THING OF THE WEEK
SKOF… It has taken Skof, the posh Manchester eatery founded by L’Enclume alumnus Tom Barnes, less than a year to bag itself a coveted Michelin star. . As a reminder, a one-star outfit like Sko is considered by Michelin as “very good in its catagory”. Two stars means the restaurant is worth making a detour for and three – the highest honour – indicates “exceptional cuisine, worth making a special trip”.
At the rate Barnes is going, he will be welcoming guests who have flown in specially from around the world by 2027. However, anyone hoping to bag a last-minute booking for Valentine’s Day – it is today, guys – will be left disappointed. The restaurant is regularly booked up months in advance and the recently bestowed star means one will likely have to wait even longer to get a taste of Skof’s “unpretentious yet ambitious dining experience”.
Wrexham Council has decided to leave the 20mph speed limit in the rear view mirror. Credit: Leon S on Unsplash
NEED FOR SPEED… To say that the Welsh Government’s decision to introduce a blanket 20mph speed limit on local roads in 2023 divided opinion would be like describing the crescendo of the last ever Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park as “tense”. A review of the decision was announced last year and now councils are beginning to take steps to repeal the contentious highways initiative, which the government has maintained will save money and lives.
That all sounds a bit too boring for Wrexham residents. 93% of those who responded to a consultation on reverting the roads back to 30mph were in favour, citing reasons ranging from the impact on journey times and, “personal driving preference”.
KHAN YOU DIG IT… Amir Khan has had a change of heart. No, he is not going to come out of retirement and make a glorious if ill-advised return to the ring at the age of 38 – although he did say in a recent interview that he would do just that for £10m. Khan’s u-turn is not boxing related at all but instead pertains to his lavish Bolton wedding venue.
He announced last year he wanted to sell building but has now decided to hang on to it. In the same interview during which he placed a £10m bounty on his own head, Khan said: “I’ll be honest, the wedding venue is doing so well and bringing in so much money that I don’t want to sell it now”. Fair enough.
Property professionals hunker down annually in the name of charity. Credit: Nathan Cornish
SLEEP OUT… In two weeks time, thousands of property professionals across the country will be braving the cold and sleeping under the stars in the name of charity at LandAid’s Sleep Out. Events are taking place in Edinburgh, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Bristol, and for the very first time, Liverpool. The city’s property industry is bracing itself for the big night. Among those taking part is City Residential founder Alan Bevan, who is trying to raise £2,000 to combat homelessness.
Bevan currently sits fifth on the national leaderboard of fundraisers with £1,400 raised so far. Good luck to him and everyone braving the cold for a good cause. For those unsure about whether to take part, just think of it as a very cold, very dark networking event.
Parkour is usually performed in urban environments. Credit: via Alireza Irajinia via Unsplash
PARKOUR… Salford City Council has granted permission for a parkour training facility at Wheatsheaf Industrial Estate. For those unfamiliar with the sport, parkour is defined as “the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping, and climbing”. The Salford centre will see an industrial unit transformed into a training area for parkourists to practice their skills using a variety of apparatus designed to mimic their natural city centre habitat, think Deansgate in its current form. To learn more about the Salford parkour facility, search for reference number PA/2024/1118 on Salford City Council’s planning portal.
