g7uk » manchester city council

Interview with Julia Grant (video)

GS — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:47:54 +0000

A 70-minute interview with legendary Manchester gay village business woman Julia Grant.

A decade ago, Julia Grant was one of the best-known business owners in Manchester’s gay village and an outspoken voice in both the LGBT and mainstream media.

After Mardi Gras 1999 raised nothing at all for good causes, she ran the successful and free-to-enter GayFest for two years. But, some people — including local councillors and Manchester City Council — weren’t happy at all.

Unexpectedly, in 2002, Julia sold Hollywood Showbar and her other businesses and left. Despite rumours and malicious gossip since then, she didn’t speak out in public.

Now, in this exclusive interview Julia Grant reveals the LGBT history that you won’t see at the current Manchester Pride exhibition at The Lowry gallery. Plus she recalls the events that drove her out of the city.

This was recorded on 10 July 2011 during the Sparkle weekend.

Note: eventually, when time allows, archive photos, video and other media will be added to this interview.

A Freedom of Information request reveals how much Manchester City Council gives to, and charges, Manchester Pride

GS — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 07:42:36 +0000

Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Year	Sponsorship provided by MCC which is ring-fenced for the Pride Parade only	Charges made and paid to MCC in respect of the overall Pride event including the Big Weekend
2005	£20,000	£13,600
2006	£25,000	£26,250
2007	£25,000	£32,620
2008	£27,500	£27,660
2009	£32,500 + £1425 specific to a Heritage Trail project	£28,500
2010	£32,500	£33,300
The sums paid to Manchester City Council do not include charges made by Greater Manchester Waste (now known as ENVIRONMENTS) for the removal of rubbish which is between £6000 and £9000 per annum. You can see full details of the FOI request here.

As you can see, even if we ignore the thousands of pounds that are charged for removal of rubbish, in four out of the last six years the City Council has clawed back in charges more than it gave the event.

It gives with one hand and gets the kudos for supporting the LGBT community, while taking with the other.

The City Council gave more than £2m towards the running costs of Manchester’s International Festival in 2007. The Festival was expected to bring in £32m of extra business to the city, while we’re told Pride brings in £22m of extra business some years.

And about £250,000 given for the Manchester Day Parade in 2011 (BBC).

Council plans to build stainless steel and glass ‘safety fence’ along Canal Street

GS — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:33:20 +0000

Perhaps you thought you’d seen every half-baked, damaging, badly-thought out planning decision that Manchester City Council could come up with or approve for the gay village area?

It allowed ugly modern buildings to go up next to Victorian warehouses on Canal Street, replaced the cast-iron bridge with a concrete one, gave the go ahead for a giant skyscraper that would overshadow the whole street and granted endless licences for bars. It allowed the gay village, which was once a safe space, to become a binge-drinking hellhole where people get murdered.

Well, if you thought you’d seen it all, think again, because the latest lunatic proposal will make you gasp…
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Drinking rules can be ‘relaxed’ for footballs fans but not for gay events

GS — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:56:19 +0000

For years the LGBT community has been told that one of the reasons why the gay village must be fenced off and ticket-only during Manchester Pride is due to the bylaws concerning public drinking.

Now, once again, that policy has been exposed for the fraud it always was.

Mysteries of Manchester City Council: part one in a series of ten billion billion

GS — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:32:25 +0000

Tenants of Manchester City Council have a 13-digit tenancy reference number. Until recently this could be keyed into the City Council website to make a rent payment or taken along to the payments counter at the town hall. However this was obviously MUCH too easy for everybody.

Save Manchester’s Lesbian and Gay Centre and community groups

GS — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 01:30:20 +0000

Just as Manchester Pride was about to start it emerged that Manchester City Council was apparently making plans to close down the Lesbian and Gay Centre.

Caribbean Carnival targeted with policing costs

GS — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:49:47 +0000

Since 2004 Manchester has had two Caribbean Carnivals. The one in July that has run for decades is now ignored by Manchester City Council. Go to the Council information centre and they will actually deny that there are two Caribbean Carnivals in Manchester each year.

Manchester’s Odeon cinema subjected to a damaging ‘systematic and methodical’ assault to prevent preservation

GS — Sat, 19 May 2007 16:18:37 +0000

Manchester’s former Odeon cinema, on Oxford Street, has been subjected to a ‘systematic and methodical’ assault to prevent it being preserved, according to the man who tried to save it.

Bye bye Operation Fundraiser

GS — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:38:27 +0000

The Manchester Pride website reports that Operation Fundraiser will be ‘will be hanging up its buckets’ this year.

The loss of more trees and historic buildings in Manchester city centre

GS — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:51:06 +0000

There has been a big drama lately about the area of land on the corner of Princess Street and Whitworth Street, which is just across the canal from the New Union pub in the gay village.