THING OF THE WEEK
PANTS… Late last week Landsec unveiled proposals for the first phase of residential at Mayfield. The 879-home scheme comprises various buildings and features a design decision we cannot unsee after it was pointed out by a Place North West commenter. Architects always go on about the importance of how a building hits the ground, well these ones hit them remarkably like superman’s underpants.
Credit: PNW
NEXT TRICK… Stockport Council deputy chief executive Paul Richards was behind the radical idea to put a park on top of the town’s bus station. It may have seemed outlandish at the time but, in fairness to Richards and others involved, it has worked out well, winning multiple awards. For his next stunt, Richards is trying something even more daring. Next Friday he will risk it all be abseiling down the side of Stopford House in the name of charity. “Stopford House is a building many people have suggested I should throw myself off over the years and at great personal sacrifice, I am aiming to make so many of these people’s dreams come true,” he said. You can donate to him here.
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BULLS AND THE BEES… Red Bull is always paying people to do dangerous things. Remember when that bloke jumped off the side of the moon wearing a spacesuit? That was in 2012, these days, Red Bull’s adrenaline junkies have to settle for less costly endeavours to satisfy their irrational need for excitement. Namely jumping over a double decker Bee Network bus on a bike. If you are a commuter wondering why there is a bus sitting in Manchester Central when yours did not bother to turn up this morning, send your complaint to hello@beenetwork.com.
Credit: via West Lancashire Council
WARNOCK… Anyone who has ever planned a ribbon-cutting knows it is obligatory to acquire the services of a minor celebrity to hold the scissors. At Burscough’s recently reopened Wellbeing & Leisure Hub, which has undergone a £3.3m refurbishment, it was former Liverpool footballer Stephen Warnock who got the nod. He said it was “amazing” to see local kids using the facilities before smashing the ball past one of them into the top corner of the net in the new sports hall.
Credit: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
GYRO… Blackpool Pleasure Beach has unveiled plans for an £8.72m addition to its roster of rides. The Gyro Swing, described as a giant swinging pendulum, is being added to the park’s line-up of rides in 2026. The attraction, which joins Pleasure Beach stalwarts The Big One and Valhalla, will take riders 138 feet in the air at its highest point, making it the biggest ride of its kind in the UK. The closest competitor in terms of its capacity to induce mortal fear is Drayton Manor’s Maelstrom, which reaches a mere 74 feet.
