Manchester city centre population 'could be 250,000 by 2035'
Manchester city centre could explode with another 150,000 people by 10 years' time, according to a Spinningfields property developer.Allied London chair Mike Ingall said he believed 250,000 people could be living in Manchester city centre by 2035.Speaking at the opening of Campfield, a series of studios and offices based in the former Upper and Lower Campfield Market Halls, on Liverpool Road, Mr Ingall said he previously predicted the city's population would rise to 100,000 by 2025.The latest estimates put the city centre's population as very close to 100,000, a considerable rise from the less than 500 people who called it home in 1990, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Speaking to journalists earlier in the year, Mr Ingall said he was "on the record" 15 years ago saying that Manchester city centre's population would get to 100,000 by 2025.
'Rebrand to Manchester, G.M.'
He also used his keynote address on Wednesday to suggest Greater Manchester should rebrand to "Manchester, G.M.", citing the precedent of renaming the American capital from District of Columbia to Washington, D.C."The energy politically has gone from Greater Manchester to Manchester," he said."The tank of petrol is full in Manchester and the engine is ready to start. Greater Manchester is not quite on that journey. "If we are all into growth, there's no reason to say in 10 years' time Manchester, G.M. could be the most innovative regional city in Europe."Council leader Bev Craig, who also attended the opening of Campfield, would not be drawn on the calls to rename the city-region, but said she could not "think of a better representation of the history, present, and future of Manchester than this building"."In the week we lost Hotspur Press, it's good to show what our history means to us," she said.
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
31 minutes ago
- BBC News
Pedro on the way in - too many attackers or embarrassment of riches?
With news of a £60m deal being agreed with Brighton for Joao Pedro, supporters of other clubs might well be thinking 'not another Chelsea transfer' or 'not another striker'.The Blues have again moved aggressively and decisively in this transfer window to add two more forwards in Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro, having also signed Liam Delap from Ipswich Town for £ looks like Chelsea are stockpiling more talent, having spent about £170m on young players this summer, including Portuguese midfielder Dario Essugo and French defender Mamadou the Blues believe there is space for all the attackers to thrive, especially in a season where they will return to the Champions League following this lucrative Club World Cup arrival is expected to lead to an exit for Christopher Nkunku as they are similar types of versatile Gittens will replace Jadon Sancho, who returned to Manchester United for a £5m penalty fee following his recent loan spell, with Mykhailo Mudryk still provisionally suspended after failing a drugs bolsters an attack that lacked a suitable option when Nicolas Jackson was unavailable, while Noni Madueke could also be moved on following the arrival of 18-year-old Brazilian Estevao Willian from done a lot of deals already, sources say Chelsea will now slow their activity on incomings and focus on the difficult task of player one weakness with this approach is clubs interested in their fringe or wantaway players could try to force cheaper Felix, Raheem Sterling, Armando Broja and Carney Chukwuemeka are not with the squad in the United States and set to be it would be unfair to say Chelsea do not have a plan and their embarrassment of riches in attack is something their supporters can be pleased about as they pursue success next do you make of the move for Pedro? Are you happy with what he would bring to the Chelsea attack, and how do you see the forward line looking next season?Get in touch with your thoughts here
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment crowd of women's rights campaigners dressed in Niqab-style veils ripped them off to declare 'free your face' in provocative London protest
This is the moment a crowd of women's rights campaigners dressed in Niqab-style veils ripped them off as they declared 'free your face'. Up to 75 protesters gathered in London 's Hyde Park this afternoon for a Let Women Speak (LWS) event, spearheaded by campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker. The group, dressed in black veils with 'free your face' printed on them, walked through the park in unison, holding placards that read 'free speech for women' alongside black balloons printed with 'women: adult female'. Stopping at the popular Speaker's Corner area, Ms Keen pulled out a white ladder to stand in front of the crowd, stating: 'what we are doing here is something that women in the Middle East cannot do and that is to remove the veil.' The group then ripped off their veils in unison to the sound of passionate cheers and whistles, while others chanted 'free your face'. Ms Keen, who founded the #LetWomenSpeak movement and leads the Party of Women, said that the group had gathered as an 'act of solidarity with all of the women who have to live behind the veil because their husbands, cousins and brothers are too weak'. The events, which often take place across the country, see women take to the stage to talk about a variety of issues that affect them. Speakers are often known for their gender-critical views and the group also campaigns against using female-only spaces. One rival protestor shouted from the crowd 'women should be at home', but this did not deter Ms Keen. She continued: 'Four weeks ago, I received stories from women from all over the Middle East who have had to live behind the veil since they were 12 years old. 'In the UK, all over our cities we are seeing more women wearing the veil. As a free woman, I do not think this is acceptable. This is what happens when a man cannot bear for women to be free. 'If a man cannot control himself when he see's a woman's face, then he should wear a mask'. Ms Keen, who proudly stated she is 'not a feminist' added: 'I say no to the veil, no to the Niqab'. Speaking directly to a counter-protestor who criticised her for 'spreading aggression against men', she quipped back: 'f**k you'. Another woman who took to the stage to speak, added: 'We live in a free society so we do not want women being told what to do and not being allowed to live their lives. I cannot stand by and not say anything about this'. Meanwhile, another protestor, dressed in a necklace that spelled out 'women', tearfully struggled to get her words out. She said: 'You can make your choices, but they have to be free choices and the veil is never truly a free choice. Please for the sake of your sisters, choose freedom.' Founded in 2018, the LWS group was formed in response to proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act (GRA). Described as a 'bold, international movement' the protestors say they have worked to 'spark a global awakening around the importance of defending the rights of women-adult human females'. Ms Keen, dubbed 'one of the world's most recognisable defenders of women's rights', finished her passionate speech by declaring: 'The reason we created this movement is because so many men are frightened of our voices. 'Today we say for women all over the world, free your faces. And to the men who subject them to it, we say f**k you.' After the event, Ms Keen told MailOnline that the inspiration for today's speech came from an 'off the cuff' comment she made to two women who were wearing a Niqab at Speaker's Corner last month. She said: 'There were two women and I just said "free your faces ladies, free your face and liberate yourselves".' Ms Keen says a video of that moment was seen 24 million times across social media platforms and inspired a wave of Middle Eastern women to share their 'heartbreaking' stories. She continued: 'These women reached out to tell me things like "I haven't had the sun in my face since I was 12" or "I'm living a life of servitude because the mask is one thing, the niqab is one thing, but actually I don't feel like a complete human being".' Ms Keen said some women even revealed they were not allowed out in their garden and that the biggest thing they had to look forward to was going to the cafe alone. She is now vowing to keep pushing the message forward to stop women from being 'imprisoned' by the Niqab, despite pushback from some protestors. 'Speaker's Corner is a very unwelcoming place for women because the men are very loud and most women aren't,' Ms Keen continued. 'I happen to have quite a loud voice. Most women don't, so it can be a bit intimidating. But I was prepared. And I think it went really well and it was a spectacle. 'We always get pushback because there's some men that can't cope with women speaking. But those are really the men that we are very glad to hear women speak. So they start to understand that we're not stopping.' Ms Keen added that she wants to see the Niqab banned, saying: 'There's a rise in it being worn in various cities such as London, Birmingham and Bradford. 'I think we really need to think very carefully as a country. I'd like to ban the face covering. I think there's too many women that are forced to wear it for us ever to think that it's a choice.' Last October, up to 70 women gathered in Carlisle Park, Morpeth, Northumberland, for a Let Women Speak (LWS) event and were met with counter demonstrators who shouted through megaphones: 'Transwomen are women'. Branding Ms Keen a 'fascist', counter protestors shouted during the speeches: 'You're not radical, you're just d***heads.' They also blew whistles in an attempt to drown out the gathering and also shouted 'get off the stage' and 'get some new material'. But Ms Keen defended the group, remarking: 'Some women are coming to speak using some words, and some spoiled brats are trying to stop us. 'We just want to speak about our rights. We want to speak about our spaces, our sports, our children, our safety. 'Those people over there are from the elites and are trying to shut us up. Most of us are from relatively normal families who have to pay a mortgage, pay bills. 'They haven't sent us to a nice university to mess around with our fees and our grants and to come and harass middle-aged women.' The Labour party previously faced previous accusations of being 'undemocratic authoritarians' after a local party pressured a venue into cancelling a Conservative-run debate due to Ms Keen's attendance. The Tottenham Conservative Association was due to hold a debate on 'The Future of British Politics' in February last year, but the Clissold Arms pub in Muswell Hill, north London, told organisers yesterday that they had to cancel it after complaints. A letter sent to the pub by the Hornsey and Friern Barnet Constituency Labour Party executive committee, seen by MailOnline, said that 'Keen's events often attract other far right groups including neo-Nazi groups on a recent tour of Australia'. On her tour of Australia in 2023, men showed up to a rally in Melbourne and performed Nazi salutes, but she insisted they were not invited or welcome there. The letter accused Ms Keen of 'extremely transphobic views' and of harassing transgender people, adding that her attendance would create a 'dangerous and hostile environment for local trans people'.
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Starmer: Foreign affairs delayed me dealing with welfare rebellion
Sir Keir Starmer has said he did not get to grips with the growing rebellion over welfare reforms earlier as he was focused on international affairs. He also said he took ownership for his decisions and believed as leader he should 'carry the can' when things do not go well. Advertisement The UK prime minister said he was occupied with the G7 and Nato summits and the escalating tensions in the Middle East for much of the past two weeks. He said he was 'heavily focused' on what was happening with Nato and the Middle East all weekend and that his 'full attention really bore down' on the welfare bill on Thursday. He defended the eventual U-turn, which came after more than 100 MPs launched a bid to kill the legislation with an amendment. UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference at the QEII Centre, London. Picture date: Thursday June 26, 2025. 'Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome,' Mr Starmer told The Sunday Times. Advertisement He said all the decisions were his and that 'I take ownership of them'. There have been reports that rebel MPs blamed Mr Starmer's chief of staff, Cork native Morgan McSweeney, for the UK government's approach. Mr Starmer said: 'My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don't go well you carry the can. 'I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I'd much prefer it if everybody else didn't.' Advertisement Ministers had hoped the reforms would get more people back into work and save up to £5 billion a year, but the concessions made leave chancellor Rachel Reeves needing to find money elsewhere and point to possible tax rises in the autumn. On Saturday, the prime minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. He said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work.' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch will hit out at Mr Starmer as 'incapable of sticking to a decision' after he backed down on his plans. Advertisement Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in conversation with Lord Moore of Etchingham during a Policy Exchange event in London. Picture date: Monday June 23, 2025. The reforms would only have made 'modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill', but the prime minister was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say in a speech next week. The UK government's original welfare package had restricted eligibility for Pip, the main disability payment in England, as well as cutting the health-related element of universal credit. Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition. Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only, while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. Advertisement The concessions on Pip alone protect some 370,000 people currently receiving the allowance who were set to lose out following reassessment. As a year in office nears, more than half of voters think Labour has underperformed in that time, polling released on Saturday showed. The Opinium survey showed 54 per cent think Labour has done a worse job than expected, while 18 per cent think the party has exceeded expectations.
