THING OF THE WEEK

Helping hand… Never shy of mucking in (or of anything generally), Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson took recent Twitter ‘banter’ on the chin after criticism over the state of Hamilton Square in the neighbouring borough of Wirral. As the Labour AGM took a surprise turn last night with a motion tabled which sought to get rid of his role as City Mayor, perhaps Anderson is lining up an alternative career?


Mayfair

Image from Google

BIG DEAL… Plenty of developers across Manchester and Liverpool wouldn’t be too displeased with getting £25/sq ft from an office tenant, but what about £250/sq ft? That’s a new record-high rent for the UK, according to the Evening Standard, where hedge fund Steadview Capital has reportedly taken 3,000 sq ft in Mayfair for the eye-watering price, which beats a previous UK record of £190/sq ft, also in London. In fairness, comparing Mayfair with somewhere like Manchester is like comparing apples and pears, but imagine the pinstriped scenes at Sam’s Chop House if one of the city centre’s agents managed to score a deal like this. Hats off to CBRE and Pilcher Hershman on their new British record.


I OBJECT… Like City Mayors, planners also need to have pretty thick skins, not least when dealing with members of local communities over controversial schemes. Mosaic Town Planning have kept a list of their choicest objections, with this month’s favourite reflecting the impatience most are feeling over the state of both local and national politics…

Mosaic Town Planning Quote


Hummingbird Clock

Photo by Mark McNulty

VISIONARY… The artist behind a piece which has become familiar in Liverpool city centre has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize. Lawrence Abu Hamdan’s artwork Hummingbird Clock was created for the Liverpool Biennial in 2016 and is in place outside Liverpool’s Law Courts. The tree of binoculars can be used to survey the courts and is intended to be remind passersby of CCTV cameras, making reference to counter-terrorism surveillance and privacy violations.


Pomona Island 2

A gull on Manchester’s Pomona Island plotting its next move

BIRD BRAINS… If you spend as much time trawling through council websites as THING does, you’ll be aware of their various foibles: ‘contact us’ pages without a phone number on, planning portals that immediately crash your computer, crushingly complicated public consultations, and more. But this week we stumbled across something a little bit quirkier. Most councils have a ‘report it’ page where residents can flag up things like litter, dog fouling, changes-in-circumstance, fly tipping and the like: all very useful and welcome in an age where, really, most things should be done online. But sitting proudly right on Wyre Council’s homepage among with the rest of them is: SEAGULL ATTACK. Having been to Fleetwood before we can vouch that they’re vicious, but at least you’ve got a dedicated portal to head to next time one nicks your chips.

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