THING OF THE WEEK
SLEEPOUT… Last year, scores of Liverpool property professionals headed to Firwood Waterloo Rugby Club to give the city’s first ever LandAid SleepOut a try, raising thousands for charity in the process. This year, the Liverpool SleepOut will take place in historic surroundings within the Church of St Luke, known more commonly as the Bombed Out Church. The church has been a roofless shell ever since the Liverpool Blitz back in 1941 so provides an ideal, if a little eerie, venue for the city’s planners, agents, developers, and architects to hunker down for the night in the name of charity. The event will take place on 5 March. Don’t be shy, get involved.
The scheme has proved controversial. Credit: via Lexington
DARE… Efforts to redevelop Ryebank Fields reached saga status a long time ago. The proposal to build homes on the 10-acre site – which has been a landfill and more recently playing fields – has divided opinion locally to say the least. The campaign group fighting against the proposals has been vociferous. Last year the group lodged a protest planning application seeking to preserve the site.
The group’s latest stunt is to invite Manchester City Council Leader Bev Craig to take part in a walk at Ryebank Fields to mark International Women’s Day. The open letter sent to Craig, following comments she made about the importance of preserving green space, really does feel more like a dare than an invitation. It remains to be seen if Craig will take up the offer. The walk takes place on the evening of Sunday 8 March. If years past are anything to go by, she will be on a painfully early flight to Cannes for MIPIM the following morning and may want an early night.
Who was it who said children should be seen and not heard?
Credit: via Unsworth Sugden
SIMPLY THE VEST… Children should be seen and not heard, or so the saying goes. Barratt Homes is doing its bit to the first part of that proverb is upheld by donating surplus hi-vis vests to a local school in Bury. The housebuilder, which is building new homes close to Springside Primary School at its Waldmers Wood development, donated 35 vests, much to the delight of headteacher Gill Thornicroft.
“We are thrilled,” she said. “These vests will help keep the children safe during school trips and other events.” Springside pupils are not the only ones to have their days brightened by Barratt recently. The housebuilder has donated hi-vis vests to schoolchildren across the country over recent months. The initiative is clearly not damaging the business’s bottom line. Barratt made a £273m pre-tax profit in 2025, up 60% year-on-year.
The station is grade two-listed. Credit: PNW
SIGN O’ THE TIMES… Preston City Council has granted listed building consent for Avanti West Coast and advisor AtkinsRealis to overhaul signage in and around the grade two-listed Preston station, which it must be said can be a confusing place for the uninitiated. This is as much about decluttering as anything, at present the station and car park have a whopping 261 signs. Of these, 65 will be removed completely, with the remainder being upgraded to provide uniformity and increase legibility, along with 37 new wall-mounted signs and eight floor-mounted signs.
Gwynedd Council wants to upgrade Barmouth’s flood defences – but locals aren’t sold on the plans. Credit: Arthur C Harris via CC BY-SA 2.0; bit.ly/3MVQefT
FLOOD GATES… Criticism from the public has poured in regarding Gwynedd Council’s proposals for flood defences in Barmouth. The council has permission to raise the height of a sea wall in front of a housing estate by more than five feet to help protect homes from drainage overflows and coastal flooding. The defence measures argue that it will protect 24 homes for 200 years. But a campaign group of local residents has kicked up, pointing out that the taller wall will block their sea view. An AI image generated by the group certainly makes such a case. What a dilemma – but one has to ask, is a sea view worth it if your house does not exist?
