Hello,
Property writer Phoebe Jobling and data journalist David Dubas-Fisher have been crunching the numbers to work out how much of their wages people are spending on rent across Greater Manchester. And it’s thrown up some interesting results.
In Manchester, for example, rents have gone up twice as fast as pay over the last nine years. That probably won’t come as a surprise to anyone who finds themselves counting the pennies at the end of every month, but it still makes for stark reading.
Renting the average home in Manchester now costs £1,194 a month. That’s a whopping 54.8 percent of the typical take-home pay - the highest percentage in the north of England.
Rent costs are up by 11 percent compared to the same time last year, and by 51.5 percent since March 2015, when the average home in the city cost just £788 a month to rent.
The average full-time employee in Manchester earned an estimated £26,127 last year after tax and national insurance were deducted. That’s gone up by 26 percent from 2014, when the average take-home pay in the city was £20,738 for full-time workers.
And while Manchester has the highest rents, workers in the city don’t take home the most money. That honour goes to Trafford, where the average annual salary after tax is £29,887, meaning workers in the borough spend around 46% of their pay on rent.
Workers in Stockport and Bury also enjoy higher wages and lower housing costs than Manchester. At the other end of the scale Wiganers earn among the lowest wages in Greater Manchester, but with average monthly rents of £630 spend the lowest proportion of their pay on housing costs. You can see the full breakdown of results here…
Show time
It’s a big day for Co-op Live. Tonight the huge new arena will open for its first official gig - by American hip hop star Boogie Wit da Hoodie.
And after a turbulent couple of weeks, which saw the first set of shows cancelled when work on the £365m venue wasn’t completed in time, all involved will be hoping things run smoothly.
Tonight just the arena’s lower bowl will be open, meaning it will only hold half the 32,500 capacity. Olivia Rodrigo is also set to perform two huge shows at the arena on Friday and Saturday, with Keane also bringing the 20th anniversary celebration of their debut album to the venue on Sunday night.
From ‘barren wasteland’ to powerhouse
Co-op Live’s opening will mark the latest step in the transformation of this once neglected corner of east Manchester.
Now reinvented as a powerhouse of sport and entertainment, it’s a far cry from the 1990s when Eastlands, as it became known, was once described as a ‘barren wasteland’.
Here Lee Grimsditch charts the renaissance of a one-time industrial powerhouse.
‘Ofsted stress gave me a heart condition’
A year ago, headteacher Ben Davis revealed how the stress from Ofsted inspections had given him a heart condition. Since a 2016 inspection St Ambrose Barlow RC, High in Wardley, Swinton, had been stuck in the 'requires improvement' category.
Mr Davis has undergone eight Ofsted inspections during his tenure, which he frankly admitted had physically and mentally taken its toll. He had considered quitting due to the 'high-stakes climate of fear' he claimed the system creates.
But he stuck at it - and this week, a new inspection report revealed the school has been graded 'good'. However Mr Davis won’t be getting out the bunting.
He believes the death last year of a teacher should have been a watershed moment in how schools are assessed. Last year he composed a letter to Ofsted - backed by 100 headteachers and principals from Salford schools and colleges - calling for the watchdog to suspend inspections in the wake of Ruth Perry's death, who took her own life in January 2023.
He said: “I feel more strongly than ever that Ofsted needs huge reform. Nothing we did in our improvement journey was done for Ofsted. It was always what we felt was best for our young people, particularly those who face the greatest challenges and this continues to be our mission.
"Getting a 'good' grade from Ofsted does not compensate for all the stress, anxiety and fear created in our school over the past few years.” You can read Mr Davis’ interview with chief reporter Neal Keeling here.
Back on track
A Manchester city centre Metrolink stop will return to full service next week after being closed for three months. Exchange Square has been out of action since the discovery of a ‘cracked rail’ in January.
But it will finally reopen on Tuesday, meaning the full line between East Disbury, Shaw and Crompton and Rochdale will be up and running once again. However passengers are being warned to expect one final day of significant disruption before full service can resume.
Metrolink bosses say no trams will run through Victoria station on Monday, affecting the Bury, Rochdale, East Didsbury and Airport lines. More here
Weather etc
Thursday: Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by late morning, 20C.
Trains: Buses run instead of trains on Transpennine Express services between Manchester Airport and Huddersfield until May 3 due to engineering works.
Manchester headlines
Teen critical: A girl is fighting for her life in hospital after emergency services found her in an alleyway in Chorlton. Police and paramedics were called to the scene just off Wilbraham Road at around 7.30pm last night. A 21-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of supplying Class A drugs. Read more
Palestine protest: Police are investigating after offices in Manchester city centre were targeted by Palestine Action protesters. The front entrance and windows of the building on Hardman Street in Spinningfields have been left covered in red paint. Protesters also appear to have smashed some of the glass doors at the front. More here
Chemical spill: Emergency services were called to an industrial estate in Rochdale this morning and closed a number of roads after a 'chemical spill'. Pictures showed police officers, firefighters and paramedics on the scene at the Stakehill Industrial Estate in Rochdale earlier this morning. It stemmed from a package in the Yodel warehouse, the Manchester Evening News understands.
Worth a read
Crime reporter John Scheerhout is continuing to investigate matters at Forest Bank prison. And in his latest piece he reveals allegations staff are being discouraged from reporting attacks 'because it looks bad'.
