The £44.8 million deal secures Trinity Mirror’s dominance of the major local newspapers in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, North Wales and Cheshire, leaving the Oldham Evening Chronicle as the only major title in the region not under Trinity’s control. The move could also see the MEN, which itself had cut staff and closed regional offices last year, be moved out of the centre of Manchester to Trinity’s offices in Oldham with further job cuts feared.

The NUJ’s deputy general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, warned the deal “raises issues of editorial independence which should be of concern to government and community leaders as well as the media industry.”

Carolyn McCall, chief executive of Guardian Media Group, defended the sale of its regional titles on the grounds that they could no longer act as a “safety net” for the loss-making Guardian.

“Regional newspapers have been at the very sharp end of disruption from digital and for us it was a very small scale business,” argued McCall in a podcast interview, echoing the claim by pro-deregulation lobbying group the Local Media Alliance that the growth of digital media on the internet provides a quick and free alternative that print media struggle to match.

The Local Media Alliance, an association of seven of the largest media groups that collectively account for 72 per cent of the UK market, was recently joined by internet giant Google in calling for the relaxation of anti-monopoly legislation.

However, the NUJ contends the fall in demand is also due to a decline in the quality of local newspapers brought on by a business model focused on short-term shareholder profit. In a report to the Office of Fair Trading the NUJ criticised “the stripping of assets by the plcs, which have cut costs drastically to maintain profits and dividends and to meet their debts.”

The report claimed that as a result many local newspapers were unable to maintain in-depth coverage and investigative journalism, often relying on “barely-processed public relations material – in particular from the public sector.”

“They had no strategy for long-term growth and sustainability,” said Lawrence Shaw, deputy NUJ organiser for the north of England. “They don’t fully appreciate how journalism is an important side of the business and just expect it to write itself.”

Although four out of five adults still read a local newspaper, circulation has fallen by a fifth in the last decade while advertising funds have moved online. Recent years have seen a concentration of the UK’s regional media ownership by four large media corporations – Trinity Mirror, Newsquest, Johnstone Press and the Daily Mail and General Trust.

“With declining revenues and circulation, another round of consolidation is probably an inevitable strategy for the biggest groups,” predicted the former editor of the Trinity-owned Birmingham Post, Marc Reeves.

One possible consequence of the decline of local newspapers for local democracy was highlighted last January when the MEN Media Group-owned Salford Advertiser stopped delivering to certain Salford estates. An estimated two-thirds of Salford households lack the internet, effectively depriving some areas of any local coverage.

When pressed for an answer by the community organisation Salford Youth Council, the MEN admitted that it would only deliver to areas thought economically worthwhile and explained that “in order to remain in the marketplace and attractive to advertisers we alter the households that receive a home delivered free newspaper.”

The Office of Fair Trading has invited critics to make representations over the deal and the NUJ has made it clear it will be raising concerns. The sale is expected to be finalised on 31 March.

Richard Goulding

The long-term unemployed

Unemployed workers will be forced to enter into Work for your Benefit schemes, which are being trialled in Manchester from October 2010. Claimants will be forced to enter up to six month long work placements – which they have not chosen – in order to claim benefits.

Low-waged workers

The position of low-waged workers, who in the current economic climate are already struggling to stay in work, will also be affected by the schemes. As benefit claimants are put in placements where they are not paid, unemployed people could basically be used as cheap labour, undermining those in paid jobs and their working conditions. It could also lead to a loss of long-term contracted jobs. In New York, where the similar Workfare scheme was introduced, 30,000 union jobs were lost within the first few years.

Jobcentre workers

The Public and Commercial Services Union have been active in fighting the Welfare Reform Bill from the outset. Included in the Bill are suggestions for Jobcentres to move towards privatisation, and follow a model used by call centres.

This change has already resulted in less face to face interaction between Jobcentre workers and jobseekers. In Manchester, the local Disability Benefit Centre was closed in November 2009. Users must now call or go to Blackpool or Preston. Jobcentre workers have complained that they will no longer provide specialist support, and there have already been many job cuts. Outreach support for carers and pensioners has been taken away, though single parent advisors still exist.

Many people working for the Department of Work and Pensions already claim Income Support and the basic wage for a clerical assistant is only 24p above minimum wage. The Government has pledged to invest £15 million into private schemes, but only £3.5 million into Jobcentre run schemes.

Single parents

Single parents with a child aged 10 or above will be expected to attend workbased interviews, with benefits cut if they do not attend. Single parents are being moved from Income Support to Jobseekers Allowance – meaning if someone turns down a job offer or is deemed not to be making enough effort to seek work, their benefits will be cut under ‘sanctions’. The move is supposedly aimed at eradicating poverty. However, it does not address root problems such as insufficient affordable childcare and inflexible working hours.

At present, single parents are often better able to cope on benefits than if they were working and having to pay childcare costs. The English Collective of Prostitutes has warned they are expecting an increase in women entering sex work with the change in legislation. The age a child should be before a parent returns to work keeps falling; first from 16 to 12 and, since October 2009, to 10. From October 2010 it will be 7. On top of this, single mothers will be forced to register both parents’ names on the birth certificate, meaning that if a woman has been coerced or abused, she must still use the father’s name on official documentation.

Alcohol and drug dependents

Those with an alcohol or drug dependency, some of the most vulnerable in society, can be forced to comply with a treatment programme. Drug and alcohol abuse is already dealt with by the penal and health systems, and many have questioned whether extra pressure from the welfare system will actually help those in need.

There is also a suggestion that Jobcentre workers may be given access to police records, or be encouraged to probe into people’s personal lives. These ideas have been heavily criticised by Liberty, the civil rights campaign group. They worry that people who are in need of benefits may not claim them for fear of having to disclose a dependent.

Incapacity Benefit claimants

Incapacity Benefit is, in effect, being removed and replaced by Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Many concessions have been won on ESA by disabled rights campaigners but problems persist. A person’s ability to work is judged on physical capacity to perform daily tasks, but ESA does not fully take into account how this translates to a working environment.

Currently more than half of claimants claimin for ill health have mental health problems. It has been reported that the drive to get people off Incapacity Benefit and into work is making claimants more ill with stress. Conditions and sanctions can be put in place to try to force them into potentially unsuitable work. If they refuse their benefits could be cut. The system is so confusing that independent support groups have already appeared online.

At present it is still unclear who will be judging capacity to work, and it is possible that Jobcentre workers, who are untrained in mental health, will have to take on this responsibility.

For more coverage of the trial, see Patrick Smith’s article on how Jobseekers may be forced to work for as little as £1.27 per hour just to claim their benefits.

Dubstar, a.k.a. Jamal (Tachia Newall), is the arrogant hard boy of the estate and haunted by Ghost Boy, a local teenager who has been stabbed to death. Meanwhile, Dennis (Everal A. Walsh), another resident of the estate, is disillusioned with the level of crime around him. He decides to take the law into his own hands by dressing up as Flyman, a superhero responsible for clamping down on youth crime. The two characters repeatedly clash and eventually form an unlikely bond which unravels a secret that has serious consequences for both of them.

This is not piece of conventional theatre. For the audience there is no sitting back comfortably in the shadows: the house lights come up regularly for crowd participation and at times it feels more like a gig than a play. Dubstep, soul, reggage, and rap, among many other styles of music and dance, feature highly. However, it is the beatboxer, Hobbit, who steals the show. He not only provides the backing track to Jamal and Dennis’s musical numbers but also provides every sound affect. From doors slamming shut and pencils sketching to spliffs being sparked up and burnt down, every noise that comes out of the microphone is eerily believable.

Hobbit, with his cellist accompanist, is a permanent fixture on the stage. With the assistance of an eight-track to loop and layer their sound, the musical effects are pieced together in front of the audience; something which consistently proves more interesting than the scenes being acted out along side. There are both funny and gritty moments but, at over two and a half hours long, Ghost Boy is in need of an editor.

As the play drags on, all the punch brought to the stage by the beat boxing, puppetry and rapped lyrics is unfortunately lost in a succession of over-deliberated and over-explained scenes. The play is far too focused on the developing relationship between Jamal and Dennis to keep the momentum going. Despite the musical variety show put on for them, there are simply not enough characters or dimensions to the plot to keep the audience engaged throughout.

Lula Boardman

Ghost Boy is at Contact Theatre at 8pm every night until Saturday 13 March

According to the official communiques, both sides in the postal workers’ dispute are delighted with the complex deal that has been ironed out over the past weeks. The CWU is calling it a 6.9% pay rise over three years; the management is hailing the agreement as opening the way to “transformation” of the business. But before they vote for it, Royal Mail staff should read the small print of the 80-page document. I had the opportunity to pore over a leaked draft version, and in my view, whatever is being said about it by senior officials, this deal does not deliver.

Let me explain. There are two blocks of flats, with boxes in the hall, on my postal round. We deliver the mail to the boxes rather than to the flats: 12 boxes in each block. I usually drop the “door-to-door” off on a Monday, three items per household, 36 items to each block. This is the unaddressed mail, also known as “household” or “junk mail”. By the time I get back to the blocks on a Tuesday morning, both halls are swimming in the stuff. It’s all over the floor, pretty well all 72 items. People collect their mail in the evening, pick out the door-to-door and drop it on the floor. This is just one illustration of how much people dislike the stuff.

Currently, the cap on the number of door-to-door items is three per household. But with the ratification of the new agreement between the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and the Royal Mail, that cap will be lifted. The agreement doesn’t specify how many there could be. Six items, eight items, maybe more. It could be limitless.

Presently, we are paid per item, depending on the weight. We get a minimum of 1.67p per item, rising to 4.5p. This figure has stayed the same for the last 10 years. I have about 600 delivery points on my round, so at the minimum rate I currently take home about £30 for my door-to-door deliveries.

The new agreement will incorporate the door-to-door into our normal workload, so we will no longer be paid per item. Instead, we are to get a weekly supplement. According to my leaked copy of the agreement – now confirmed – that figure will be £20.60. That is inclusive of the early shift allowance, which is also due to be phased out. In other words, it’s a pay cut.

It’s even worse for part-timers. The figure is pro-rata. So a part-timer doing a four-hour duty will be getting £10.30, instead of the £30 he currently gets for taking out twice as much stuff, while at the same time receiving half the money of a full-timer doing exactly the same amount of work.

This is just one of the many benefits on offer in the new agreement, which has been reached after over three months of intensive negotiations between the CWU and Royal Mail. Other examples include longer Saturdays, traditionally a light day for Royal Mail employees so they can go home early and enjoy the vestiges of the weekend with their families. Along with later start times, due to be rolled out over the entire week, this will mean that some postal workers will still be out on the streets on a Saturday as late as 4pm. So much for the “family-friendly” policies the agreement also trumpets, or its commitment to reduction in stress and fatigue.

The clever thing about the agreement is that it disguises some of its worst aspects in a language that is so dense and impenetrable that it is difficult, at first, to know what it means. Take this, for instance:

“Royal Mail and CWU agree that the length of delivery span can be an enabler in bringing about mutual benefits. From now on, within the process of duty revision negotiations, spans must be looked at in the context of an enabler rather than a fixed amount of time to be aimed at.”

It takes a certain amount of literary interpretation to grasp that what that means is longer delivery spans. Again, the agreement doesn’t specify how long. Current delivery spans are meant to be 3.5 hours – which usually mean between four and 4.5 hours – a period of time of intense physical activity that the former Royal Marine and British military fitness expert Tony Goddard described as “unreasonable” on a Panorama programme last year.

More time on duty and more weight to carry are just two of the results of this deal, and all for less pay. Also hidden away in its gothic density is a massive real-estate bonanza for the private sector, as delivery offices in prime city-centre locations become “rationalised”. It’s no wonder the negotiations have been kept strictly confidential.

The “sweetener” for this will be a lump sum of £1,000 – actually, just the yearly “colleague-share” bonus moved forward a month or two; again, pro-rata for part-timers. So a full-timer can vote away his part-time colleague’s wages for what amounts to a lump sum he was already due to receive anyway.

Reading the agreement, you get the feeling that its only real purpose has been to cement the union’s position in the workplace. In order to achieve this, the union has had to swallow its pride and assume the role of cheerleader for Royal Mail’s modernisation objectives.

“Modernisation” in this case is a euphemism. It means siphoning off profits to the private sector.

This article was originally posted on libcom.org, the original of which can be found here.

The film doesn’t focus on infamous and illusive street-art renegade Banksy but around his number one fan, the compulsive and entirely mental Thierry Guetta. Thierry, a mutton-chopped Frenchman, has spent his life capturing every moment on film. His tapes are stashed away in a cavernous room of towering plastic boxes filled with thousands of un-watched and un-labelled reels. Claiming he is making a documentary, Thierry falls in with the street-art community and cuts his teeth filming big-name artists Shepard Fairey and Invader. Joining them on their late night excursions with gallon tins of paint and extendable ladders he endears himself to the community. Eventually, he sets his sights on a bigger fish and is ecstatic when he gets the opportunity to film Banksy at work.

Banksy maintains his international man of mystery persona, speaking out from an oversized shadowy hood in a distorted, Exorcist of the West-Country voice. Shocked at the amateur documentary that fraudster film-maker Guetta finally produces, Banksy innocently encourages the hare-brained Thierry to leave the footage with him and concentrate on putting on his own art show. Thierry, in megalomaniac style, puts on the most outrageously bombastic rip-off art show ever to grace LA.

The gallery space is literally jam-packed with Banksy, Warhol and Pollock counterfeits. The media is taken in, the hype whipped up to frenzied levels and Thierry, now preferring “Mr Brainwash”, begins to sell, sell, and sell his uninspired artworks for extortionate fees. The arty set that gracefully mill around Mr Brainwash’s exhibition seem accepting of his wholly unoriginal style. They are either so cool, switched on and post-modernly ironic that they play along with the spoof, or are revealed as easily duped, un-critical pawns in the sweaty manipulative palm of the media. The result is both ridiculous and hilarious.

Although the film has been labelled a spoof, it is still peppered with precious footage of street-art heroes at work and exclusive footage of Banksy’s first LA show complete with painted elephant. His famous, risqué Disney Land prank is also shown at close range and spoken about by the artist himself.

The film may be best viewed as a light-hearted documentary that offers genuinely valuable first-hand footage of usually temporary street-art being created. Just don’t expect to leave the cinema with any answers.

Rachel Jackson

Exit Through the Giftshop is out now and showing at Cornerhouse cinema
Running time: 86 mins
UK Certificate: 15

The plans have greatly angered parents and pupils from both schools and the opposition has been growing at a rapid rate. The plans for the merger are linked to Tesco’s proposal for a 166,847 sq ft megastore, which is intended to be built on some of the land from Stretford High.

The Council, who support Tesco’s plans, says it will raise £21 million from the sale of the land and put the money towards the regeneration of Lancashire County Cricket Club. The application will be discussed in a planning meeting scheduled for March 11.

Hundreds of parents and pupils from both schools have rallied together to oppose the proposed school merger. Two Facebook groups have been set up attracting hundreds of members, and an online petition to Downing Street is fast approaching 300 signatures. The campaigners have also garnered the support of the National Union of Teachers and the Anti Academies Alliance.

Many believe the Council’s LCCC regeneration scheme is the main driving force behind the merger.

“The development of the Academy proposal has undermined the democratic process,” says Dave Kitchen, NASUWT Secretary for Trafford, “It seems the main motivation is more to do with a land deal and not necessarily the education of the children in the Lostock and Stretford communities.”

Angela Kennedy, a parent of a Lostock College pupil, says parents are annoyed that the proceeds from the sale of public schools could effectively be going towards a private members club.

“We have been working against the clock to form an organised opposition as this plan is being pushed through at a rate of knots. We are not political animals, we are just parents who want the best for our children,” she explains.

Parents are also concerned because, regardless of the outcome of their campaign, they fear the damage has already been done. They claim teachers are understandably worried about their jobs, and that both they and pupils are being distracted by the uncertainty surrounding their futures.

The Department of Education has approved the sale of the school land to Tesco, although local Labour councillors are against it. David Acton, Labour’s leader on the Tory-controlled Trafford Council, echoes the views of campaigners and is convinced the plans are not in the public interest.

Local residents and traders have also been vocal in their opposition to the plans. The No Mega Tesco campaign say that while they support the redevelopment of the cricket ground, a massive supermarket would have a detrimental effect on local trade.

The Council maintains the reason behind the merger is falling pupil numbers at Lostock College, which it claims is making the institution financially and educationally unviable. Pupil numbers declined from 648 to 371 between the 2001/2 and 2008/9 academic years. The current total is 318, but some parents believe this has been partly fuelled by the long-running rumours of closure.

Parents remain determined to intercept the Academy plan and have scheduled a public meeting this evening (8 March) at 7pm at Lostock College, and are planning a demonstration at the Town Hall.

Join the Facebook group for more campaign details here

Imali Hettiarachchi

To read more about academy schools in Manchester, and the criticisms levelled against them, see this article by MULE’s Tim Hunt.

Below minimum wage

From October Jobseekers who have failed to find a job at the end of the Flexible New Deal programme will be required to undertake full time employment for between £50 and £65 a week, the equivalent of as little as £1.27 an hour. Concerns have already been raised that, with the numbers of unemployed rising, people who genuinely cannot find a job will be forced to work for next to nothing in an unsuitable role.

Alex Halligan from Salford Unemployed Workers’ Union said, “It’s disgusting that they’ve chosen to trial this in an area with such high unemployment. This scheme is a further attack on the right of people who can’t find work to get the support they need.” Those who opposed the scheme say that it fails to take into account personal circumstances or the condition of the economy.

WfYB is being introduced as part of the government’s wide-ranging reform of the welfare system. Other elements include lowering the age up to which parents can claim child support and measures to force more people off incapacity benefits.

Workers wages could fall by 12 per cent

Some suggest that the scheme will affect the working population as well as those claiming benefits. “This flood of unwaged labour into the market will have a big effect on low waged jobs. When a similar scheme was introduced in the US there was a 12 per cent decline in pay for low-income jobs,” Rebecca Galbraith from ‘No to Welfare Abolition’ told MULE.

Commenting on the fact that private companies rather than Jobcentres will be running the WfYB programme, she added, “Whoever runs this scheme it will be a disaster, but private companies can set arbitrary targets and are much less accountable.”

Businesses will be paid for each person they get into a work placement. This has raised fears companies might ignore difficult cases or put people into unsuitable positions just to receive the commission.

Labour MP John McDonnell placed a parliamentary question in December regarding the employment rights that participants in the scheme will be entitled to. He is concerned that, since they will not be technically employed, those taking part may be put in danger as they may not be covered by health and safety legislation.

Charities set to lose out

Charities and social institutions that rely on volunteers, many of whom are also Jobseekers, have expressed concerns that WfYB will take these people out of important roles and put them into positions that have no benefit to the community.

“The government does not care that many ‘claimants’ are not actually idle and do a lot of unpaid work like caring for others. Real voluntary activities will suffer if people are kicked into work schemes under this pilot,” said Mike from No to Welfare Abolition.

Alongside the WfYB scheme an alternative Jobcentre Plus regime will be trialled, designed to offer Jobseekers increased adviser contact and access to a personal support fund. This trial will receive just £3.5 million of funding whereas the WfYB programme will receive £15 million, raising questions over the government’s priorities.

Uncertainty

Tenders for the running of the scheme have been submitted and will be allocated in April. It remains to be seen which employers will be taking advantage of the cheap labour, or the kinds of jobs people will be expected to do.

Patrick Smith

MULE: When were you released?

LB: I left Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre in London on Friday 8 January. I was told by my solicitor I would be released on the Monday but I kept waiting – they said that there was too much snow: for Health and Safety reasons I couldn’t travel. Then they just gave me a train ticket to take me to Manchester. I arrived after 11pm. I stayed with friends because we have not had a house since December.

MULE: What has happened since then?

LB: At first I rested – I was so exhausted. Then I went to Refugee Action because I am entitled to housing support now my fresh claim is being processed. But NASS (National Asylum Support Service), kept turning me down. When I went to sign at Dallas Court in Salford I was told that the papers confirming my housing entitlement had been sent to Liverpool! Finally NASS gave us temporary accommodation, but in Liverpool. We eventually moved back to Manchester on Monday 8 February.

MULE: Were you aware of the campaign to support you while you were in detention?

LB: I was very aware. So many people were calling me and a woman from Yarl’s Wood Befrienders Group – which supports asylum seekers there – printed off news reports and showed me. Before that the BBC had covered the vigil held for me in Manchester. People who didn’t know I was detained started calling me. I need to thank everyone who supported me and gave me courage.

MULE: What was detention like?

LB: I was hoping to come out before Christmas because the first days were terrible. The place is not bad – they give you food. You follow a programme, always showing your IDs and under control. I realised there that you have nothing if you don’t have your freedom. I made friends in there and I communicate with other detainees still inside: some others have been released; some taken away. It is a strange place; it is so rare to find a smiling face. I saw intensive religion in there – too much. You cope because you keep hoping, but the stress has caused discolouration of my skin; made me sick.

MULE: What’s next for you?

LB: I started writing another play inside – about detention. I think that there is a lot unknown about it. I have been through it all: claimed; rejected and on vouchers; detained and now back at the start with a fresh claim. Maybe I will have to go to court; to give a witness statement again, but it will be assessed on two models: new claim and claim resolution.

MULE: How do you feel now?

LB: I feel tired but relieved. I know that I have a big battle ahead of me and that I must always consider what may happen next because I don’t want to go to that place again; I fear it. Today I was at the reporting centre and they said, you don’t need to sign – but I insisted! I do not want them to say, “she is not complying”. I do not trust what they say. But I will keep fighting until I get the good news.

MULE reported on Lydia’s and husband Bernard’s deportation order, her arrest at Dallas Court and her release from Yarl’s Wood where she was held in detention.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of public money has been pouring into regeneration sites around the country, many of which had stalled as investors and developers had sat on their hands waiting for the economy to pick up again. That the industry’s showed a “tremendous response” to government plans to give over £1 billion is hardly shocking.

Compared to bankers’ bonuses there’s been little scrutiny of the vast sums going into these projects. A little surprising, considering how bound up the financial crisis was with the property market.

The other bailout

In December, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) published the list of schemes awarded funds from the first round of the Government’s Kickstart programme. It totalled £360 million for 136 projects, 22 of these were in the Northwest, receiving over £48 million between them.

Despite repeated requests for clarification, the HCA failed to explain to MULE why a grant of £9.4 million to The Maine Place, the City Council’s high profile regeneration project on the site of the old Maine Road stadium, was not mentioned in their December announcement. The allocation, given in October, is the largest to date in the Northwest.

MULE reported on this stalled project early last year, which the Council awarded to Lowry Homes in 2004. Back in March neither the Council nor the developer were willing to comment on the situation. Only one local councillor replied to our questions, to say she was “not up to scratch” on the matter. Moss Care Housing Association, who run the HomeBuy (shared-equity) scheme for The Maine Place, were also unable to enlighten us.

Shared-equity housing allows low-income buyers the chance to buy part of a property and pay rent on the rest, which is owned by the developer or local housing association, who are in turn funded by the Government. Housing associations are bracing themselves for deep cuts after the General Election, regardless of who gets in. This presumably means leaving more affordable housing in the hands of the developers.

60 of the 477 new homes in the Maine Place are supposed to be part this HomeBuy initiative. Locals worried from the start that this was too few. At the time of writing, of the nine properties currently advertised on Lowry’s website, the cheapest are three-bedroom homes at £162,950.

Residents were unsurprisingly annoyed by the lack of progress and information. “There has been no contact at all from either the Council or Lowry,” said one, before continuing, “we wanted local people to be involved in the construction of the new homes, but this doesn’t appear to be the case.”

Others are equally frustrated. Jenny Weeks put a £3,750 deposit on a house in February 2008 and was told she could move in the following August, when the first phase would be completed. Still waiting to move in, she told the MEN in November: “I am close to tears every time I speak to Lowry. I feel let down, angry and stressed. We never got anything from Lowry telling us what was going on, they just kept putting it back and back.”

With building work ongoing, Lowry now claims the phase will be finished in March. Meanwhile, the developer is on the shortlist for Kickstart Round Two funding for four more projects in the Northwest and Yorkshire.

Looking East

The high profile schemes of east Manchester have fared no better in the recession. Out of a number of applications for Kickstart, four developments received funds. Gleeson Regeneration earned itself £1.09 million for 52 properties on its City East Phase 1 development in Beswick, and is on the Round Two shortlist for its other Manchester project, Grove Village on Stockport Road, where it is building one and two bedroom homes.

Countryside Properties was awarded £1.29 million to build 62 houses at Spinning Vale in Gorton. Countryside was given nearly £28 million in the first round for schemes around the country. Hopefully CEO Graham Cherry’s statement that his company’s homes “represent excellent value for money” holds true. It has two more on the shortlist for Round Two.

Northern Group, the Manchester-based (but Zurich-registered) company, won £1.76 million for its Ice Plant development, part of the flagship Ancoats Urban Village regeneration. Of the 82 homes to be built on Blossom Street, which were supposed to be ready by spring, none are to be HomeBuy or social housing.

Artisan accounting

Also part of Ancoats Urban Village is the Artisan Ship Canal Development. Artisan Ship Canal is a partnership between Manchester City Council, Artisan Holdings and Peel Land and Property. The scheme gained £4.93 million from Round One for ‘Advent Phase 5’, which involves the building of 108 houses and flats. Again, there are no HomeBuy or social rent properties planned.

Peel have had a rough time during the recession – according to Crain’s Manchester Business, £740 million have been wiped off their assets. Peel Airports are losing money (like most airports at the moment), and the group have over a million square feet of empty properties, yet the £4.5 billion giant seems to be struggling on.

Artisan has also faced financial difficulties. Chair and Chief Exec Carol Ainscow put ACG North, a subsidiary of Artisan Construction Group, into voluntary liquidation at the end of 2008, after three directors (including Ainscow) had resigned in less than six months. The move stalled several developments.

In January Crain’s reported that ACG North owed £9 million to 200 creditors, who called in insolvency practitioner Gerald Krasner to investigate whether the group had been trading for over a year and a half while insolvent. At a creditors’ meeting in Stockport, Krasner highlighted accounts from June 2007 apparently showing £10.2 million debt owed to ACG by a “subsidiary undertaking”, which the ACG Managing Director explained to be “inter-company invoicing”. Krasner went on to question how all of ACG North’s assets were owned by other parts of Artisan Holdings.

CEO Ainscow was dismissive of Crain’s report, however, telling MULE: “Artisan were perplexed with the content, particularly the slant and inaccuracies.

“Artisan is fairing well in the present market conditions. The Advent development is progressing since the award of Kickstart funding. Contractors are currently being interviewed for a prompt start on site.”

This raised more questions than answers, but no further responses have been forthcoming. Repeated attempts to contact other parties have also failed. Through a number of dead email addresses for press officers at the Council dealing with Artisan Ship, eventually someone from New East Manchester “asked around the team” for us, but concluded “we can’t help unfortunately.”

Clearly it is very difficult to find out what’s going on in regeneration projects around the city, for journalists as well as local residents. Perhaps there’s nothing to hide. But public money is endlessly streaming into these private developers – companies which are not required to build extra affordable housing, despite taxpayers bailing them out. Instead, these companies, many based in offshore tax havens, continue building more yuppie flats and enjoying the profits.

Residents, who may have seen their homes demolished following a compulsory purchase order, are often unable to return after being priced out of the market. Still, they should still be thankful the area is being ‘regenerated’.

Andy Lockhart

The dispute relates to changes in redundancy terms and working hours with Jobcentre staff, Coastguards, UK Border Agency officials, court staff and driving test examiners all affected. 64.3 per cent of members balloted by the union voted in favour of strike action, 81.4 per cent supported a ban on overtime.

If the proposed changes are enforced staff could face losses of up to a third of their current entitlements. There are also concerns that the changes could pave the way for tens of thousands of quick-and-easy job losses in a sector where job security is already waning.

General Secretary of PCS, Mark Serwotka, wrote on the union website: “We have suggested ways in which the government can make these savings whilst protecting the rights of existing members, yet it seems intent on penalising the people who keep this country running. With civil and public service jobs increasingly at risk, this is a cynical attempt to cut jobs on the cheap which will ultimately damage the services we all rely on.”

Joe Beech