David Baker, 86, passed away at North Manchester General Hospital on Monday 25 December 2017. 

It is unclear at this time where David is from. 

There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. 

Anyone with information about David or his family is asked to contact Stephanie Morton-Kyle at the Police Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 3897. 

Ex City Reds captain Malcolm Alker, aged 39, was given a four year sentence on Friday 12/012/18 for his parts in terrifying armed robberies which took place in October last year.

Alker and co-defendant Michael Naylor, aged 25, subjected the manager of a KFC restaurant in Pemberton, Wigan, to a horrific attack using a machete and wearing balaclavas. 

Shortly afterwards, both Alker and Naylor took park in another equally vicious robbery at Tesco Express in Whelley, Wigan.

The pair threatened a member of staff with a machete before robbing the store of £350, unwittingly taking a bundle of £20 notes which contained a GPS tracker. They also made off with a number of boxes of Cigarettes. 

It was not long before the police traced the men using the tracker, whereupon they apprehended them on Delegarte Street in Ince, Wigan.

Naylor was found hiding behind his vehicle whilst Alker emerged from nearby bushes with his hands in the air as he gave himself up. The tracker was later found to be in Naylors pocket along with the money bundle.

Both had already plead guilty to two counts of robbery as well as two counts of possession of an offensive weapon at a hearing last month.

Both men were sentenced to four years in prison for their part in the crimes.

Alker captained Salford Reds for almost a decade before he was dropped in 2009 after breaching club rules at a training camp in the USA.

He later returned to the club for a short period but was once more shown the door after yet another incident at the clubs training ground.

The former hooker had played over 350 games for the Red Devils between 1997-2010 as well as winning two England caps.

Alker retired from professional Rugby due to injury sustained in 2010 and his 16-year association with Salford ended the following year.

He attracted the support of the entire rugby league family last year when he was reported missing in April 2016.

Being found safe and well the following day after numerous pleas for help and information on social media.

This is a classic example of the fall from grace of a man who previously had a glittering career.

Salix Homes’ neighbourhood teams have carried out home visits and delivered winter welfare packs to more than 150 of its older residents as part of its annual Keep Warm, Keep Well campaign.

Now in its ninth year, the initiative supports people aged over 70 to ensure they are all set for the winter months, their heating is working, and they know how to access support if they need it.

During the visits, officers give advice on how to stay warm and healthy during cold periods, what to do if they trip or fall and ensure they are claiming the benefits they’re entitled to.

Residents are also given winter welfare packs containing a hot water bottle, blanket, gloves, socks, hat, thermal mug and a temperature gauge.

Pensioner Dorothy Law, aged 74, who lives in Charlestown, was thrilled with her winter welfare pack.

She said:

Quote

 

“I live on my own and don’t really have any family so it was a wonderful surprise to get a visit and my welfare pack. Everything in it will be really useful to me and the socks will keep my toes warm in bed!”

Mick Walsh, neighbourhood manager at Salix Homes, said: “The cold, winter months can be a very difficult and worrying time for some older people, some of whom don’t have any family and may be feeling lonely and isolated.

“A lot of older people can go for days and weeks without seeing anyone else, so it’s vitally important that they know that help and support is out there if they need it.

“So far this winter we have visited more than 150 of our elderly and most vulnerable residents to offer help and advice and ensure they don’t feel alone this winter.”

 

If you’re a Salix Homes tenant and feel you, or someone you know, could benefit from a winter welfare pack and a visit from the neighbourhood teams please call us on 0800 218 2000 or email:enquiries@salixhomes.org

The UK Met Office has advised that there is a Yellow Warning for Fog in the region, and it's not expected to lift fully until around mid morning.

A thick blanket of the murky stuff is expected to cover much of Salford and visibility could be reduced to as little as 80m in some areas.

Drivers are advised to take care on the roads, use fog lights when needed and be on the look out for people on bikes, pedestrians crossing roads and other road hazards like cats and stray zombies.

Temperatures for tomorrow are not expected to reach above 6C and in some areas could reach no more than 2C so wrap up warm as its going to be a cold one.

Fog is also a convenient cover for those who would take it as an opportunity to steal from you, so ensure you have locked all doors and windows of your home and that sheds and cars are secure.  You never know when the tax man is about.

It plans to spend the next two years helping 8,000 of its residents – from elderly people to those who are homeless – to become confident using digital technology and the internet.

And it is working with Good Things Foundation, the UK’s leading digital and social inclusion charity, and private sector partners including Barclays, Lloyds Bank and TalkTalk to achieve this.

The programme will build a network of community venues in the city that will deliver face-to-face, informal support to help people grow their digital skills and confidence.

And it will look to recruit volunteer Digital Champions. These will be residents who are keen to support others to use technology.

Salford City Council will unveil its plans – which also includes two brand new websites to be ‘owned’ by the local community at a showcase event at The Landing on Thursday 11 January.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: 

Quote

 

“Salford is a city of firsts. We pioneered the industrial revolution with the country’s first canal, colliery, gas street lighting, free park and public library.

“Now the aim is to provide a forum where people can communicate with each other, business and services to build a closer community.

“We want to be the first city in the UK where everyone benefits from the digital revolution – everything from internet access and all the benefits that can bring to using data or technology to keep people independent in their own homes or create new products or services.

“We want to give people skills and confidence to use mobiles, tablets, computers, apps and the internet to do things that make day to day living easier – such as finding good jobs, paying bills, saving money by finding cheaper deals, staying connected with family, friends and the community and even getting information to manage their health or get involved in issues of the day.

“We want to work with private sector partners to explore digital access. We already provide free internet access in our libraries but can we team up to go further and provide low or no cost internet access to residents in other ways? It’s about finding the barriers and getting round them.”

 

Part of the plan includes the launch of two brand new websites designed to put the community in charge of content.  

MyCity Salford is for people who live and work in the city where they can not only find news, information and events but create their own online community by posting details of events, local groups, sharing views and creating an online marketplace.

My CityHealth compliments that by providing information, advice and dedicated support to help people stay fit and healthy in a city which has major health issues.

Helen Milner, Chief Executive at Good things Foundation said: 

Quote

 

“We're delighted to be playing a part in this landmark project in Salford, and over the next two years we'll be helping almost 8,000 of Salford's most excluded residents to transform their lives using digital.

“Currently, 24% of adults in Salford lack basic digital skills, and so the DigitalYou project will have a major impact on reducing this number, and ensuring excluded people can realise the benefits of technology. We'll be working with partners within our Online Centres Network, the wider community and private sector partners including Lloyds Banking Group and TalkTalk to reach excluded residents, and we know many more partners will have an important role to play.”

 

The council will invest £100,000 over the next four years upgrading all IT in its libraries, which already provide free IT and internet access. And it is the first local authority in the country to team up with Barclays to train 200 council staff as Digital Eagles to help colleagues improve their digital skills.

That’s the latest update from Salford City Council’s affordable housing programme which aims to deliver a mixture of social rented, affordable rented and shared ownership homes.

The report says that although 17% of new homes provided in Salford last year by developers, landlords and housing associations were affordable  – one of the best rates in Greater Manchester -  the city still needs 760 new affordable homes each year to meet need.

And that’s why, later this year, Deputy City Mayor Councillor John Merry will launch Salford City Council’s plans to build the first council houses in the city for a generation.

Councillor Merry said:

Quote

 

“We have set up a company called Derive as a wholly owned subsidiary of the council. Initially we will be buying existing homes off the shelf to meet demand quickly. They will be available this year – and then we will be buying and building more in the future.

“We’re starting from scratch, but we aim to build up the company’s capacity over time to provide larger and larger numbers of homes to meet the housing needs of people in Salford.

“In the absence of any government support, we will be kick-starting Derive with £2 million of Section 106 money from developers, other funds from the council and self-financing the affordable housing by selling some of the houses and letting others at market rents.

“Derive is already involved in projects to deliver around 900 affordable homes by 2021 using our strong partnerships with our local housing associations. But demand is high so our work to provide affordable homes won’t stop there.

“Salford City Council will also continue to work with developers, property owners, landlords and our housing association partners as we have been doing to bring empty properties back into use and get new homes built but it takes time. 

"There is no magic wand that can solve what is a national housing crisis overnight, but in Salford we are forging ahead with a clear strategy to deliver for the people of our city and I do recognise what we have done so far is a drop in the ocean given demand – but our plans are ambitious.

“Last year, we saw 336 new builds and 125 existing empty properties brought back into use as affordable homes. On top of this we saw another 497 homes that were completed using build to rent funding to provide good quality, private rented housing and another 142 households which used the Help to Buy equity loan scheme. That’s 1,100 homes which were a mixture of houses, bungalows and apartments and ranged from one bed to four bed homes.”

 

A business plan for the new company is expected to be approved in March this year and the first houses purchased off the shelf by Derive should be available by next year.

Other articles about this from Salford based media:

Salford Star : http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=4301

  
Richard Lee Morley (12/04/88) from Blackley is wanted for robbery, assault and threats to damage property dating between February and December 2017. 

It is possible he may have moved into other areas of Greater Manchester to evade capture.
  
All enquiries to locate him have been exhausted and anyone who knows where he is should contact police on 101 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111. 
 

In 2017, Salford Credit Union saw a surge in membership and now wants to encourage more residents in the city to join up to make 2018 the year to take control of their finances.

In November, 2017, £134,000 was given out in loans – which is a 23% increase on November 2016.

The month before, in October 2017, 137 new members were signed up compared to just 77 in October 2016 – a 78% increase - with the trend continuing into November and December.  The total amount lent in 2016 was £750,541 and  £854,169 for 2017 - more than £100,000 increase in 12 months. 

Chief executive Sheila Murtagh said:

Quote

 

"At the start of this New Year, when resolutions are being made, I would encourage everyone to take control of their personal finances, and we can help with that.

"By joining a credit union, you can be more prepared for next Christmas by starting to save with us over the next 12 months- as well as our standard savings account you can also open a Christmas Club account, and all are accounts are fully regulated  and protected. You can also be safe in the knowledge that if you have spent more than you intended over this Christmas period, that we will try to help you clear your excess debt – whether that be a credit card or pay day loan, and also help you to avoid high interest repayments in the future."

 

Money Advice Trust is also urging low income households to join a local credit union and encouraging people to make a plan for 2018 by budgeting each month and dealing with debt as soon as possible.

Sheila added:

Quote

"If you're worried about money you owe, then it's best to get advice as early as you can. We may be able to help you reduce your debts and there is excellent free advice locally from Salford Citizens Advice Bureau, Salford Unemployed Resource Centre and Salford Council's Welfare Rights and Debt Advice Service."

For more information on how to join Salford Credit Union go to www.salfordcreditunion.com

The project will embrace the major cities of Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Chester and Hull as well as major towns across the north. It will deliver major environmental, social and economic benefits that complement the significant growth, investment and new infrastructure that is planned for the north of England.

The Northern Forest will both accelerate the creation of new woodland and support sustainable management of existing woods right across the area. Many more trees, woods and forests will deliver a better environment for all by: improving air quality in our towns and cities; mitigating flood risk in key catchments; supporting the rural economy through tourism, recreation and timber production; connecting people with nature; and helping to deliver improvements to health and wellbeing through welcoming and accessible local green spaces.

With a population in excess of 13m that is expected to rise by 9% over the next 20 years and with woodland cover at just 7.6%, below the UK average of 13%, and far below the EU average of 44%, the North of England is ripe to reap the benefits of such a project.

Tree planting rates are dramatically low with tree planting in 2016 being only 700 hectares against the Government’s target of 5000 hectares a year; there is a need for drastic change.

Austin Brady, director of conservation, Woodland Trust said:

Quote

“England is losing tree cover. We need to make sure we are protecting our most important habitats such as ancient woodland as well as investing in new major woodland creation schemes. Existing approaches to increasing woodland cover are stalling and existing delivery mechanisms, such as Community Forests are under threat. A new Northern Forest could accelerate the benefits of community forestry, support landscape scale working for nature, deliver a wide range of benefits, including helping to reduce flood risk, and adapt some of the UK’s major towns and cities to projected climate change. The North of England is perfectly suited to reap the benefits of a project on this scale. But this must be a joined-up approach. We’ll need to continue to work with Government, and other organisations to harness new funding mechanisms such as those promised in the Clean Growth Strategy to plant extensive areas of woodland to lock up carbon. This will ensure we can make a difference long term.”

Paul Nolan, director of the Mersey Forest said:

Quote

“The Northern Forest will complement the planned £75bn of hard infrastructure investment across the M62 corridor. We have shown that we can lock up over 7m tonnes of carbon as well as potentially reduce flood risk for 190,000 homes. The Northern Forest can also help to deliver improved health and wellbeing, through programmes such as the Natural Health Service. Community Forest Trust has a long track record of developing partnerships and, most importantly, working with local communities to create new woodlands and manage existing woods in and around our towns and cities. We welcome the government support for the idea and we are looking forward to accelerating the work of the Community Forest Trust across the Northern Forest."

There are currently five community forests that sit within the proposed area for the Northern Forest including, City of Trees, White Rose Forest, Mersey Forest, HEYwoods and South Yorkshire Forest.

Update: Jennifer has now been found safe and well.

Jennifer McGowran, 35, was last seen at 4pm on Friday 5 January 2018 on Sportside Grove in Worsley. 

She is slim, white and around 5ft 1inch tall with green eyes and dark brown hair that she normally wears in a ponytail. 

It is believed Jennifer’s wearing a long black bubble coat with a fur trim, black jeans, Adidas ‘Superstar’ trainers, a Hufflepuff  Harry Potter scarf and a pink Princess Peach bag. 

Detective Inspector Joe Clarke of GMP’s Salford borough, said:

Quote

“It is completely out of character for Jennifer to go missing and her loved ones are very concerned. 

“We’re doing all we can to locate her and are asking for the public to share any information that can help us bring Jennifer home.” 

Anyone with information about Jennifer’s whereabouts is asked to contact police on 0161 856 5470 or 101 quoting reference MP/18/0112550. Reports can be made anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

The statement comes after a number of residents in the areas hit by the 2016 Boxing Day floods in lower Broughton, became concerned after people claiming to be representing the company, asked to gain access to properties to check on the status of work that was undertaken.

It is always wise to ask to ID before allowing anyone into your home, if in doubt contact the company they are claiming to be representing to check.

In a statement Salix advised...

Quote

We have been made aware of reports that some tenants in the Broughton area have received visits from companies claiming to represent Salix Homes or our contractors. If you are a Salix Homes tenant and receive a visit please always make sure you check their ID before letting anyone into your home. Please remember that we will always contact you before visiting your home.

If you have any concerns or they do not have any ID, then do not allow them access and contact us on 0800 218 2000 to verify the visit.

Well 2017 was a strange year for me, I went from being the local fat bloke on the Salford Online facebook group to the local fat bloke on the group who was pumping out local news and drivel. Truth of the matter was Soapbox for me started mainly as an experiment just help me better understand how SOL failed, reality is it never actually did.

The reporting from Tom and Tony was second to none, the views on the site were pretty phenomenal for what is essentially a tiny geographic area of the UK, something they both should be immensely proud of.

The issue I found was more a failure to be able to convert those views into any tangible regular income, no fault of their own as they never stopped trying. Sadly when you took out the cost of the office SOL was in, the broadband connection, server costs, electrical costs, phone lines etc... etc.. then in the end it was costing more money than it was actually bringing in. In short they had kinda become victims of their own popularity and success, as more and more people headed to the site it meant they had to invest more and more money into the infrastructure that kept it online, unfortunately income from ad revenues never really grew to match the spurt in growth the site had undertaken and so inevitably a decision was made to call it a day. Tom and Tony had to eat and it was just not paying the bills.

I never actually intended Soapbox to be a real website, for me it was initially an experiment in how local media up and down the UK worked, survived and thrived. I found myself spending night after night looking at local news sites, pulling apart what they were doing both right and wrong and looking closely at those which failed and those who succeeded, more importantly the reasons why.

I saw emerging patterns and trends starting to form, it also did not escape my notice that there are thousands of local news media outlets that have been swallowed up by much larger groups, something I found extremely sad and depressing.

My conclusion was more or less as follows....

Local Media is still wanted and still much needed, it has a place in peoples hearts and still performs a function, even if in this day and age times have changed. Those who are succeeding are the ones that found ways to innovate and expand into different areas. Bring in much needed ad revenues and build on what they have.

When I put up Soapbox I had one rule, it has to cost me as little as possible, both in time, effort and more importantly money. I automated many things, built what I needed and stripped away that which no long served a purpose, so much in fact that to run what has become my version of SOL, it costs me a grand total of ... £ Nothing.

I run it from home so it costs me nothing in electricity other than what I already use, my phone lines (3 of them and expandable) are all VOIP (Internet) based and I have a full voice menu system which I will soon be using, I have built myself a small office which has more or less anything and everything I could ever need, I more or less had 90% of what I needed already, so in short I managed to take those costs down to a bare minimum.

At the moment there is only me doing this, I aim to eventually expand on that and get more people involved. I have had help though, thanks to Alison Short who has been a fantastic help with articles and Tony Flynn who has allowed me to go through the old SOL archives and republish many of his fantastic tomes from yesteryear. I would also like to thank all those who get in touch with me to tip me off on things that are going on that I may have missed. It has helped immensely. The more people feeding back to me the easier it is.

So where do we go from here then?

Well the answer to that was something I mulled over for a fair few months. The views the site gets are fairly decent for what it is at the moment. I have most of what I need in place already and I am slowly building the rest as I go along. 

Stephen Kingston from the Salford Star said something a while back which resonated in my mind, he called Salford a Media City with an ever dwindling media. Words which to be honest are as about as real and true as it gets. Salford has played second fiddle to Manchester for a long long time and yet we have a huge section of the entire countries media based here. 

Yes we kind of still have a weekly paper but its a far cry from the days of the Reporter and even the Advertiser.

So Salford Media Group ?

We now have a nice new and much cleaner looking site, easier to navigate and the content is presented on a much better platform in my opinion. It isn't perfect but then it probably never will be as far as I am concerned, it is what it is.

We can never compete with the larger media networks surrounding me, but then I don't have to compete with them, all I have to do is rewrite the rules on how things work, and that is something I am good at.

The key to generating ad revenue, expanding and becoming a viable content provider is not to just concentrate on one sole aspect, media is more than just news articles and although we are based in a small City it doesn't mean our media reach and content has to remain small and focused just here.

So over the coming months SalfordVoice will be joined online with its sister site ManchesterVoice, just because we live in Salford doesn't mean that the news stops at our borders.

Yes we can still pump out quality local news covering what is happening in Salford as well as report on the big stories and issues going on around the UK and the rest of the World that people also have an interest in.

And so Salford Media Group is the name I am using as the main group for what will eventually become a small network.

All old links from Soapbox will still work on this site and clicking one will send you to the correct page.

Salford.TV

As I expand this site I also intend to venture more into video content over the coming year (News Bulletins, and local features), I have already built salford.tv which will be used not only to post my own content video for this site but hopefully also use it as a platform to allow others to produce their own content and help them be seen by a wider audience.

The aim is to explore the possibilities of pumping out a local politics show once in a while (Should be fun in this City), also a local sports show covering all our local teams as well as some of our smaller Sunday league teams etc... A morning and evening news bulletin so people can just click on it and watch it instead of having to read through the news posts and maybe throw in a bit of weather too.

I know of many people out there in Salford who run Youtube sites covering everything from Gardening to Vaping, so why not give them a platform to reach people in their local area? It will take time and effort on my behalf but other than a few things I need it won't cost me anything other, so why not? Salford could have the next big Youtube star hiding within our City. (Not you Tony Flynn).

VoiceMag

And finally another area that I am going to experiment in this year is the possibility of putting together a monthly (to start) local magazine available for digital download. Most of us have tablets, ebook readers, computers or smart phones so it is something I am looking into doing. 

I want to build something special in Salford, something I can be proud of, it will take time, lots of effort and hard work but so far its cost me very little and I intend to keep it that way.

So if you have a story, want to get involved by writing an article, are interested in producing some local content, either written of visual then get in touch with us (me) at newsdesk@salfordmediagroup.uk.

If it all works, it all works... so great. If anything fails or doesn't work then the important thing is it has cost me nothing other than a little effort.

So folks without further ado Soapbox is now SalfordVoice which tbh is a much better name in my opinion. Please like, share and subscribe to our content, suggest us to your Salford friends etc.... Help us grow and serve the City and its people the best we can.

Thanks and lets hope 2018 is the best year ever.

The fifth named storm of the season is heading our way and the UK Met Office has issued alerts as it is expected to bring gusts of up to 80mph with it.

Weather Forecast Maps

A yellow weather warning has been issued for between 6pm on Tuesday and 8am on Wednesday for north west of the UK and it is expected to impact on traffic and travel during the Wednesday morning rush hour.

A risk for life warning has been issued for and area north of our region where an amber warning is in place.

Eleanor has already affected parts of Ireland with gusts of up to 98mph bringing damage to property, electrical supplies and dangerously swelling river levels.

The forecast for the rest of the week is not much better.

Stay safe folks and only travel if you have too.