Manchester council wants to transform Piccadilly into a 'modern and welcoming' public space - have your say on how

direct to your inboxA cafe in Burnage found to have been breaching lockdown rules by allowing customers to dine inside has been closed down by the police and council.Police were called to Kate & Luc Cafe on Burnage Lane on Sunday afternoon after reports that '100 people' had gathered there, with 14 fines handed out by officers.Owner Lucjan Domanski, 38, has since been charged with assaulting a police officer.

direct to your inboxA year on from christening gritters ‘Snowel Gallagher’ and ‘Gritter Thunberg’, is Manchester about to welcome ‘Sparkus Trashford’ into its ranks?Manchester council is putting out a call for residents to come up with witty and imaginative names for some of its new electric bin lorries.The bright yellow eco-friendly vehicles, which cost £9.7m, will replace half of the city’s existing fleet as part of the council’s ambitions to halve its carbon emissions by 2025.In total the 27

direct to your inboxManchester council could change the way it discusses climate change issues in a move that has been welcomed by environmental campaigners.A petition signed by more than 1,700 people called for a new committee to be established to measure Manchester's targets of becoming a zero carbon city by 2038.Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester council, suggested that the remits of existing scrutiny committees could be reviewed to make more space for climate change debate.But he

straight to your inbox every day for freeMason Greenwood was substituted in the second-half against West Ham because Manchester United are managing his game-time.Greenwood, 19, has started in six of United's last seven matches but was replaced by Edinson Cavani in the 86th minute, much to the surprise of many observers who felt he had performed better than fellow forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.Martial was starting for the first time in four games but failed to score while

direct to your inboxNew details have emerged about the new jobs and housing masterplan which will replace the scrapped Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.Council leaders of nine of the city-region’s boroughs, along with mayor Andy Burnham, will meet to consider the next steps for ‘Places For Everyone’ this week.

direct to your inboxThe astonishing outbursts from members of Handforth Parish Council shone a light on the sometimes volatile nature of local democracy.A hostile meeting went viral after councillors verbally savaged Jackie Weaver.Ms Weaver, who is chief executive of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, had been called in to act as clerk - or proper officer - to the meeting. But several councillors refused to accept her authority.

reported earlier this week how there were calls from some families for children to start their current year from scratch in September.

direct to your inboxManchester council will review its response to severe flooding caused by Storm Christoph after some residents had requests for sandbags rejected.Around 2,000 homes and businesses in East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden were evacuated on January 20 as the River Mersey came within centimetres of bursting its banks.In the aftermath of the storm, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited the Didsbury Basin, which the Environment Agency said had served its purpose.Before the

straight to your inboxThe darting, dancing ten-year-old was way too good for Middlesbrough’s kids, scoring four or five goals for Manchester City without breaking sweat.So Blues academy coach Steve Eyre, handling the under-14s on an adjacent pitch, made the bold decision to test the prodigious kid by taking him out of the under-tens – who were leading 10-0 - and chucking him in with his big boys.Boro coach Jamie Pollock – the former City midfielder - and the referees of both games, agreed it was

direct to your inboxA Manchester-based domestic violence charity has revealed it received 22,000 referrals in 2020 - double the amount received the year before. Domestic Violence Assist, which is based in Wythenshawe, runs a 24/7 helpline for domestic violence victims.

straight to your inboxIlkay Gundogan says he knew Joao Cancelo would spot his run forward for Manchester City's opening goal of their rout at West Brom.Cancelo chipped a lovely ball forward to meet the run of Gundogan on the edge of the area, before the German curled a lovely finish into the bottom left corner.

straight to your inboxThe Premier League have accepted that the offside flag should not have been raised in the build-up to Joao Cancelo's goal in Manchester City's win at West Bromwich Albion.Cancelo scored City's second goal in the 5-0 win, collecting a cut-back from Bernardo Silva and curling a lovely effort into the top corner from the edge of the area.West Brom were furious after assistant referee Sian Massey-Ellis raised her flag against Bernardo when he received the ball on the

straight to your inbox every day for freeThe games are still coming thick and fast and Manchester United are back in action on Wednesday as Sheffield United visit Old Trafford.United go into the game full of confidence after beating Liverpool in the FA Cup on Sunday and having not lost in the Premier League in 13 matches.The players were back in training at the start of the week ahead of the Blades' visit.

direct to your inboxManchester residents can now have their say on the city council’s plans to make cuts of nearly £50m in the coming year.The town hall is also considering a council tax rise of almost five per cent to protect frontline services such as adult social care and homelessness support.But the council’s homelessness service would still see £2.3m cut from its budgets under the proposals due to go out to consultation until Sunday February 21.A further £1m in discretionary housing

herePhase one of the development is expected to  feature an indoor adventure sports centre, the flying theatre, arcades, laser tag, bumper cars, a virtual reality experience, an exhibition exploring theories that aliens influenced ancient civilisations and an alien-themed diner, as well as a hotel and an events square.Residential property, food and drinks outlets, another hotel and car parking is expected to follow.Blackpool Council said of the compulsory purchase plan: "To date, it has not been

direct to your inboxThe Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is to open emergency Covid beds for adults in a sign of the unprecedented pressure facing Greater Manchester’s hospitals.Sir Richard Leese, the region’s health chief, said the situation in the system was now ‘critical’ as NHS bosses have scrambled to discharge as many people as possible ahead of a sustained peak over the coming three weeks.Crisis meetings have been held to determine the ability to scale up beds, as Salford Royal and

direct to your inboxThe NHS has sadly confirmed the deaths of 29 more patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester who had tested positive for Covid-19.The region's hospital death toll now stands at 4,757.NHS bosses said on Friday a further 993 people who tested positive for the virus have died in hospitals across England.It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in hospitals in England to 65,104.In the north west, a further 94 hospital deaths were reported, the NHS said on Friday.A

direct to your inboxManchester Council has apologised for causing ‘avoidable distress’ to a mother trying to get a school place for her profoundly deaf son.The council was found at fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for numerous delays in signing off the child’s special education needs (SEN) assessment.This had a negative impact on the mother, referred to as Ms X, who had to go to ‘enormous lengths’ to find a school that would meet the needs of her son, Child B.The council

direct to your inboxResidents have blasted Manchester Council for backing plans for a controversial 55-storey student skyscraper - despite being warned it will face an immediate legal challenge.Hundreds of people living in the Macintosh village area off Oxford Road have been fighting the £130m proposal to build a 'landmark' student tower block with 853 rooms for several years.They have raised a long list of objections including the 'tombstone' design which would leave many facing onto a