If Burnham wins Makerfield GM Mayoral Elections will be very soon

If Makerfield votes Andy Burnham to be their MP on Thursday 18 June and off he scoots to London to start a coup we need to prepare for another election. There's a 35 day statutory timeframe for a fresh trip to the ballot box if the Greater Manchester (GM) mayoral role becomes vacant. To give time for people to weigh up their options and for postal votes the Electoral Commission have pushed this deadline as far as they can.

This means the the election will take place on Thursday 30 July.

There is a lot of jeopardy here.

People might want change especially given disillusionment with national government but what GM has had over the last decade (and in the City of Manchester for decades) is political stability. This has led to investor confidence both privately and publicly and the results especially in the central areas of the region are plain to see.

Of course the politics in the City of Manchester won't change but the tribal politics and inexperience of Reform or the Greens would be no good for that stability and confidence across GM and beyond. Perceptions outside the conurbation would be revised.

Andy Burnham Speaks To The Media About Avanti Trains At Media City Metrolink Stop — **Andy Burnham's victory will lead to quick GM Mayor election** Credit: Confidentials

Castlefield Viaduct closed for summer

There's a problem on the viaduct. The National Trust's (NT) Castlefield Viaduct is shut and will be closed for several weeks. This garden on high sits on a powerful 1894 structure, a lattice bridge built with steel forged by Heenan and Froud from Newton Heath.

Apparently, there's a maintenance problem, or depending to whom you talk, a structural problem, which means that staff and guests can't access the viaduct. It always seemed strange that the maximum amount of people allowed on the NT garden bridge was fifty given the sturdy nature of the structure. I mean impossibly sturdy although of course for decades it was left to rot.

It's strength was tested rigorously right from the start. This is the original report. ‘Major General Hutchinson of the Board of Trade made an official inspection yesterday of the new railway viaduct which the Cheshire Lines Committee have constructed from Central Station to Cornbrook. He was accompanied over the works by Mr Maldrum, manager of the Cheshire Lines, Mr. W.G. Scott, chief engineer and Mr. Hammersley Heenan and a number of gentlemen on the railway, engineers and contractors' staffs. A load of 12 engines, representing an average weight of 70 tons each, was placed upon the steel viaduct. The test was varied in severity, but under the greatest strain, far exceeding as it did anything that would fall upon the viaduct in actual practice, the structure gave perfect satisfaction.’

Twelve engines weigh a lot more than 50 people. Probably one engine weighs a lot more than 50 people.

There is no hint at present of when the viaduct garden might re-open. It looks like it may be after summer which would be a blow.

This is what the NT have tersely told me: 'Castlefield Viaduct is currently closed for maintenance work. We apologies to our visitors for any disappointment. We hope to provide an update in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we encourage everyone to check the website before planning a visit. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer any further detail but will be releasing a fuller statement next week.'

Castlefield Viaducts — **Big tough viaduct has issues** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

Speaking of viaducts

One recent midnight moment I crossed the footbridge next to Aviva Studios and looked at the reflection in the River Irwell of one of the most important bridges or viaducts in the world. This is Stephenson’s viaduct from 1830 on the first inter-city railway line on the planet, the Liverpool to Manchester Railway. The reflections looked as solid as the NT viaduct in the story above, as though one could just step down and walk that entrancing reverse curve shown in the top image.

But what are we seeing in Manchester with this viaduct? Two broad but sweet segmental arches (these are arches less than a full half-circle) are leaping the river. They are constructed from big beefy squared off and smoothed sandstone blocks from various quarries. At the edges the stone has weathered, softening the structure, making us aware of the years that have passed since construction, telling us, literally, that a lot of water has passed under the bridge. The viaduct is cleverly slewed at an angle across the river.

The design is efficient, smart, and because of that simple fitness for purpose, beautiful in how it looks and what it does.

2026 06 09 Stephenson Viaduct Castlefield — **The viaduct with that remarkable reflection and under the left arch the reflected lights look like fallen stars** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

St Catherine’s Wood - opening in a couple of months

One of the CyanLines walks I will be conducting takes place at 10am on Sunday 28 June. CyanLines is the initiative from last year to link up the green and blue areas of the city region, in other words parks, gardens, rivers and canals. The 28 June tour will be free to guests and will start at Queen’s Park in Harpurhey. The route then follows a course down the River Irk into the city centre.

Aside from all the fascinating to things to see and hear about on the tour guests get an exclusive sneak preview of a brand new park. This is St Catherine’s Wood which is due to open in late summer. This shady retreat on a sloping nine acre site down to the River Irk will be larger than Mayfield Park (6.5 acres). The latter opened in 2022 on a site close to Piccadilly Station and remains a model of fine maintenance. Let's hope we can say the same for St Catherine's Wood, a fifteen minute walk from Victoria Station.

St Catherine is the patron saint of students, unmarried girls, philosophers and scholars and is believed to help protect against sudden death. All the above people are welcome on my tour, especially philosophers, and for that matter anybody else while I'm sure the only deaths will be my jokes. People can book on the walk here.

2026 06 09 St Catherines Woods — **Manchester Town Hall tower still a noble presence among the towers. View from St Catherine's Park** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

Scruffy looking building to be revamped

On first glance it looks a right mess: a blob of a building covered in eyesore checkerboard render. Underneath that sixties nonsense though is a surviving 1820s mill with numerous important internal features including then pioneering methods of construction to make it 'slow-burning' should fire hit again. An earlier building on the site had almost been totally destroyed in a blaze.

Now a company called ACLO have bought the building known as Marlsboro House from Boohoo for around £3.5m. They want to strip off that daft render on the 24,000 sq ft structure to reveal it's handsome brick exterior. Internally they want to put in a bar and recording studio in the basement, a ground floor restaurant and on the upper floors a co-working area and a private members' bar (do we need another?). The architects are Archer Humphreys International who have previously worked on Ducie Street Warehouse in Manchester.

ACLO is owned by Hyrum Cook of fashion brand Adanola. ACLO also own Peter House in St Peter's Square.

The mill building has had various uses over time including several decades as an umbrella factory. The precipitation theme was continued when it become a manufacture of raincoats for AG Garments around 1960. It appears that grotesque render was applied by them.

Historic England writes: 'This is a rare early example of heavy-timber floor construction, a concept providing both robustness and fire-resistance which appears to have originated in Manchester and which strongly influenced the mid-C19 design of industrial buildings in the USA, in particular New England.'

It will be good to see it liven up the architecture on Newton Street if planning is approved.

**The building as it presently looks: ugly as sin** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

2026 06 09 Marlsbro House Aclo P Planning Documents — **The building as it may look when restored: sharp as a pin** Credit: ACLO

Simple messaging

Talking with someone about advertising my tours recently caused me to recall my favourite ad campaign ever.

Years ago when the Marble bar opened in Chorlton they put an A board out on the pavement. Over a four week period the messaging changed.

First the A-board read, 'Really good beer here', with an arrow pointing to the entrance of the bar. About a week later, it read, 'Good beer here'. About a week after that it read, 'Beer here'. And then a week after that, it was reduced to just the simple word, 'Beer'.

Very effective and a big saving on chalk.

Britner spears the bridge

I conducted a tour of New Islington and Ancoats with a charming family a couple of weekends ago. For Sue and Paul in the group the trip was a homecoming. They had grown up in a now demolished cottage on a bridge over a canal arm of the Ashton Canal while their grandparents lived in the lock keeper's cottage over the road. The latter is still there. The brother and sister had lived in their disappeared cottage in the sixties and seventies as the area declined and the canals went out of use.

Sue and Paul had very fond memories of growing up in the area despite the increasing decay. They had plenty of japes to discuss. Sue recalled messing around in the empty Ancoats mills never imagining they'd one day host flats selling for half a million pounds. Paul, meanwhile, pointed out some of his master mason work. As a young lad he'd cheekily carved the family surname 'Britner' into the soft sandstone of the bridge parapet.

2026 06 09 Britner Bridge — **Paul Britner points out his youthful handiwork** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

One Piccadilly Palaver

'One Piccadilly Gardens opened in 2003 as part of the redevelopment of Piccadilly Gardens; the building was designed by Allies and Morrison and has large glazed facades behind a red brick grid.' Thus writes Wikipedia.

The problem with the building is that it was built on formerly public land and ignored all around it. Piccadilly Gardens used to be a showpiece area for Manchester. The building materials used were almost universally stone. Allies and Morrison from London must have read that Manchester used to have lots of red brick mills so they referenced that on this site. There were no mills in Piccadilly Gardens. The result is a building that's the wrong colour, the wrong size and in the wrong place. It was in effect money in the bank for Manchester City Council to enable them to burden Piccadilly Gardens with a stupid concrete wall and a lumpy clumsy fountain that didn't even have the good grace to function properly.

The building is about to change. Planning has been given to block up the walkway through the building to prevent anti-social behaviour and give the place a new entrance. There'll be a roof garden too. Apparently the restaurants on each side of the walkway aren't happy.

This might be an improvement but the big problem is this. The building remains the wrong colour, the wrong size and in the wrong place.

Screenshot 2026 06 04 141159 — **The plans for One Piccadilly** Credit: Planning documents

Piccadilly good news

The public consultation on the plans for improving Piccadilly Gardens will begin on 15 June. Oddly this is the thirtieth anniversary of the IRA bomb which wrecked so much of the retail area of the city and injured more than 200 people. The wrecking of Piccadilly Gardens has not needed bombs. Anyway let's hope the new ideas from designers Planit will radically improve the place. Given there's to be new and increased police provision, here's hoping.

Fruity times in the bed and a weird place in which to eat molluscs

As pointed out in the last roundup Manchester City Council has had many successes but like any large bureaucracy there are moments of sheer nonsense. In that roundup I revealed there was a weekly ‘Well-being tip’ sent to staff. The latest tip was: 'Bring fruit to work. Bring fruit to bed.'

Presumably not a watermelon.

I was in Bath last week and was looking for somewhere to take lunch. I had a hankering, as one does, for escargot. I love snails and their earthy flavour. So I asked a question of Google AI but didn't phrase it correctly. I asked: 'Is it possible to eat snails in Bath?' I should have written the City of Bath. The answer I received is below. Ask a stupid question and....

**I won't be taking escargot to bed** Credit: Jonathan Schofield

Upcoming tours of Manchester and area

Saturday 20 June

10.30am EXCLUSIVE: Salford Lads Club Tour
(plus Middlewood Locks and Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal). The finest and last lads' club in the country with stunning interiors and moving stories.

Sunday 21 June

11am The Secrets of Chorlton: The Surprising Manchester Series. From a hamlet on a road to nowhere to desirable suburb the story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a fascinating tale of people, places and events. This tour will explore the characters that inhabited the suburb, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Wednesday 24 June

6pm EXCLUSIVE: Jewels in the Crown - the Oxford Road tour. Interior visits to superb buildings old and so brand new the polish still shows through. Some of these places will make your jaw drop. There are wonderful stories of truly world-changing importance.

Sunday 28 June

11am Exclusive: Ruined St Luke’s Church, Cheetham Hill, a very special tour for 2026. Imagine this as a tour. A ruined church, an overgrown graveyard, a gloomy crypt. There will be music and projections. This will be special, this will be spectacular. In association with the North West Heritage Trust.

Every Saturday at 1pm

The Saturday Walkabout Series The Manchester Music Walkabout 1pm every Saturday; The Manchester Pub Walkabout 3pm every Saturday. Total entertainment, brilliant stories, great fun.

All the tours are available as private or corporate tours. Tours can be customised to fit exactly the client's needs.

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