The Mancunian Way: 'I want to get out but I can't'

Hello

Jacqueline Hume is in a situation most parents eventually come to face. Her kids have grown up, flown the nest, and had children of their own.

And she now lives alone in the three bed council house in Moston she’s called home for more than 30 years. But now the 58-year-old wants somewhere smaller and more manageable.

Except it’s not been easy. Ms Hume says she has spent the last seven years trying to move out. She wants to move closer to her daughter and grandchildren, in Higher Blackley and has applied for a number of bungalows in the area.

"They are saying I've got to be 60," said the mum-of-two and grandmother-of-five. "I don't get it. There are so many people and families who are homeless.

“There's supposed to be a massive housing crisis and I'm hogging a family home. It's a three-bedroom house and I'm only using one room. I want to get out but I can't."

Manchester council said Ms Hume's situation ‘highlights an issue at the heart of housing’ in the city facing an ongoing housing crisis. Back in May, the M.E.N. reported that Manchester's waiting list for social housing was 17,000 strong.

And in responding to Ms Hume’s claims a council spokesperson admitted there is a ‘struggle to meet the demand for certain types of home’, but insisted not all bungalows are reserved for over 60s. Tom George has more here…

Life on the estate where outsiders are banned

Yesterday we reported how police have banned outsiders from the troubled Freehold estate in Rochdale in a drastic attempt to clamp down on drug dealing and crime. Following the announcement George Lythgoe went to speak to residents to find out what life is like there.

Susan Hurn, 57, told how the estate was quiet during the day but said as soon as the sun goes down the problems start. “I’ve lived in the same flat for 14 years and I’m afraid to go out at night,” she said. “You have to walk past them doing their drugs, swearing, and they’re even doing their business (defecating and urinating) on the stairwells.”

But some claim the poor reputation of the estate is not warranted. Mizaan Ali has lived on the side of Freehold which backs onto Tweedale Street for a year, and claims there is a big community spirit here. “I never see anything on this side. I’m born and raised in Rochdale so I know the reputation, but it’s far from it on this side,” he said.

One way or another

Big changes could be on the cards for Ramsbottom town centre. This week plans for a new one-way road system and 20mph speed limit have been announced.

The exact details have not been revealed yet. But, as is often the case in these things, it seems to have split opinion right down the middle.

Shopper Rick Pilkington, 54, described it as ‘the stupidest idea I’ve heard in a long time’. “[It’s] the type of thing someone who doesn’t know Ramsbottom and has no idea about the issues would think up,” he told local democracy reporter Chris Gee. “There will be residents who will have to do a tour of Rammy every time they leave their house and the traffic will back up right up to Holcombe Moor.”

But Josh Lee, who works at Harry’s Barbers on Bridge Street, was more open to the idea.”The traffic is already a nightmare and our shop front and door shake every time a lorry passes,” he said pointing to large cracks in the front window of the business.

Bonfire Night in ‘f****** Gotham City’

Ethan Davies spent Bonfire Night with firefighters on the streets of Salford and north Manchester. And it sounds like it was pretty lively.

On Liverpool Street a firework was launched at crews as they were hosing down a burnt out Audi. To make the dangerous situation even more fraught the car was reportedly packed full of fireworks.

During the course of Ethan’s five-hour stint on the pumps, firefighters also faced a barrage of abuse in Miles Platting and counselled amateur fire-starters on how to manage their bonfires. They were so busy, at one point, one firefighter joked Ordsall was ‘like f***ing Gotham City’. More here

Blowing in the wind

A developer has revealed proposals to build what would be England’s biggest onshore wind farm on the moors above Bury and Rochdale. It would be the first since Labour lifted the de facto ban that had been in place for nine years.

Scout Moor II could see 21 turbines built next to the existing windfarm with developers claiming it could generate enough electricity to power 100,000 homes and meet around 10 per cent of Greater Manchester’s domestic energy needs. More here…

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Weather etc

Thursday: Overcast, 13C.

Roadworks: One lane closed and delays expected due to gas main work on Halifax Road eastbound at Buckley Lane, Smallbridge, Rochdale. Expect delays.

Manchester headlines

Hooligans: Football thugs were told they should be ‘ashamed’ of themselves after Manchester United and Leeds fans clashed in ‘running battles’ in the city centre. Three more fans were hauled before a judge after being caught on camera as ugly scenes unfolded ahead of a Premier League clash between the bitter rivals. Read more

Hit and run: Six people were injured after being hit by a car in a horror hit and run on Bonfire Night. Emergency services were called to reports of a vehicle mowing down pedestrians on Bob Massey Close in Openshaw at around 8.30pm.

School warning: A warning has been issued to schoolchildren and parents after a girl was followed and harassed by a man after leaving school. In an alert sent to parents of children at St Monica’s High School in Prestwich on Tuesday, the council said the year 10 pupil had been approached by a man believed to be in his 40s on Bury New Road, who reportedly gave her flowers and 'wanted a hug' before following the teenager for around 300 metres while telling her she was 'beautiful'.

Worth a read

Imogen Tyas swapped stacking shelves at her local Co-op for embalming dead bodies. And the 28-year-old from Oldham says she has stumbled across her dream career - even if it does raise a few eyebrows.

She told Paige Oldfield about life as an undertaker…