Latest news with #Brinnington
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man arrested over class A drug supply as police storm house in dawn raid
A man has been arrested after police stormed a house in a dawn raid. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) executed a warrant on Exeter Road this morning, June 23, in Brinnington. A man was arrested on suspicion of class A drug supply, the force has said. READ MORE: The M60 is still shut four hours after 'police incident' started - here's what we know so far READ MORE: 'The faceless oiks at Manchester United decided we couldn't do it' Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Eyewitnesses say they heard loud voices shouting 'police' and banging noises just after 5.30am. Both police vans and tactical assessment units were at the scene, according to people in the area at the time. It is understood police left the scene just over an hour later. -- For the latest stories and breaking news visit Get the latest headlines, features and analysis that matter to you by signing up to our various Manchester Evening News newsletters here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to stay up to date with the latest. Follow us on X @mennewsdesk for all the latest stories and updates on breaking incidents from across the region and beyond, as well as on our Facebook page here. If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our newsdesk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it.
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the anti-depressant capital of Britain: The miserable northern suburb where one in three people beg their doctor for medication
Beneath a green canopy of trees and a carpet of well-kept lawns, the small town of Brinnington hides its dark secret. The leafy main road, two churches, a post office and an array of shops could at first sight pass for another well-heeled suburb of Stockport, Greater Manchester. But scratch the surface and it becomes easier to understand why this is the depression capital of the country with nearly one in three people (31.7 per cent) begging their doctor for help with the mental health condition in one particular enclave. Other statistics in Brinnington from the 2021 Census weave their own depressing story. The unemployment rate here is 5 per cent, vs 2.9 per cent for England as a whole. And the proportion of long-term sick or disabled people is an astonishing 11.7 per cent - nearly three times the national average of 4.1 per cent. The area's economic woes and the fact that many seemed resigned to their fate - up to 40 per cent of people in Brinnington admit to smoking compared to 4 per cent in more affluent local areas - has led to the most troubling statistic of all. People here will die on average 10 years sooner than those just five miles away in better-off Bramhall. Perhaps surprisingly, in 2023, Which? Magazine named Stockport in the dozen best place to retire in Britain and last year the Sunday Times rated it the best place to live in the North West, following a £1bn town centre regeneration programme. But the town centre is a good 40-minute walk away from Brinnington, or a 10-minute bus journey, for those who can make it. And despite the acres of green space nearby, including the nearby Reddish Vale country park, Brinnington, tucked into a bend of the M60 motorway, seems trapped in a spiral of discontent. One woman told us: 'They are forever moving people here, the homeless, refugees, the unemployed all get dumped here and the rest of us just have to carry on. 'Despite what it looks like, this is still a very working class area and most of the housing used to be council houses. 'The problem is the jobs have gone and there are a lot of people here who no longer know what to do with themselves. We can't seem to move on.' Statistics in Brinnington from the 2021 Census weave a depressing story: the unemployment rate here is 5 per cent, vs 2.9 per cent for England as a whole Phyllis Williamson, 67, who has lived in Brinnington for over 40 years, admits to being surprised at the depression statistics. 'The town looks affluent from the top road but there is a lot of poverty once you start looking around.' she says. 'The council tries to keep the place nice but there are a lot of people with problems in the the town houses and some of the tower blocks we have here. 'You can see it on people's faces. The community spirit is still here but it is not like it was forty years ago when you could knock on anyone's door. 'Now you would have to walk a long way before you would find a door you would be comfortable knocking on.' The 11-storey tower blocks - there are seven barely seen from the main road but which dominate the landscape further back into town - are home to an array of people including those with disabilities. One of the blocks, Conway Towers, is home to a lot of young families, some of whom are struggling to get by. One woman who came outside, pushing her pram to the local shops, told us: 'I have got four kids and a partner who has mental health problems but we are stuck in this high rise. 'I have been here eight years and it seems as if I will be here forever. It looks like there is nowhere else to go.' She was heading for the 1960s-style shop precinct just off the main Brinnington Road, where stands the local library, some council offices, a small supermarket and a chemists. Behind them there is a barbers, a bookies and a booze shop while up the road stands a B&M store and a post office opposite next to the bus stop. Yards away, outside St Luke Church, three middle-aged women stand talking while smoking a joint, leaving the pungent smell of weed hanging in the air. Six years ago, when Brinnington first began to appear near the top of the 'depression stats', a local GP, Dr James Higgins, now Primary Care Network clinical director for the area, examined his caseload for The Guardian. He looked back on every consultation in the previous six weeks. Of the 123 adult patients he saw, 24 per cent were actively asking for help with depression, a further 28 per cent were already being treated for the condition and 16 per cent had previously had it. 'Only 31 per cent had never been depressed,' he said, admitting slight surprise at his own findings -- and that was before the pandemic hit. Nearly half of all homes in Brinnington are social housing, with 68 per cent of people paying rent to either a private or public landlord. A total of 45 per cent of people live alone, compared with 30 per cent nationally. Dr Dalia Tsimpida, lecturer in gerontology at the University of Southampton, has investigated what makes some neighbourhoods mental health hotspots. She said: 'Deprivation is a key driver, accounting for up to 39 per cent of recorded depression levels across England, although this varies dramatically by location.' Her research has identified a previously overlooked factor: noise pollution, which will certainly be a factor for some in Drinnington with the non-stop din from the M60 barely a stone's throw from many homes. More noise pollution comes from rowdy teenagers screeching around on motorbikes, as well as the cars, buses, lorries and trains that fill the environment with a cacophony of sounds. But worst of all, by far, are the planes that pass overhead every minute, landing and taking off from nearby Manchester Airport. Locals, however, say they don't take it seriously. Several told us: 'You get used to it. It's just white noise.' But areas with transportation noise exceeding 55 decibels on average in a 24-hour period show much stronger links between health deprivation, disability, and depression. 'Environmental stressors play a crucial but underappreciated role,' said Dr Tsimpida. 'While transportation noise doesn't directly cause depression, it significantly amplifies the impact of other risk factors.' She added: 'Living in a depression hotspot exposes people to what may be "contagion effects" - both social and environmental. 'We observed that mental health challenges may spread through communities through mechanisms like social isolation, reduced community resources, environmental degradation, and normalised hopelessness.' Recently, Stockport Council has trialled a new approach to help those residents 'feeling low, lonely, or in need of a lifestyle change.' The non-medical 'Wellbeing Prescription' relies on exercise and activity instead of drugs and has been run in partnership with Life Leisure, Age UK Stockport, Viaduct Care CIC, and local GP surgeries in Brinnington and Bramhall. But locals complain that the problem is that some people do not look after the town. One woman said: 'We have a street cleaner who comes here three times a week and takes between 30-50 bags of rubbish off the streets on every visit. 'He has told me his bags are full of things like hypodermic needles, dog dirt, babies' nappies and lots of stuff people should be disposing of themselves. 'They just walk out of the door and throw stuff on the ground and leave it to the street then, as soon as he is gone, they will throw out some more.' Among the haul that could be seen last week was a Morrisons supermarket trolley amid a pile of filled rubbish bags. Another man. who asked not to be named said local contractors had learnt to be cautious when working on people's homes in Brinnington. 'One builder thought his compressor had packed in during a job but when he went outside he saw it had been unplugged and a couple of lads were carrying it down the road! They dropped it and ran when he shouted at them.' Brinnington's sense of community is not helped by the fact that it has lost all four of its pubs leaving just two Labour and Conservative clubs as its only watering holes. Consigned to history - and leaving the community poorer for it - are the Horsefield Arms, The Farmers Arms, the Jack and Jill and the Cheshire Cat. But for all its problems, Brinnington railway station stands testament to the area's indomitable spirit. Winner of the best-kept station award in 2023, its front hall is covered in racks of clothing and hats and stacks of books, dvds and trinkets of every description. Everything on show is free for anyone to take. Station master Stewart Hall, 43, said: 'We get up to 200 people down here a day and they take what they need. Some people just come down here for a chat, to pass the time and feel better.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- BBC News
Mental health: 'A bit of a walk in open air is the best medicine'
I'm back with the latest in our 25in25 series - a chance to shine a spotlight on interesting people and places in our week I'm in Brinnington, a suburb of Stockport in Greater an area of open farmland, everything changed in the 1950s and 1960s when council housing developments transformed the natural amongst the high-rise flats, though, there are still nearly 400 acres (161 hectares) of woodland, waterways and natural beauty is set against the industrial backdrop of the Tame viaduct, known locally as the 16 arches. Sand martins and kingfishers nest in the river mill ponds and wetlands are visited by wildfowl including geese, herons, grebes, cormorants, coots and a variety of ducks. It is a truly serene place in which locals and visitors alike can walk, talk, stop and watch the world go the perfect location for weekly mindfulness walks led by Danny Drayson, from Age UK Stockport."A lot of people don't know about the area," he said."So it's my job to get people out of the flats and get walking."When asked why that was so important to him, he replied: "Because it benefits everybody."A bit of a walk in open air is the best medicine for anybody."For the past three years, Danny has been outside Hollow End flats every Monday morning ready to lead the walk, regardless of distractions like poor weather or bank thinks "there is no better way to start the week". 'Creating friendships' I joined a lovely bunch, some from Brinnington and others from further visitor, Jaqueline, said: "I was nervous to begin with but the people have been so friendly and lovely and I'd never been to this park before."As well as making the most of local open spaces and improving mental and physical health, Danny hopes the walks, which were set up in collaboration between Age UK Stockport and Life Leisure, will help create friendships. Jimmy Glindon has certainly been helped by the walks."I was well overweight - I wasn't going anywhere, I wasn't doing anything with my life," he said. "I was miserable, suffering with depression and anxiety."I'm not sure where my life would be [without the group] but it wouldn't be half as good as it is now."Anyone wanting to join in should head to Hollow End Towers on Northumberland Road at 10:30 BST on Mondays. If you would like to nominate someone to feature in 25in25 then email nwt@ with their details and why they deserve to be recognised. 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.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The two neighbourhoods in Greater Manchester first in line for a £20m boost
Two neighbourhoods in Greater Manchester have been named among the first in the UK to benefit from a boost of up to £20m. Unveiling her Spending Review today (June 11), Rachel Reeves announced 'additional funding' to support up to 350 communities across the country. The Chancellor said that this unspecified sum will be used to improve parks, youth facilities, swimming pools and libraries. The money, which will be spent in some of the UK's most deprived areas, will also support the 'fightback' against graffiti and fly-tipping. READ MORE: LIVE: More arrests after Salford disorder saw riot police called to street READ MORE: Four more arrests and girl, 16, charged following 'serious disorder' in Salford During her speech in Parliament, Ms Reeves revealed that Stockport would be one of the areas set to benefit from the funding. In documents published following her speech, the government has now revealed that two places in Greater Manchester are among 25 'trailblazer' neighbourhoods that will each receive up to £20m over the next decade as part of the new fund Ms Reeves announced. The two neighbourhoods in Greater Manchester that have been selected are Brinnington in Stockport and Pendleton in Salford. The Government has today announced 25 trailblazer neighbourhoods that will receive up to £20 million over the next decade as part of a new fund announced at the Spending Review. Pendleton in Salford is one of themhttps:// — Rebecca Long-Bailey (@RLong_Bailey) June 11, 2025 According to government papers, they will be among the first of up to 350 places that are set to benefit, alongside the 75 towns previously named in the Plan for Neighbourhoods which include Ashton-under-Lyne, Chadderton, Farnworth, Heywood and Leigh. In her speech to MPs, Ms Reeves said: "I know the pride that people feel in their communities. I see it everywhere I go. "But I also know that for too many people there is a sense that something has been lost. As high streets have declined, as community spaces have closed, as jobs and opportunities have gone elsewhere. The renewal of Britain must be felt everywhere." Welcoming the news, Stockport MP Navendu Mishra said: "As one of the 25 new trailblazer neighbourhoods, it is great that Brinnington is set to receive a share of £20 million to lead the way in community-led regeneration and renewal. "Following 14 years of neglect from Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Governments, I am pleased that this Government is giving neighbourhoods like Brinnington the extra support they deserve. I welcome this investment into the renewal of our community in Stockport." Ahead of the spending review, the Local Trust called on the government to break the cycle of deprivation in 'doubly disadvantaged' areas around the country, with the charity arguing that 'neighbourhood-level interventions' are needed for long-lasting regeneration. Madeleine Jennings, Head of Policy and Communications at Local Trust said: 'The Chancellor has recognised the importance of pride in place and that many communities around the country have seen that pride decline. The Big Local programme has shown that a sense of pride about the community you live in essential component of good health and wellbeing, especially in deprived areas. "However, our evidence also shows that agency and a belief in collective efficacy are just as important which is why we will continue to work with the government to ensure this new programme puts communities themselves in charge of decision making and setting priorities. "At a time of difficult decisions, the Chancellor's decision to invest in social infrastructure in deprived areas is testament to the powerful evidence in favour of long-term investment in community capacity coming out of the Big Local programme. "We are proud that the learning from Big Local has been able to inform the work of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods who have powerfully advocated for such a fund in order to reach the communities living in neighbourhoods that are furthest from being able to achieve the government's five missions."
