THING OF THE WEEK
BURNHAM FEVER… LinkedIn has turned into an Andy Burnham fan forum. Every single post is either a blurry picture of someone stood in the former GM Mayor’s general vicinity or a paragraph (or six) reacting to the Prime Minister’s latest policy announcement or explaining in forensic detail why he was right to ditch the lectern during his maiden speech as PM. Burnham’s stock has arguably never been higher but he is the seventh Prime Minister in 10 years, which indicates how quickly the walls of 10 Downing Street can close in. Will his swarm of LinkedIn fans be as supportive when the tide begins to turn?
Brendan Flood’s nephew Tim Heatley [centre] was among the assembled throng at Andy Burnham’s swearing in as PM. Credit: Tim Heatley
The takeaways are being taken away. Credit: Google Earth
TAKEAWAY… Chester University is seeking to bolster its presence within the city while also making a positive impact on the waistlines of locals. The uni wants to convert four ground floor commercial units within Northgate House – opposite Storyhouse – into flexible space for students – the units have previously been home to takeaways Go Fresco, Chester Shawarma, Wok&Go, and Subway. The building’s ground floor will instead be occupied by the School of Creative Industries, which is moving into the city centre from an out-of-town site, and a digital hub for the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Smart but nowhere near as tasty.
Manchester has racked up more housing completions in the last year than London. Credit: PNW
FIRST PLACE… Manchester built more homes than Greater London in 2025. The city’s 4,766 completions beat the 4,261 homes built across all 32 Greater London boroughs, according to Manchester City Council. Manchester, which has a population of around 600,000 people, outpaced its London rivals, which are home to 9m people.
Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “We have done housing differently. We aren’t solely reliant on private developers to deliver social and affordable housing. We are ramping up delivery by working closely with our housing partners, by accessing grant funding and using Council-owned brownfield land to deliver the homes we need. And the results speak for themselves.”
The wall will double as a construction site hoarding. Credit: via BAM
ANOTHER LEAF IN THE WALL… A 33-metre ‘vertical meadow’ has popped up in Liverpool, bringing some much-needed greenspace to the site of the now-demolished former Liverpool Royal Hospital. The scheme has been delivered by contractor BAM in partnership with Eden Project and will fence off part of the site due to be redeveloped into a garden. Who wants to start the petition for all construction site hoardings to look like this? Daniel James, development director at the Eden Project, said: “Nature recovery doesn’t have to wait until a project is complete. By transforming a temporary construction boundary into a thriving vertical meadow, we’re showing how every stage of development can create opportunities for wildlife and people.”
Head to Material Source for a glimpse into the past. Credit: PNW
LAST CHANCE… Next week is your last chance to check out Euan Kellie Property Solutions’ Manchester Then and Now exhibition at Material Source. The exhibition charts Manchester’s phoenix-like rise from its post-industrial malaise to its place atop the national growth charts through a series of images side by side that show the city centre pre-1996 bomb and today.
