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Here is today's Mancunian Way:
by BETH ABBIT - Tues July 26, 2022
Hello,
The uncovering of human remains at a fire-ravaged mill has shocked neighbours in Oldham. The sad discovery was made by demolition workers - more than two months after a huge fire at the site.
We'll be exploring that story, and our joint campaign urging the next Prime Minster not to neglect the North, in today's newsletter.
Human remains found
The site of a demolished mill where human remains were discovered was being used to house a suspected cannabis farm, Charlotte Green reports.
Bismark House Mill went up in flames on May 7, with firefighters believing nobody was inside. They spent four days tackling the blaze, which began in the early hours.
More than ten weeks later, on July 21, police received a report that ‘four Vietnamese nationals were missing and may have been involved in a fire’. Demolition workers found human remains, relating to one person, at the mill on Bower Street, last Saturday, July 23.
Police suspect the discovery is connected to the four missing people and detectives are working to contact next of kin. Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said yesterday: “The number of bodies found may change based on the progress of the work over the coming days.”
Greater Manchester Police has declared a major incident and has referred itself to the Professional Standards Branch due to previous contact relating to the fire and missing persons.
Shocked residents of Oldham have spoken of their horror after learning about the sad discovery. Emma Hughes says she has watched workers knocking the mill down. “It's scary to think we were just metres away from a dead body,” she says. “The fire was so long ago now that it's really shocking to hear now they are uncovering bodies there and possibly looking for more.” Donna Holland, who lives opposite the site, says: “It's just horrible to think that someone was lying under there for all that time.”
Another local claims he saw cannabis being grown inside the building before the blaze and was ‘taken off the scene’ by police. “I didn’t see anybody but there was all sorts of chemicals there,” he says.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said officers are working with partner agencies to ensure ‘potential family members in Vietnam are fully informed and supported’. He said officers are working to identify the deceased, if anyone else was inside the mill during the fire, and the full circumstances.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Leon Parks said yesterday that firefighters were not sent into the building due to the severity of the fire and safety concerns. That response will now be reviewed.
Andy Burnham says Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service spent several days responding with ‘no indication there was anyone in there’. “GMFRS and GMP will be working together and leaving no stone unturned in the hunt for the truth on what has happened here.”
Follow live updates on this incident here
Don’t turn your back on the North
So what did Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have to say about Levelling Up during last night’s BBC debate?
Asked about the issue, Ms Truss said she was ‘completely committed’ to the agenda, pledging ‘urgent action’ and ‘low tax zones’ to attract private investment if she became Prime Minister, as Westminster Editor Dan O' Donoghue reports.
Mr Sunak said he can bring 'optimism, excitement and opportunity across the country'. "That’s what levelling up should mean, it should mean that no matter where you grow up, you have fantastic opportunities to fulfil your potential."
The Manchester Evening News is one of 16 northern titles urging the next PM to focus on regional inequalities in a joint campaign led by The Northern Agenda newsletter. We're warning the two hopefuls ‘Don’t turn your back on the North’ and have asked them to spell out their vision for Northern England.
Weather, etc.
- Wednesday: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning. 22C.
- Roads closed: Delph New Road, Dobcross, in both directions for roadworks between Wall Hill Road and Oldham Road until August 5.
- Trams: No service on Metrolink between Eccles and MediaCityUK due to engineering works until October 21.
- On the buses: Arriva services suspended due to strike action
- Today's Manc trivia question: Which toppings can be found on a traditional Manchester tart?
Answer at the bottom of the newsletter
Dogs on trams
For the first time in three decades dogs will be allowed onto the Metrolink. A three-month pilot will see them welcomed onboard from August 1.
It follows a manifesto pledge from Andy Burnham, who says he wants the Bee Network to ‘work for everybody’. M.E.N readers were largely in favour when asked about the issue in a Twitter poll back in April - with 69.7% of 2,631 people saying dogs SHOULD be allowed on trams.
Metrolink passengers are being urged to share their views during the pilot.
Manchester headlines
High rises: Rochdale’s Seven Sisters tower blocks could yet be saved from demolition. The council may decide to buy back the landmark College Bank flats, which have been owned and managed by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing since 2012. The housing organisation’s proposals to drop four of the Seven Sisters, as part of a regeneration ‘masterplan’, has been fiercely criticised by councillors. More here.
IT failure: NHS bosses say the true scale of the harm caused to patients by massive IT failures across four Greater Manchester hospital is yet to reveal itself. The outages forced staff to move to a paper system for days with some appointments and surgeries cancelled. IT managers say the problem was ‘triggered by a very specific set of conditions’.
Manchester high line: The first batch of tickets for Manchester’s new 'park in the skies' sold out hours after going live. The Castlefield Viaduct opens on Saturday and the next three weeks, up until August 21, are fully booked. A new batch will be released on Thursday.
A tribute to their work
Up to 1,100 workers are thought to have been killed, mainly by landslides, during the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal.
The incredible feat of engineering took 17,000 people six years to create. Now, 135 years later the navvies will be recognised with a memorial. Neal Keeling has the details.
Worth a read
With a £7.2 million regeneration project happening on Sale’s Racecourse estate, the area is on the up. But Nicole Wootton-Cane has been speaking to residents who tell her the Irwell Valley Homes scheme has made them feel ‘sidelined’.
They say communal areas are neglected, roads and pavements are in disrepair and maintenance calls are not being responded to. Michelle Richardson says the contrast is clear. She lives a stone's throw from 17 new builds and says: “Even their houses tower over ours.”
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me, the next edition of the Mancunian Way will be with you around the same time tomorrow. If you have any stories you would like us to feature or look into, please contact me at beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk
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The answer to today’s trivia question, which toppings can be found on a traditional Manchester tart, is coconut and a cherry.
