walking/cycling. We are a long way of this and will never achieve it unless there are some fundamental planning and development decisions made.

Motorists paying additional costs is inevitable - people will ultimately have to use their cars less often, unless they want 20-lane freeways crossing through the countryside and devastating our urban communities. However, the C-charge is set to be introduced at a time when the average motorist has little or no other choice of transportation. Unlike London, where the congestion charge seems to be working (with mixed results), Manchester does not have a comprehensive, frequent or integrated transport network. To get anywhere in the conurbation by public transport virtually always involves traveling into Manchester and out again, turning journeys which may take an hour by car, into 2 hour slogs. Public transport also virtually disappears during the evening and stops completely before midnight for most people - making it impossible to enjoy the attractions of the evening economy, without adding on expensive taxi journeys. In places like Partington, there is no public transport after 8pm! Further public transport in Manchester is one of the most expensive systems to use in the world. A System One Travel Card which allows you to travel on bus, tram and train, only allows off-peak travel (so pretty pointless if you want to get to work for 9am) and costs £7 a day (so more expensive than the equivalent ticket in London) and is more expensive than the C-Charge (so why bother giving up your car). Compared to other cities this is an outrageous amount of money to pay. Season tickets do bring down average costs, but are expensive to purchase upfront. Unfortunately, few employers offer schemes to purchase such tickets using interest free loans.

So what options are their for an Irlam commuter trying to get to work in central Manchester:

Car. A big problem is that the £13m by-pass Cadishead Way - has done nothing to improve journey times into Manchester. Rather it has simply moved the bottleneck from out of the town (which has benefited local traffic to be fair) to J11 of the M60, where commuters now face a 1-2 mile tailback each morning, which adds15-20 mins to your journey. The M60 frequently grinds to a halt between junctions 9-12 - thanks to the highlevel bridge and Trafford Centre and sheer volume of traffic trying to cross the Canal. When originally planned the Barton High level crossing was designed to handle some 55,000 vehicles a day. Today it is 4x that number. When leaving the M60, you have join a line of slow moving traffic down the M602 and the infamous Regent Road, a route which transport planners seem to have incorporated every known design flaw. Don't count on getting up to third gear on this stretch. Unless you possess some savvy geographical knowledge of backroads and alternative routes, commutes into Manchester can take an hour. This is despite massive investment in the road and motorway system. Clearly building more roads does not work!

Bus - we have just two services (67 and 100). The 100 makes a detour to the Trafford Centre (where there is a bus station enabling you to get various locations, therefore offering some flexibility). The 67 goes straight to central Manchester, and is integrated with Metrolink at Eccles. Both services however have to travel mainly on the same congested roads as motorists, which involves long delays on the Barton Stretch followed by entanglement in the mess of lights and bus lanes along Eccles Old Road and then Chapel Street. THey both terminate at the Shudehill transport interchange. However, this isn't much of an interchange - because unlike the trains, you then have to buy another ticket to travel on the tram - adding further time and cost to the journey. The interchange is handy for shopping, but not so much for workers - because it is located on the northern fringe of the city centre. Buses aren't cheap easy - a day saver comes in at almost £4 - more than the congestion charge! It is also pointless to get off at Eccles and pick up the tram. Again you have to pay for another ticket and the journey time is similar! Frustratingly there is a railway station at Eccles, where services take just 5 mins to get to central Manchester - but they run at a frequency of than 1 an hour, even though the line runs parallel with a motorway and the tram line. Why wasn't this line upgraded instead of adding an expensive and clunky tram line? Even off peak, buses can take 45-50 mins to travel from Manchester to Irlam. However, frequencies are good - 1 every 10mins during the day).

Trains. This is a particular problem in Irlam. The town lost a railway station (Cadishead) and non-radial rail connection (the old Altrincham and Wigan line) thanks to Dr Beeching. The town's remaining station (Irlam) sits on the Manchester-Liverpool line. Stopping services frequently have to give way to the supposedly more lucrative regional services. The Irlam-Manchester line has also been identified as one of the most over-crowded outside of London. The rolling stock is of poor quality. The frequency at peak time is 20 mins (half an hour during the day and 1 an hour in evening and on Sunday). The station at Irlam has been identified as one of the most dangerous in Manchester - no seats, poor lighting, isolated location, no staff, no ticketing, no real-time information, no seats, lack of shelter, no emergency system, no telephones, poor parking, no taxi drop-off - even though the holders of rail franchise were required to address all these factors as a condition of their contract. The state of the station has even hit national headlines.

It is also expensive at peak time (£5 return). Despite all this - with journey times of 20mins and free integration with Metrolink at Deansgate) - the train is the quickest and most reliable form of transport into Manchester. The greatest lost opportunity in Greater Manchester was the decision to invest in Metrolink (an expensive system which has done little to address transport problems in Manchester) - instead of upgrading the heavy rail system.

Of course all of above scenarios are predicated on a standard pattern of commuting, what about those people who have to drop kids off in the morning or make multiple trips for other reasons. Quite simply, public transport as it stands cannot offer anything to these people. And even if the C-charge came in tomorrow, the promised investment in public transport will take over a decade to have any real impact.

There could be short and medium term measures e.g. more rolling stock for the railways. Serious consideration has to be given to bringing back buses into public control as privatization has simply led to a decimation of passenger numbers.

Ultimately something has to be done, because with the charge in place and no viable alternatives to the car in place, surrounding town and cities, like Warrington, will be rubbing their hands in anticipation of business relocations from Manchester. Manchester is not London, is does not possess the same gravitas, nor the locational advantages of agglomeration and access to high level services which guarantees that few businesses will or can relocate.

Source: Delayed, decision on C-charge - News - Manchester Evening News

Irlam on citynoise.org

2008-03-19T14:29:00.000Z

More pictures and stories from the fringe.

Source: Irlam, Manchester - Manchester, UK : citynoise.org

These Things No Longer Exist

2008-03-19T14:21:00.000Z

Some great photos and interesting discussion about Irlam's history and development courtesy of citynoise.org

Source: These Things No Longer Exist - Manchester, UK : citynoise.org

www.chatmoss.co.uk

2008-03-19T12:34:00.000Z

This fascinating project aims to academically and artistically represent the bleak and enigmatic Chat Moss, an area of farmland that along with the Manchester Ship Canal frames and defines the communities of Irlam and Cadishead, settlements which through a combination of geography and planning, have been pushed into a narrow ribbon of development along the A57.

Source: www.chatmoss.co.uk

Peel Holdings researches C-charge advocates’ wards

2008-03-12T09:34:00.000Z

Peel's quest for global domination continues with the company apparently attempting to disrupt the political process regarding the proposed congestion charge in Greater Manchester, by attempting to undermine local politicians in support of the charge by funding market research in particular local constituencies. I wonder if Peel would support a similar household survey which asks questions about why since some of their land was developed for housing - raw household sewage has been leaking into a stretch of the River Irwell (old course) killing off most of the local fish!

Source: Peel Holdings researches C-charge gs researches C-charge advocates’ wards - Cadvocates’ wards - Crain's Manchester Business

Business centre paying for new tenants to move in

2008-03-10T11:02:00.000Z

The Woodrow Business Centre is located close to Tescos in Irlam. In an interesting spin on place marketing, inward moving businesses are being offered relocation costs of up to £20,000 to encourage them to move into the centre. This kind of makes sense if the new businesses are coming from outside the region, but there is little logic to simply attracting businesses from other local locations.

Source: Business centre paying for new tenants to move in - Crain's Manchester Business

Global migration

2008-03-05T16:56:00.000Z

Strange machinations going on in the global economy. With labour from the accession states now free to move around the EU, you would think that right-wing Neoliberal apologists everywhere would be celebrating the free and unmitigated movement of workers across geographical space as surely this is how capitalism and markets are supposed to work. From a business perspective, if a bunch of guys turn up at the factory gates and say they can do so the same work as your employees but for less money - then bingo! Sack the workers you already have (which is now relatively easy due to the erosion of worker's rights in this country) and hire the cheap labour - equals bigger profits! The sacked workers should, as according to one particular bigoted old Tory, 'Get on their bikes!, like what his father did in the Great Depression.

So why is it the same right-wing Neoliberal apologists, also bang on about immigration and the erosion the rights of British workers in Europe? I wish they'd make their bloody mind up!

I think the New Labour solution should be to introduce new legislation forbidding Polish migrants to ride bicycles.

If only we had a strong Union movement eh! The next thing the government will be doing is nationalising failing business in the 'public interest'. Now where's my mortgage statement from Northern Rock?

Source: Workers replaced by Poles get £25,000 settlement - Crain's Manchester Business

Typically British Earthuake

2008-03-03T09:47:00.000Z

Just how British was this Earthquake. Whereas quakes in other parts of world wreak havoc and destruction, in Britain, they produce disgruntled cats!

Source: Terror quake measured 5.3 on the scale - News - Salford Advertiser

Could We Use Our Canals More?

2008-02-16T15:56:00.000Z

Another story about Tesco's use of the Ship Canal.

Source: Could We Use Our Canals More?

Raw sewage leak is killing off fish

2008-02-14T22:33:00.002Z

This is kinda of a worrying development. The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal was somewhat environmentally insensitive, cutting through the meanders of the River Irwell to leave a series of man-made ox-bow lakes. These lakes have remained live freshwater environments, nurturing a diverse ecology. However, the stretch of the river in Irlam seems to have been compromised by a unpopular housing development constructed on land nestling between the old River and the Ship Canal. This area of unmanaged open space, although privately owned by Peel Holdings, was of high amenity value to the local community, young and old, for many decades, but has now lost to new housing. The Old River, however, remained, marking out a stretch of open space linking Princes Park to the Boathouse Pub and a new area of managed open space beyond. However, the pollution of the river since the construction of the new housing has largely eradicated the value of this remaining space.

This stretch of water, for example, was of particular importance to the Irlam and Cadishead Community Action Plan. In 2007, for example, the Boat House Junior Fishing Club was established with National Lottery Funding of £10k. Salford City Council also plans to refurbish the fishing pegs on the Old River. Such developments now seem futile as most of the fish appear to dead or wallowing in human sewage.

Source: Raw sewage leak is killing off fish - News - Salford Advertiser

Tesco

2008-01-25T14:03:00.000Z

This article refers to the demise of the retail sector in Irlam and Cadishead which without doubt was severely affected by the opening of the country's first hypermarket in the 1970s. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Irlam and Cadishead once possessed Britain's longest high street (some three miles). However, many shops have closed and remain derelict. The concrete shopping referred to in the article was actually demolished a few years ago, replaced by a housing development. Other infill residential developments have also began to diminish the area's retail stock. There are few signs of recovery - so the signs don't too good for Workington.

Source: times and star workington lake district, workington news sport, west cumbria news, lake district news

Major award for RCM Marine

2008-01-09T17:03:00.000Z

This report about the success of Irlam's RCM Marine alludes to the complex interweaving of space and time. Irlam, despite its location some 40 miles from the sea, possesses something of a nautical heritage even when the town was nothing more than small hamlet nestled between the banks of Irwell and Mersey and bleak Chat Moss. The Irwell was once a relatively important maritime transit route supporting the burgeoning Industrial Revolution in Manchester. Irlam's maritime heritage, however, was really forged following the construction of the Ship Canal, which gouged through the Irwell (leaving man-made oxbow lakes as the canal route cut-off the river's meanders and turns). Irlam was a key site during the construction phase of the canal, and is home to a substantial locks system. The banks of the Canal were sided by an array of loading cranes and railways feeding into the town's key industries, most notably steel. Despite its industrial nature, the canal and its industry provided a tremendous spectacle. Some of my strongest childhood memories include the times when we used local ferries to cross the canal, the one-car diesel ferry and more prosaically Bob's Lane Ferry, which consisted of one man in a rowing boat.

The locks remain, although this site has become subject to housing development. Pub names in Irlam also reveal its watery past, with places such as the Ship Inn and The Boat House, and road names dedicated to key figures behind the development of the canal such as Leader Williams Road.

Source: Major award for RCM Marine - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

Parker invests in CPM

2007-12-16T22:51:00.000Z

I can't find much information on CPM, a meat packing company based on Ferrous Road. This story again reveals over-lapping geographies of production and ownership - extending from the East Midlands to the North West. The deal reported suggests Parker are aiming to generate economies of scope through the investment with CPM.

Source: Parker invests in CPM - Meat News & Industry Knowledge - Meatinfo.co.uk: "Centrally Packed Meats"

'Toy Run axe is fault of cops and council'

2007-12-09T05:32:00.000Z

Last year's Toy Run was an amazing spectacle. but it appears that the local authorities have finally won their attempt to regulate and ultimately prevent this popular charitable event from occurring. The actions of the police and Salford City Council seem to show little respect or understanding of local identity and culture. The overall costs of £6000 seems a paltry some compared to £24,000 temporary pink ice-rink outside the Council offices in Swinton. I guess the real victims here are the children who face spending Christmas in hopital and the managers of children's hospices in the region. Merry Christmas!

Source: Toy Run axe is fault of cops and council' - News - Salford Advertiser

Irlam development 'has universal appeal'

2007-12-04T21:50:00.000Z

Fairhills Point has been invariably described as ideal for mobility impaired, airport workers, commuters and for people attracted by an eclectic community, within numerous press releases and news-ads. Located on a former urban wildscape and a neighbourhood shopping centre, the development has not been too popular with locals. Despite remarkable mix of bland and exciting architecture, the housing here lies outside of mainstream life of the town. Some of the new facilities promised in the planning such as shops and a new pub haven't emerged, giving little reason for people from other parts of Irlam to visit the area.

Source: Manchester.com - News - Irlam development 'has universal appeal'

http://www.easier.com/view/UK_Property_News/Manchester/article-150137.html

Art or a waste of cash?

2007-12-03T09:03:00.000Z

Marge and Steel doesn't refer to a new episode of the Simpsons, rather it is the name of the public art work plonked within the centre of new roundabout, which you can catch a glimpse of as you shoot past it on the bypass. The sculpture attempts to commemorate the town's industrial heritage, steel and margarine (produced by the Co-Op). It is somewhat pointless to engage in debates about the artistic qualities of the piece or whether its a waste of taxpayer's money. This argument seems to surface in media reports of every piece of public art sponsored by local government, which seem to suggest that all people think all public art is worthless. One criticism reporting in the Manchester Evening News, suggest that it is "cold and hard". What do people expect from steel - warm and fluffy? I hardly think that the experience of working in the steel works was akin to being an Oompah-Loompah in a chocolate factory. Or perhaps the artists should have used a softer medium - such as butter.

OK, the scale is bit disappointing, afterall the steelworks once dominated the town's landscape and employed 1 in 5 local people. And I guess the position is not too great either - cut off from any pedestrian access - why not put the thing in the town's heart and centre (Tesco carpark for instance, or perhaps on the forecourt of Irlam Steel Social and Recreational Club, an institution which continues to actively maintain a connection to the past). Some local consultation as to the siting and content, therefore, may have gone a littleo way to allay the criticisms that the local media are reporting. So it does make you think who is the target audience for the art work. That said, it is not often you get local authorities commemorating lost industry and working class culture. Too often, this rich vein of heritage is subject to 'urban amensia' and written out of regeneration scripts and place marketing narratives. Though I do wonder how far this can go as Irlam once possessed many other industries. So here are my ideas for future local sculptures:

* A full size replica of a Manchester Liner made out of matches.

* The world's biggest soap on a rope.

* A giant firework made out of gunpowder and lard.

* An army of 3000 land remediation workers in an Anthony Gormley style, but made out of tar.

* A 200ft high tin of value cat food to commemorate the lost ruins of Kwik-Save.

Source: Art or a waste of cash? - News - Manchester Evening News

Host aids karaoke con arrest

2007-11-23T10:10:00.000Z

We hear a lot about the development of the night-time economy in cities, but rather less about what happens in suburbia. There seems to be a whole raft of events such as jam nights, live covers bands, karaoke and quiz nights. I wonder what impact his has on suburban cultural economies? As this article reveals some people quite clearly see lucrative gains to be made karaoke. I guess the very use of the word karaoke suggests some global-local relationship, connecting a multitude of seemingly ordinary and banal spaces across the globe through the common cause of amateur singing for fun. I have noticed though a creeping semi-professionalisation of karaoke. Sometimes individuals and couples turn up and quite clearly perform and act, rather than a moment of alcohol inspired vocal improvisation. Almost like the X-Factor gone local.

Source: Host aids karaoke con arrest - Morning Advertiser