THING OF THE WEEK

DREAM BIG… Should Liverpool and Manchester submit a joint bid for the 2040 Olympics? Journalist Liam Fogarty thinks so, having written for the Heseltine Institute on the matter. “An Olympic bid could be a unifying flagship project that draws together disparate initiatives and engages people in both city regions and across the North. Staging the Games here would be ‘levelling up’ made real,” he said. Fogarty went on to advocate for triathlons at Salford Quays, fencing at St George’s Hall, and speed climbing at the Anglican Cathedral. Honestly, we dig it. Bring it on.

The tram stop by Trafford Palazzo has a new name. Credit: via TfGM

NEW NAMES… RIP Barton Dock Road. Long live Trafford Palazzo! Transport for Greater Manchester has renamed the Trafford-area tram stop in honour of the shopping centre it sits near. The goal, TfGM said, was to make it easier to get around. A renaming celebration is set to take place Saturday to commemorate the occasion – with a series of roaming living statues set to board the tram at Trafford Palazzo and travel to and from Deansgate. Sounds eerie to us – and very fitting for Halloween weekend.

This does not depict the potholes in Bury, but you get the idea. Credit: Liam Riby via Unsplash

ROAD RAGE… Potholes are the bane of every commuter’s existence and Greater Manchester’s roads are littered with them. No where is it worse than Bury, which had 3,613 complaints and 248 legal claims for vehicle damage during the last financial year, according to research done by the Federation of Small Businesses. As for the best area for pothole avoidance in GM? That honour goes to Rochdale, which had the lowest number of pothole complaints in the metro area.

‘Societal changes’ have led to the proposal. Credit: via planning documents

IRON CHURCH… Holyhead’s 112-year-old Capel Tabernacl could host a new kind of patron if Anglesey County Council grants permission. The original chapel was built on the site in 1823 an upgraded grade two-listed chapel on the site dates from 1913. An internal clean out of pews and the organ will set the stage for gym equipment to be brought in. Exterior work is to be kept to a minimum, with a repainted façade the only visible change. Capel Tabernacl was acquired for £55,000 in July this year, according to HM Land Registry. A heritage statement as part of the application indicates the conversion of the redundant chapel is due to ‘societal change’, with Holyheadians now prioritising the pump over the pews. Use FPL/2025/249 in Anglesey’s planning portal to view the application.

The sign will watch over Victoria Road West. Credit: via planning documents

WELCOME TO… Most people automatically assume that Blackpool is the Fylde Coast’s only answer to Las Vegas, though it appears neighbouring Cleveleys is hoping to set up some illuminations of its own. Plans have been lodged by the Cleveleys Town Centre Group for a glittering, eight-metre-tall ‘Welcome to Cleveleys’ sign. The gateway sign has been designed by Lightworks and will shine some 57 fairground lights from its perch above Victoria Square. With proposals for Thornton-Cleveleys’ own Vegas-style ‘Sphere’ unlikely to materialise, Wyre Council will now need to consider whether the signage is enough to upstage its more boldly lit neighbour down the road.