A 16-year-old Boy from Swinton has been stabbed this evening, emergency services were alerted to the scene after he was discovered on Bancroft Road in Swinton, located close to a local primary school.

The incident happened at around 8:10pm this evening (Tuesday 30th March).

The teenage boy is understood to have been found with stab wounds but his condition is thankfully not thought to be be life threatening.

Armed response officers from Greater Manchester Police reportedly descended on the area, meanwhile, police forensics officers have been seen looking through gardens in along the road as well as seen to be focusing on a nearby alleyway on Ackworth Road where it is believed the incident happened.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said:

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"At approximately 8:10pm tonight officers attended Bancroft Rd Swinton, following a report of a male who had been stabbed."

North West Ambulance Service also attended and confirmed that the boys injuries were non life threatening.

Anyone with information which could help with the investigation can call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 quoting log 3026 30/03/21

Zak Bolland and his accomplice David Worrall have both been found GUILTY of the murder of brave walkden mum Michelle Pearson this afternoon.

The pair were charged with her murder after she succumbed to her injuries sustained during the devastating arson attack upon her home in Walkden in December 2017 which left her seriously injured in hospital with horrific and four of her young children dead.

Brave Michelle clung to life in order to see justice done for her children before sadly passing away herself aged 37, just twenty months after the tragic events that would see the lives of 15-year-old Demi, eight-year-old Brandon, seven-year-old Lacie and little Lia who was just three, all stolen from their loving family.

Michelle received extensive treatment for her horrific injuries and was told about the deaths of her four of her six children whilst in hospital. Sadly, she died on 25 August 2019.

After deliberations by the jury lasting just eight hours, the verdict was returned and the Pearson family who have endured so much pain since that fateful night, were finally given the justice they deserved.

Both men are already serving life sentences, with Zak Bolland ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years, and David Worrall a minimum of 37 years in prison.

Earlier in the year, 23-year-old Courtney Brierly who at the time was the girlfriend of Zak Bolland, plead guilty to the manslaughter of Michelle.

Detective Chief Inspector Cheryl Chatterton, from GMP's Major Investigation Team, said:

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"This was a heartbreaking case and I'm glad that Bolland and Worrall have now faced justice for the devastating death of Michelle too - 20 months on.

"The bravery shown by the family and those affected has been outstanding - they have shown so much strength throughout both of our investigations.

"Bolland and Worral planned this attack and threw their handmade petrol bombs inside. The fire spread so quickly and the heat was so intense that the smoke alarms melted before they even had a chance to sound.

"That night in 2018 rocked the community and has turned the family's life upside down. Nothing can bring Michelle and the children back but I hope they can now be given time to grieve and come to terms with what has happened.

"All of our thoughts are with the family who have been through such a difficult time and have had to sit through two trials and listen to details on what was a horrific and planned attack."

 

A court date of the 21st of April has been set for sentencing of all three at Manchester Crown Court.

Our thoughts are with Michelle, her beloved children, grandparents, family and friends.

Greggs have announced the closure of the Walkden branch of its popular bakery which will no doubt come as sad news to some in the area.

The store which operates out of Unit 76 in the Elllesmere Shopping Centre closed its shutters for good earlier in the month.

There was a branch across the border in neighbouring Farnworth but that closed in 2019.

This now means that the closest branch is now located in Swinton.

The Bakers saw their first loses in over 36 years in 2020 due to the Covid crisis and does not expect to return to profit until around 2022 at the earliest.

In the last year alone the company have had to make 820 job cuts due to the impact and pressures of lockdown.

Chief executive Roger Whiteside said:

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"The impact of the Covid-19 crisis had been "enormous" and that a fresh lockdown meant "significant uncertainties remain in the near term".

The salford.media team have entered a period of mourning and have asked for their privacy to be respected at this sad time.

A man who went missing from Poole in Dorset could be heading up to Salford and locals are asked to keep a look out for him.

Fawzi Hamza, 21, was last seen at around 1pm on Thursday, March 25, in the Haven Road area of Poole, Dorset.

He hasn’t been home since and officers are concerned about his well being, as he doesn’t have any of his medication with him.

Police Inspector Jess Pearcey, of Poole police, said:

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“We are becoming increasingly concerned for the welfare of Fawzi as he does not have his medication with him.

“From our enquiries, we believe that he may have travelled to the Salford area in Greater Manchester.

“I am appealing to anyone who has seen Fawzi or a man matching the description given to please get in touch.

 

“Finally, if you see this appeal Fawzi – please make contact with us as we just want to ensure that you are all right.”

 

Fawzi is described as black, around 5’6” tall, and slim, with short dark hair styled in a fade cut.

He was last seen wearing a white hooded top, a black denim jacket, black trousers and cream coloured trainers.

Anyone with information about Fawzi can contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, by emailing 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk, or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55210047462.

Police arrested three men and a woman and seized a large amount of class A drugs on Sunday night as part of GMP Salford's on going operation to tackle an organised crime dispute in the city.

Officers from the Operation Naseby disruption hub - formed in April 2020 in response to a violent dispute in Salford - searched an address on Powel Street in the Clayton area on Sunday 28th March.

A total of £3000 in cash was found at the property and half an ounce of suspected class A drugs - namely cocaine was seized.

Seven phones were also recovered and taken away in evidence to be used as part of other on-going investigations.

A 25 year old man was arrested for being wanted for a number of offences and also in connection with money laundering and possession of drugs with intent to supply. He remains in custody for questioning.

Two other men, both aged 25 and a woman aged, 22, were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and possession of drugs with intent to supply and have been released under further investigation.

The action relates to a recent dispute between groups in Salford and north Manchester as dedicated teams of officers in both districts continue to work closely with the Serious and Organised Crime Group and respective local partners.

Detective Chief Inspector Rick Thompson, of GMP's Salford district, said:

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"Friday night saw us make an important impact on the scourge of organised crime in Salford and there is no doubt that this action will have disrupted this particular group.

"Our officers do work around the clock daily to keep combatting criminal groups operating in our city and we are committed to maintaining this level of action to keep decreasing the level of serious crime on our streets."

 

Police have launched a manhunt for a prisoner originally from Salford who has escaped from HMP Thorn Cross in Warrington.

Michael Ratcliffe, aged-34, absconded from the prison at around 4.30am on Saturday (27th March).

He is from Eccles, in Salford, and police believe he may be attempting to get back home.

Ratcliffe is described as white, with a slim build and has very short dark hair.

When he was last seen, the Ratcliffe was wearing a grey coat, black tracksuit bottoms and black gloves.

He was seen carrying a green and white JD Sports bag.

Police have launched a major search operation to locate Ratcliffe, and are appealing with any information about his whereabouts to get in touch.

Inspector Helen Cooper said:

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"I would like to assure members of the public that we are doing everything we can to find the escaped prisoner and return him to lawful custody.

"Michael Ratcliffe is from Salford and may be intent on heading back to that area.

"He might try to get a lift there, if he hasn’t already done so, or he may still be near the prison in Warrington that he escaped from.

"Whilst we do not believe that Ratcliffe poses a risk to the public, anyone who sees him is urged not to approach him but to call 999 as soon as possible."

 

The new announcement comes after poppies were painted on the road last year at Swinton Cenotaph to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic the council asked people to stay at home and the annual service was streamed live on the internet.

But since then members of the public have said they would like poppies painted at their local memorial, so the council has worked to make that possible.

Approval has now been given to have poppies painted at Eccles War Memorial, Clifton War Memorial, Prince’s Park War Memorial, Chapel Street Cenotaph, Bolton Road and Agecroft Road Monument, Albion Place War Memorial, Parr Fold Park War Memorial, St Paul’s War Memorial and St Mary’s Church War Memorial.

Councillor Sharmina August Executive Support Member for Equalities, Communities and Social Impact at Salford City Council said:

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“It is fantastic news that the poppies were well received and local residents made a call to have them painted at their local war memorial or cenotaph.
“Full approval has now been given and we will have them in place for Remembrance Sunday this year.

“It is our way of making sure that gave so much will never be forgotten.”
The council has two armed forces champions Councillor Margaret Morris MBE and Councillor Barry Warner.

 

Councillor Morris said:

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“This is a wonderful idea and a new way of remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our great country. It has my full support”

Councillor Warner added:

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“I’d like to thank our highways team in advance for making this possible. Many people travel by our war memorials and this is a fitting tribute to make sure our heroes are never, ever forgotten.”

A man has been charged following a serious sexual assault in Little Hulton, Salford.

Brian Brough (10/06/1986), of no fixed abode, has been charged with two counts of rape, section 18 assault and burglary.

He has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear at Manchester Crown Court (Crown Square) on Friday 23 April 2021.

At around 10.30am on Saturday 20 March 2021, police received a report of an aggravated burglary and rape at an address in Little Hulton, Salford.

Earlier in the week, police asked for the help of the public in helping find him, he was subsequently arrested shortly afterwards and has now been charged.

POLICE HAVE MADE AN ARREST AFTER A WOMAN IN HER 60S WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED IN LITTLE HULTON - Local - salford.media

Litter and fly tipping has become a problem nationwide and not only in Salford but there are good people out there who take the time and put in the effort to make a difference in their communities. 

Earlier in the month we awarded one such gentleman  and beloved member of his community, 'Fred', our community champion award for the phenomenal work he had done towards maintaining his own 'patch' in Barton.

Not too long afterwards we covered another story in which local volunteers managed to recover stolen mail that had been ditched in woodland during in a litter pick in Walkden.

So it always a fantastic thing to see Salford residents being praised for their support in tackling litter and we agree that they should be urged to carry on after lockdown restrictions ease.

More than 300 community groups have turned out in the last year to support the council in cleaning up the city.

Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, praised the volunteers and said he hoped they would continue in the future.

He said:

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“We’ve spent more than £5,000 on litter picking equipment and bags for the volunteers as well as removing the bags of rubbish they collect.

This is on top of investing in extra staff and vehicles and our own council staff working seven days a week, night and day, cleaning the streets, removing fly tipping and emptying our 1,800 litter bins. Some bins are now being emptied twice daily because our parks and green spaces have become so popular.

“There is no excuse for not disposing of waste properly. If the nearest bin is full take your rubbish with you to another bin or take it home.”

In 2019/20 1000 people were given fixed penalty notices or fines totalling £100,000 for littering or fly tipping.

For more information on how to help see: Salford Litter Heroes

Or on Facebook, join: Salford Litter Heroes - Posts (facebook.com)

Terence Robert McArthur, aged 67, was last seen on Stamford Street, Rochdale, at around 11am hours on Thursday 18th March 2021.

He is described as a white male, very slim, with fuzzy grey hair and beard. Terence was last seen wearing black jeans, black and red jumper, a white hoodie and a cap.

Terence currently suffers from early onset dementia. He has possible links to Salford, Bristol, Stoke-on-Trent and Cornwall.

Officers are becoming increasingly concerned about Terence and want to make sure he is safe and well.

Anyone with information about Terence’s whereabouts should contact police on 0161 856 8522.

Police were called to an address on Stowell Street in Salford just after 10pm on Thursday 25 March after reports from the public of a firearms discharge having taken place.

Officers attended the scene last night, and found that a window had been shot at, as well as a second address on neighbouring Bridson Street.

Fortunately we have been told that no-one was injured and there have been no arrests have been made so far.

A police cordon remains in place this morning, and Greater Manchester Police say that investigations are ongoing.

Officers have been seen carrying out searches along the street looking for evidence which may have been left behind.

Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 8565194 quoting log 3097 of 25/03/21. Alternatively, details can be passed on anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A 34-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape in connection with an incident which happened in Little Hulton last Friday (19th March).

Greater Manchester Police were called to reports of a serious sexual assault having taken place at a residential property in Little Hulton on the evening of Friday, March 19.

During the assault, a woman said to be in her 60s, suffered severe wounds to her face resulting in her being taken to hospital for treatment.

She has since been discharged.

Earlier in the week, GMP asked members of the public to help locate the man.

He is now currently being held in police custody while they continue their investigations.

Salford City Council has teamed up with Crowdfunder to launch Crowdfund Salford, a brand new scheme to help local people turn their great ideas into reality.

Launched by Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett, the scheme is open to anyone from Salford, including residents, community groups, individuals, local businesses, charities, social enterprises and grassroots sports clubs. Up to £10,000 match funding is available for ideas that create a brighter future for Salford.

This city wide initiative, the biggest such scheme in Greater Manchester, will see Salford City Council directly match fund projects that clearly benefit Salford and meet at least one of the Great Eight – the council’s key priorities for the city. The project must seek to enhance the lives of the city’s residents and not have had previous council funding.

Finding funding can be hard for any local project, especially in the current climate and so this scheme has been developed to help bright ideas overcome that funding hurdle.

The scheme is part of The Salford Way, a new vision for Salford’s economic future that also includes a range of new policy strategies and key pieces of work to be delivered by the city council. The launch event was chaired by Tim Stannard, the Chief Executive at Salford City Council.

This approach, The Salford Way aims to create a fairer, greener and healthier Salford for all its residents.

Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett said

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“This is a scheme very close to my heart and I’m delighted to be launching this unique project to help benefit the people of Salford. We’re harnessing the power of the crowd to help projects find the funding and support they need to turn their ideas into a reality.

"There’s no idea too big or too small, as long it has the potential to benefit the city and enhance the lives our residents, we want to hear about it. I’d encourage anyone who is setting out a community project to add the details to our Crowdfunder page to get support.”

 

There’s six simple steps to getting a local project going and support from the council

Groups or individuals work up and cost a project

Post full details of the project and target funding on the new Crowdfunder webpage - https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/salford

The public donates 25% of the funding

Salford City Council then considers the project and matches the funding target

The group continues fundraising for the remaining 25% to reach target

Council then releases the funding

So for a project with a £1000 target, a group would raise £250 initially, secure £500 funding from the council and then fundraise for the remaining £250 before the council release the match funding.

Crowdfunder CEO, Rob Love said:

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“Working with Salford City Council is an incredible opportunity to turn great ideas from local people into reality. With our crowdfunding expertise and the match funding from the Council, we’re excited to help create an even brighter future for the city. We know that the power of crowdfunding benefits communities, whether it’s tackling inequality, health and social care, transport, housing, education and more and we look forward to supporting projects as they make an impact."

For more information and to find out how to apply, go to https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/funds/salford

Salford has secured £660,000 funding to help aid the recovery of publicly owned leisure centres hit by the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding is part of the Government’s £100million National Leisure Recovery Fund and will be utilised by local leisure trust Salford Community Leisure to help recover from the pandemic. The funding distributed via Sport England, will be used to help fill in income gap created by the closure of the 8 leisure centres across the city during lockdown restrictions throughout the last year.

With leisure centres closed for significant periods in the last year, income has dramatically fallen across the leisure, sport and health fitness sectors across the country, including here in Salford. But whilst many residents have been keeping active with more people walking, exercising outdoors or doing fitness classes online, including those provided by SCL, the leisure centres have remained empty for large periods of the year.

In recent months, leisure centres at Clarendon, Eccles and Irlam & Cadishead have been used as vaccination centres, whilst Broughton acted as test centre. The government roadmap to recovery is now in place, with plans to re-open gyms and leisure centres, including those operated across the city by SCL, from Monday 12 April. There is light at the end of the tunnel for the thousands who wish to return to exercise in the centres and for an industry hard hit by the pandemic.

Salford is one of 266 local authorities across England to receive funding. The funds, bid for by Salford City Council and distributed by Sport England will be allocated to SCL to help recover financially from the last year.

Salford City Mayor, Paul Dennett said

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“Receiving this is great news and a significant boost for the city and SCL. We all know how important keeping active is and how many people genuinely rely on the city’s leisure centres to exercise, whether it’s visiting the gym, swimming or playing sport.

Our leisure centres are vital community assets for the city. The services and activities available in our centres play a huge role in helping support customers with their physical and mental wellbeing. This funding will really help in re-opening and recover from the pandemic.”

 

Salford Community Leisure’s roadmap to re-opening plans includes:

All outdoor pitches will re-open from Monday 29 March

Salford Watersports Centre will re-open from Friday 2 April

Easter Half Term Football Camp will run from Tuesday 6 – Friday 9 April

Leisure centres will re-open offering gym and swim sessions from Monday 12 April

A new CrossFit Box will open for the first time on Monday 12 April

Salford Community Leisure Chief Executive Steve Hassall said:

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“After a very difficult year, we’re thrilled to have received this funding. For our sector and indeed all our staff, I’m delighted have a plan to re-open our centres to customers and we can’t wait to welcome users back, to help them continue to keep being active.”

Sport England’s Chief Executive, Tim Hollingsworth, said: “Leisure facilities have a vital role to play in supporting the health of the nation and in particular in serving our more disadvantaged communities.

“They have been hit especially hard over the past year, so this investment is crucial and will help thousands to reopen when it becomes possible to do so – supporting the recovery and helping people get back to the activity they have badly missed.

“Sport England has worked at pace to enable the distribution of the investment to happen as quickly as possible and remains committed to doing what we can to continue to support this crucial part of our sector."

 

A new branch of the Metrolink between MediaCityUK and Manchester City Centre, via Salford Crescent, could become a reality within the next 20 years under plans which make up part of the the City Centre Transport Strategy for 2014, which has now been backed by Salford City Council.

A recent report has concluded that the Metrolink has brought major benefits to some local communities in the form of clean air and reduction of congestion on roads.

Salford Council aims to place the crescent at the heart of the major transport gateway into and out of the city centre, along with pedestrianizing parts of the A6 to create a boulevard. 

The joint strategy between Salford and Manchester is hoped to see up to 90% of peak time commutes to be made on foot, cycle, bus and trains as infrastructure improvements are made to help reduce the carbon footprint of the sister city centres and create better transport links.

However some have suggested that this is just another example of Manchester's continuing encroachment into Salford and a blurring of the line as to where each city starts and ends.

Others have suggested that it would be unwise to be putting the cities 'eggs' into the public transport basket and ask if it is truly a viable way forward as the local reduction in footfall on public transport over the past year due to Covid has demonstrated huge flaws in the thinking.

The Metrolink itself has struggled with dwindling numbers due to lockdown and as we face an uncertain future with mutations of the coronavirus a continued threat, it is only wise to consider the possibility of a repeat of 2020 at some point ahead.

Additionally it has been noted that as more people opt to work from home and with some companies seemingly championing the benefits it brings, some members of the public are questioning if the strategy has been thought out properly.

A recent consultation resulted in 2,425 responses from the public but it was noted that just 5% of those who responded actually lived within Salford.

Regardless, Salford Crescent is set to play a huge role in the development around the University campus and is being seen as a focal point for growthin the city, and so it is hoped the addition of a Metrolink route will bring benefits to the area which already boasts rail and bus connectivity.

The new route is being suggested as an important part of the joint strategy in the coming years and Labours Tracy Kelly, Salford's statutory deputy city mayor, has welcomed the new transport strategy.

Speaking at the meeting on Monday, she told the audience:

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"For me, the pandemic has highlighted even more so the need for this strategy moving forward and we realise people now are using walking, cycling and public transport which has had to be used by many of our staff and key workers.

"So I think it's an important part of the strategy that we get this right."

 

Photos: English Cities Fund and SM

The eagle eyed owner of a white Ford Transit van noticed something familiar on another vehicle parked up in Clifton.

His own van seemingly had a twin, right down to the number plates.

The vehicle had become one of thousands of others which are cloned each year.

Car cloning offences are on the rise in the UK, the process of cooing the number plates from one car and using them on a separate, often very similar vehicle, often to obscure its true identity.

Many of these vehicles are then used in crimes, sometimes violent, others are sold on to unsuspecting buyers for a quick sale.

Not only do they lose their money but also the van as it is returned back to its real owner.

Fortunately the owner of the real van contacted Greater Manchester Police who sent their Transport Unit along with officers from C-Relief to investigate.

GMP put out a statement this evening saying:

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"He let us know, and we did the rest."

Photo: GMP via Twitter

Thousands of people live at, work in, and visit Salford Quays every day - and as it continues to grow, public feedback is being sought to help shape plans for its future.

Salford City Council is asking for views on its grand vision for Salford Quays so a blueprint can be created for how it could evolve over coming years, and to help shape future design and function.

The council has worked with Modern Designers to research how Salford Quays is currently used by speaking to local residents, businesses and attractions such as The Lowry.

The aim has been to look at what works and what doesn’t in Salford Quays and other places around the world. This research has been used to create a vision of what could come next.

This is particularly important as it is expected to grow over the next decade as MediaCity doubles in size and more homes and workplaces are built. The coronavirus pandemic has also had a significant impact on many people’s priorities for living and working.

Councillor Mike McCusker, Executive Support Member for Planning, Housing and Sustainable Development, said:

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“We really want to hear from as many people as possible about their views on the future use and appearance of Salford Quays because we want it to be a place that puts people first. We want to make Salford Quays the best it can be for everyone; somewhere where you can get some breathing space, take up a new sport, or bring the kids to play. We aspire to have everything people need on their doorstep, to be a peaceful and beautiful place to live and a great visit, that’s inspirational and fun, yet affordable for all.

“We also want it to be a place for big events as well as community and corner shops, street food and start-ups. We want it to be a creative place to work, even more full of jobs in digital, technology and media sectors, at some of the UK’s most forward-thinking businesses. All this in a community surrounded by water and green space, that’s easy to walk or cycle around, and which is Greater Manchester’s most vibrant district.”

 

Salford Quays is one of Europe’s most successful regeneration projects. Over the last thirty years, what was once an industrial dockland has become a global media hub, a popular place to live, and a waterside destination that’s home to two of the UK’s most popular cultural venues.

To comment on the vision, visit https://salfordquaysvision.commonplace.is/ The consultation will be online until 30 April 2021. A response to the feedback will be published by early Summer 2021.

Salford City Council and City Mayor, Paul Dennett are welcoming the recent announcement from the BBC to expand broadcasting operations at MediaCityUK.

Salford Mayor, Paul Dennett said:

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“The BBC was the key anchor institution in the growth of the creative, digital and tech cluster created at the old docks site.

MediaCityUK and the BBC relocation of key services have been a great success for the city. It has created a blueprint for further moves and investment out of London and into the regions.

“The BBC’s announcement from ‘The BBC Across The UK’ plan provides further commitment to the North which is a great endorsement of the successful relocation of Sport, 5 Live and Children’s programming to MediaCityUK in 2011.”

 

The MediaCityUK site is now set for continued growth as the base for digital and technology and, as a global centre of excellence.

BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 6 Music are now also to be rooted in Salford with over 50% of broadcasting to be from the city.

Paul Continued:

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“Excitingly this means that from 2022, BBC One’s entire live morning programming will come out of Salford, with Morning Live following BBC Breakfast. This is a great example to other channels and demonstrates the key role public institutions can make.”

“This is fantastic news and there is nothing better than hearing broadcasters telling the nation that they are based in our great city of Salford. We have fantastic places for people to live in the city and the wider Greater Manchester area. There is a real Spirit of Salford in the city and I am so proud and honoured to be the City Mayor here.”  

 

BBC One daytime programme Morning Live will now be broadcast from Salford all year round as part of a wider commitment to content produced in the North of England.

The MediaCityUK base will also be the hub for the network’s Audio Business news.

Tom Stannard, the Chief Executive at Salford City Council said:

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“In addition to seeing Salford represented on national programming, the prize is the creation of jobs, apprenticeships, development of skills and nurturing and retention of talent. This will benefit Salford and the wider region and we’re proud of what we’re achieving in skills and employment.

“A digital, media and related creative industries cluster has formed in the immediate vicinity of the BBC location in close proximity to MediaCityUK providing 9,000 digital and media jobs, including the 4,500 based at the BBC itself. There have also been a number of large company relocations into Salford encouraged by the BBC move to Salford.

“Salford has forged very successful public and private sector partnerships in moving the city forwards.  MediaCityUK is a huge example of this and we are continuing to create further opportunities, remaining innovative and responding to needs and demands. We’ve invested in Salford’s tech hub HOST – the Home of Skills & Technology – to upscale our ambition, creating a pioneering hub for nurturing talent, accelerating innovation and driving prosperity across the North.”

 

Plans to revamp the children’s play area at a popular Cadishead park will start in summer, Salford City Council has announced.

The council has been working with the Friends of Lordy Park for several months in drawing up the plans to make the site easier for wheelchair users and people with pushchairs. It currently does not meet modern access standards.

Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said:

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“The Friends group are keen to see new play equipment for younger children and children with disabilities and better access so we have included their wishes in the scheme.

“There will be a wheelchair accessible roundabout, swings for parents and toddlers or children with disabilities, a swing for older children,  an adventure trail with a wobble board, trapeze walk and log steps and a climbing net and the plan is to cater for all ages from toddlers up to 14 years old. There will also be a new, safer, rubber surface underneath.

“The play area will be fenced off and a new path from the main path will make it easier for people with wheelchairs or pushchairs to reach it. The park is already popular with local families and this will give it a real boost.”

 

Craig Havern, chair of Friends of Lordy Park, said:

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“I’m absolutely delighted to hear works are pressing ahead for the replacement of the play area for all abilities to use.

“I would like to thank all involved in reaching this goal and special thanks goes to our local councillor Lewis Nelson for all his hard work behind the scenes and Mayor Paul Dennett. A special thanks also Jo McGarry headteacher at St Mary’s primary school for their continued support. On behalf of the committee, thank you and we look forward to the revamp and reopening soon.”

 

Final details on the funding are still pending, as grants and other funding options are being finalised.

Photos taken pre-covid

Plans to expand Springwood Primary School have moved forwards.

Today the City Mayor made a decision to move plans forward and increase the capacity by 60 places to meet the need for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support in the city. A statutory consultation will now open on Monday 19 April.

The school in Swinton provides specialist education for children with complex needs from across the city.

Pupils who attend the school are from across the whole city and aged from 2 to 11 years old.

The children have profound, complex or challenging needs including multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, communication and interaction needs, autism, and hearing and visual impairments.

The decision made by City Mayor Paul Dennett (Tuesday 23 March) means the school can move on with plans to expand at a second site at Craig Hall, Preston Avenue in Irlam. 

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said:

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“This is great news and will provide much needed capacity for children with SEND in the city.

“The approval is for the consultation to begin at an extra site at Craig Hall as there are restrictions at the current site. When fully complete the school’s overall capacity will increase to 300 pupils.

“This is desperately needed and will be welcomed greatly by parents and their children.”

 

Jacqui Wennington, Headteacher at Springwood Primary School said:

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“We are thrilled with the expansion of Springwood, the local authority has helped us create a purpose build environment for the pupils of Springwood which has exciting learning spaces for the children to be able to achieve to the best of their ability.”