THING OF THE WEEK

RACE DAY… Much of this week has been about trying to predict winners. Many in the property sector had a keen eye on which sweaty competitor would be first past the post in a highly charged race for glory on Thursday. And if ladies day at Chester Races – a must-attend event for the sector’s most seasoned networkers – was not enough excitement for one week, punters then had to head to the polls suited and booted and no doubt a little worse for wear to cast their ballot in crunch local elections.

Credit: via Laura Price Comms

MYSTERY… A mystery benefactor has pumped more than £80,000 into a campaign to save Woolton Picture House, bringing an end to years of uncertainty around the cinema’s future after it closed during the pandemic. The unnamed donator stepped in as the deadline to raise £450,000 to save the building approached. The building, thought to be Liverpool’s oldest surviving cinema, has now been gifted to Woolton Cinema Community Interest Company on a 100-year lease at a peppercorn rent, paving the way for its refurbishment.

Credit: via Cumberland Council

RONSEAL… Residents in Millom were asked to pick for a name for the Cumbria town’s new leisure centre and, after nearly 1,000 votes, it was revealed the building would be dubbed… Millom Leisure Centre. A statement from Cumberland Council said that the name Millom Leisure Centre “emerged as the clear winner…reflecting the community’s preference for a name that embodies both the town’s spirit and the facility’s purpose.” Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Credit: PNW

LEESE… In December it will be five years since legendary Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese left the authority. Time really does fly when you’re in the midst of a crippling viability crunch. Upon leaving, he has seldom raised his head above the parapet, quietly going about his business as chair of the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board.

However, this week, for the first time in six months he posted on LinkedIn to inform the masses he will be running Manchester 10K. At the age of 75, Leese is taking on the challenge to raise money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his stepson William Coogan, who died five years ago while studying for a PhD funded by the BPF. If you want to donate and help Leese get to his £5,000 fundraising goal, you can do so here.

Credit: via planning docs

TILTED BALANCE… Sefton Council has approved the conversion of the listed St Andrews Church in Bootle into a trampoline and gymnastics centre. Unit 3 Design Studio is applicant Winter Melia’s architect for what is a fine-looking community sports facility, with the nave set to serve as the main activity space, housing trampolines and a vault track. THING is not a qualified architect, or gymnast for that matter, but could those lovely high ceilings offer enough space for those fun-looking rings routines we see at the Olympics? Just a thought.