Gargoyles c Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash

Credit: Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash

THING OF THE WEEK

CARVED IN STONE… Sefton Council is inviting everyone from passers-by to architects to join them at the Prince of Wales hotel in Southport next Wednesday to learn how to create their own gargoyle. 

The council’s townscape heritage team and Bullen Conservation will use the session, which runs from 10am until 3pm, to educate people on stonemasonry and other skills required to maintain old buildings. Participants will learn how to create and care for gargoyles, among the most unlovable of building gubbins, in an initiative that will hopefully see the ugly, gothic blighters make a comeback.


MAP MARE… A map that features in the hit Disney+ show Welcome to Wrexham, which documents the rise of the town’s football club since its Hollywood takeover, raised eyebrows recently. The map shows the locations of various football clubs across the country, the only problem is that many of them are completely wrong. The crest of London-based Brentford has been placed somewhere near Hadrian’s Wall, Cardiff City finds itself in Devon, while Shrewsbury, Rochdale and Everton have all been relocated to Wales. Wrexham itself is, thankfully, positioned correctly. Had it suffered the same haphazard placement as many other teams, soccer dudes Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny may have been in for a few tricky questions. 


Aviva Studios, Factory International and Manchester City Council, c Pawel Paniczko

The city council will be happy to draw a line under the construction phase of project and look ahead to the economic and cultural impact of the scheme. Credit: Pawel Paniczko

FACTORY… Six years and many cost increases since plans for Factory International – or Avivia Studios as it is now known – were approved by Manchester City Council, the venue has finally officially opened, which must be a relief to everyone involved in the project. Attention will now move from how much Aviva Studios cost to build to whether or not the venue lives up to its billing. What better way to begin, then, than with a large-scale immersive performance based on The Matrix directed by Danny Boyle, which sounds mad enough to distract anyone from the £240m price tag. 


Preston Royal Hospital site c Steven Webberley

Credit: Steven Webberley, Nightcafe Studio

PRESTON... With Preston Royal Hospital likely to be relocated from its current site in Fulwood in the next decade, one local resident has used AI to generate a vision for how he thinks the site should look in the future. Posting on LinkedIn, Steven Webberley said the site offers the opportunity to give Fulwood “the town centre it deserves”. Webberley’s vision is for “a streets-based urban village”, mixing traditional and modern architecture with a palette of materials befitting the local area. Thoughts?


River Dee, c Google Earth

Credit: Google Earth

SPLISH SPLASH… Cheshire West and Chester Council are pushing to have part of the River Dee officially designated as ‘bathing water’. A small beach by Sandy Lane in Chester is the site in question, but wave away those dreams of donning your swimming trunks or bikinis for a River Dee swim. Even if the beach does get bathing water status, the council emphasized that the status would not mean that the area is safe for swimming. Having bathing water status just puts in a list of requirements for maintaining the beach, such as regular testing of the water, a need to identify pollution sources, and a mandate to recommend improvements. It is the first step in making the beach safe for bathing, not the final one. Probably best to stick to the shore for now.

Your Comments

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@PNW Are we to assume that Sandy Lane is in Chester?

By Albert

    Yes, it is a section of the River Dee in Chester. I have added that into the story so you need no longer assume. – J

    By Julia Hatmaker

@Julia Hatmaker Thanks, but I can only see reference to the local authority (CWaC) which covers a much larger area than the city of Chester.

By Albert

    Hi Albert – apologies – forgot to press the update button. This has been fixed.

    By Julia Hatmaker

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