The Mancunian Way: ‘Sword of Damocles’

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Last October Rochdale declared a housing emergency. At the time almost 10,000 households were on the waiting list for social housing.

Yet on a landmark estate in the centre of town almost 400 flats stand empty. In fact the occupants were paid to leave.

What exactly is going on with the Seven Sisters? Here Stephen Topping and Tom George attempt to answer a question that, as one tenant put it, has been hanging over the estate like the ‘sword of Damocles’.

Four of the Seven Sisters tower blocks were first earmarked for demolition in 2016, with landlord Rochdale Boroughwide Housing later announcing plans they would make way for 120 new homes. Campaigners and councillors spent years challenging the project - while thousands were spent by RBH paying people to leave.

But in a new era for RBH, ushered in with the landlord facing mounting pressure following the death of Awaab Ishak, priorities for the estate switched. The M.E.N revealed last June that the tower blocks could be saved from the bulldozer, before RBH said all 700 apartments could be brought back into use.

Yet 12 months on, the tenants who remain are still stuck in limbo, surrounded by hundreds of empty homes. “We don't know what is happening and until they say they've got the funding in place, there's still the possibility of the demolition of these buildings,” tenant and campaigner Mark Slater said.

“That's the worst case scenario and I don't think anybody wants to talk about that. We've had the sword of Damocles hanging over us since 2017 when they suggested this. Until there's a definitive decision, we are in the same place."

Policing’s Walter Mitty

When Andy Burnham was looking for someone to revive the shambles that was Greater Manchester Police in early 2021, among the names being talked up inside the force was Nick Adderley. He was considered a bit of a maverick, a Manchester lad who led from the front and - more than that - a Falklands war hero.

In the end, to the surprise of those inside GMP who championed his cause, he didn't put his name forward despite his high stock in police circles for the way he responded to the murders of two officers while he was a chief superintendent on the Tameside division. Instead, Stephen Watson was appointed and Burnham could be forgiven for thinking the absence of Adderley on the shortlist was a massive stroke of fortune.

That’s because Adderley's reputation now lies in tatters, exposed as a liar who exaggerated his naval rank and achievements in his successful application to become the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police.

Last week he was dismissed for gross misconduct after a hearing was told he had 'built a military naval legend that wasn’t true', including implying that he had served in the Falklands War, despite being 15 when the conflict broke out in 1982. Here crime reporter John Scheerhout charts the spectacular rise and fall of policing’s ‘Walter Mitty’

‘It brought me immense joy’

A Second World War veteran said he was 'overwhelmed' after receiving more than 400 cards for his 101st birthday. The vast majority were from complete strangers - and Joe Jervis said the touching gesture 'brought me immense joy'.

Well-wishers in their hundreds answered a call to celebrate Joe as he turned 101 earlier this month.

Joe, an aircraft engineer who serviced fighter planes at airfields across the UK during the war, has lived at Broughton House Veteran Care Village in Salford since April and to mark the birthday milestone, a huge party was thrown in his honour. Paul Britton has more here…

£1 picnic

The school holidays can be an expensive time for parents. But if you’re looking for a day-out that won’t break the bank, then Victoria Baths might have the answer.

The Grade II-listed swimming pool is hosting its annual £1 picnic on Wednesday August 14 from noon until 3pm.The family friendly extravaganza has become a highlight on the Victoria Baths’ calendar, with picnicers filling the space with their own colourful blankets and cushions.

There will also be a range of traditional lawn games, a craft area, building trail and 'Little Zone', a dedicated area for smaller adventurers to play with toys, books, and mini kitchen. More here

Going underground

Last week we reported how kayakers were being given the chance to paddle through Standedge Tunnel. Now nostalgia writer Lee Grimsditch looks back at the eerie tales of Satanic rituals taking place in the underground passages on the edge of Greater Manchester.

“Back in the 1980s, the tunnels were the subject of rumours concerning occult or 'Satanic' activities,” writes Lee. “Two headlines in the Huddersfield Examiner on May 31 and June 3, 1980 fuelled fears that black magic rituals had taken place in one of the unused railway tunnels.

“The first story, entitled 'Black Magic in the Valley?' detailed how workmen found "two sheep's heads and strange painted symbols" about one and a half miles from the tunnel entrance.” You can read more of the ghoulish goings-on here…

Weather etc

Wednesday: Sunny intervals changing to cloudy by lunchtime, 26C.

Roadworks: London Road at Piccadilly is closed due to roadworks from Store Street to Granby Row until July 9.

Manchester headlines

Body found: A body has been found in Manchester by police searching for a missing man, it was confirmed today. Joseph Weech, 25, was reported as missing from the Bierley area of Bradford at around lunchtime on Saturday. West Yorkshire Police said at the time they were concerned for his welfare. More here

Stabbed: A man was stabbed and another suffered 'superficial injuries' following reports of a group of men fighting in Mesnes Park in Wigan town centre. Police said a man in his 20s was found with stab injuries to his shoulder. Read more

Shooting arrest: A 70 year-old man was arrested after police called to reports of gunshots found an injured pigeon in a garden in Bolton. The pensioner, who hasn't been named, was held at a 'nearby address' and was questioned by officers on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

Worth a read

You might not have heard of the name Jamie Nicholson, but for many he was one of the great unsung heroes of 1980s Manchester music. From his home-made studio in a converted council flat in Hulme Crescents he helped countless bands take their first steps into the music industry.

Then, The Kitchen, as it was known, took on a second life becoming an underground after-hours club during the height of Acid House. Following Jamie’s death, aged 60, friends and family look back on his life and influence on our city.