THING OF THE WEEK

PIE IN THE SKY… We love a lofty design at Place North West, and it does not get loftier than Preston-based Studio John Bridge’s concept of a “micro-retail” park on the site of the St John’s Shopping Centre in Preston. Bridge sees as a way to draw shoppers from out-of-town retail complexes into town and city centres, revitalising the high streets of places like the Lancashire city. The idea behind micro-retail is that smaller sites mean lower rents, allowing otherwise unviable shops back into a local shopping hub, and encouraging them to engage with local custom.

The “golden egg” designs of St John’s Shopping Centre are the architect’s impressions of what this space could look like. We think it’s beautiful enough to draw even the most committed Trafford Centre regulars – as the adage goes, “build it and they will come”. 

Been rather busy the last few days. But tonight it had to be #Manchester.https://t.co/u6X54BuwKQ. #running pic.twitter.com/HSWuQEovln

— Tom Stannard (@tomstannard) October 17, 2024

RUNNING MAN… It has been a big week for Tom Stannard. Salford City Council’s chief executive was unveiled as the new CEO of Manchester City Council, a role he will step into early next year. Away from the demands of local government, Stannard is a keen runner and regularly posts his jogs on Strava on social media. After all, if you don’t Strava it, did it really happen? Since moving to Salford in 2020, Stannard has been pounding the streets and paths of Salford on a regular basis, taking in the sights and sounds of the quays and Kersal Wetlands of an evening. However, after news broke of his pending relocation across the border, Stannard has wasted no time in altering his running route. After an eight-mile saunter that took in Beswick, Collyhurst, and First Street he posted on X: “Tonight it had to be Manchester”.

🏆 The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize 2024 is The Elizabeth Line by @GrimshawArch, Maynard, @equation_light and @atkinsrealis

A triumph in architect-led collaboration, setting a new standard for inner-city transport: https://t.co/jVZqTsuiKi

Sponsored by @autodesk pic.twitter.com/bE4lQK4gX6

— Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) October 16, 2024

RUNNERS UP… Always the bridesmaid never the bride – such is the fate of the North. The Stirling Prize snubbed Urban Splash’s stellar retrofit of Park Hill council estate in Sheffield in favour of the shiny £19bn Elizabeth Line. And who doesn’t like a train line? Gosh, it would be lovely if such a fancy new line were to happen up North.

Unfortunately for us, it does not even seem like the government cares enough to bother delivering HS2 to Crewe. Media reports emerged yesterday stating that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to renew half of the high-speed rail line’s Northern leg – but these later proved to be unfounded, with the Department for Transport stating that the Labour government won’t be revisiting HS2’s Northern edition.

C’est la vie for the North. Let’s hope that Labour remembers that the country exists north of the M25 soon – and that it needs transport investment too.

But hey, at least Merseyrail’s Maghull Station is in line to win the World Cup of Stations. That’s something, right? Be sure to cast your vote and support the station in its fight against King’s Lynn and Dorridge by going to raildeliverygroup.com.

Marriott may have chosen its football team… Credit: via Indigo PR

DIAL M for… Manchester United, it turns out. The Manchester Marriott Hotel Piccadilly has installed a lobby phone that connects guests to the football club. Picking up the receiver, they will hear stories from the likes of David May, Harry Maguire, and Marcus Rashford – as well as fellow fans and Alan Keegan, the voice of Old Trafford since 2000. Cute, right?

Professor Simon Johnson has won a Nobel Prize. Credit: Nobel Prize and MIT

NOBEL IDEAS… The North can lay claim to one-third of the Nobel Prize-winning economic sciences team. Professor Simon Johnson was born in Sheffield and did his master’s at the University of Manchester. His award-winning research? An examination of wealth disparities between nations and the role of institutions established by colonial invaders and whether they good or bad for the country’s economy in the long run? Maybe he could look at the North-South divide closer to home next…