Cadishead Acidheads

Channel M on Roger Jones

2008-05-07T09:28:00.001+01:00

Channel M news feature on May local elections

Investors' revolt on INS takeover

2007-05-15T09:11:00.000+01:00

Babcock's proposed takeover of INS has hit a snag. This is about as dramatic as it gets in the world of corporate takeovers.

Source: Investors' revolt on INS takeover - Business - News - Manchester Evening News

The American Thinker

2006-10-17T13:10:00.000+01:00

The American Thinker: "Irlam"

Opal powers a telecom revolution

2006-06-12T09:12:00.000+01:00

Opal were founded in 1995 and employ some 200 people at the Irlam site. The company is perhaps best described as providing support services to other SMEs in the field of telecommuncations, although Opal did strike a major deal with Carphone Warehouse to provide the necessary support infrastructure for their Talk Talk network. This deal has proved ultra-successful enabling Opal to expand in-situ through the development of their engineering centre on the Northbank industrial estate.

Security guard admits killing prostitute

2005-12-09T10:17:00.000Z

Its always the quiet ones. Security guards in the 21st century have become what lorry drivers were to the 1970s.

£22m repair bill to end tripping claims

2005-12-08T00:59:00.000Z

Along with dole spongers and its PC gone mad, compensation culture has become a firm fixture of British society. Funny how a lot of people complain about folk who apparently get something for nothing, another British trait,whereas lottert winners are celebrated (unless they are convicts). At least some of these people must have been injured to warrant compensation in the first place. Perhaps its all down to people lacking a sense of ontological security in the post 9/11 world. Pavements, spongers, compensation culture seem to have become risks that individuals and local government mush deal with or else face the consequences. I wonder what Ulrich Beck's stance is on pavements? Though I never really thought about the geography of pavements before as spaces of contestation. When I was in New Orleans in 2003, our tour guide pointed out the state of the pavements, which the city authorities could no longer maintain due to budget cuts. The only blocks with decent pavements were ones where private businesses and residents had paid for repairs themselves. I wonder what happened to the pavements during and after Hurricane Katrina.

Salford Advertiser - Controversial anti-gangs scheme to be extended

2005-12-03T10:47:00.000Z

When I arrived at the decrepit Irlam Station the other day on my way to work I noticed a plastic notice with a map which had been attached with string to the railings at the entrance. The notice detailed the boundaries and police powers within Irlam and Cadishead. Under the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act the police have powers of dispersal within the designated area. They also have the power to ask anyone who doesn't live in the area to leave and not return for at least 24 hours. So much for the Freedom of Association then. To what extent the police are going to use these power is so far unclear, although I wasn't aware that Irlam and Cadishead was a hotbed of criminal gangs marauding around the streets. I can probably understand the concerns of residents pestered by the nuisance of having a large number of youths hanging around bus-stops, but does this really require a fundamental re-drawing of civil liberties? This seems like a reaction to the hoodie threat, but where does New Labour's passion for bodily control and regulation end? And what exactly are these groups of up to 20? Does this mean the police can stop and disperse a football match on the park? Does this give the police the power to stop political demonstrations, such as the recent action against the Caterpillar coroporation? Would the strike action of the 1970s which followed the announcement of the closure of the local steelworks rendered the participants as criminal offenders, had the ASBO been in force back then? If I have a BBQ and one my neighnbours objects does this mean the police can turn up disperse the party members and then threaten my friends and family who don't live in Irlam with criminal prosecution if they return to the area within 24 hours? Are the police going to erect barricades and passport control points to ensure these no-gooders return? Greater Mancheste Police has served more ASBOs than any other police force in the country, such is their relish for control. ASBOs have been served on children as young as 3 and 4 for playing football in the street. And so goes on this culture of intollerance and punishment. Included in recent Panorama documentary on BBC1 was the case of a child with bevhaviourial problems served with an ASBO. His mother quite righly pointed out the Kafka-esque logic behind this - "my child has medical behaviourial problems, but they served him with a behaviour notice - of course he is not going to able to comply with the order". How is it we are so keen nowadays to punish and criminalise the weak and marginalised in our society? Why not help them?

Salford Advertiser - Controversial anti-gangs scheme to be extended

2005-11-29T06:40:00.000Z

Packaging & Converting Essentials

2005-11-29T06:39:00.000Z

Packaging & Converting Essentials

I love stories like this as it partly confirms the transition to post-fordist regime of accumulation. Bar-coding is an essential element of a flexible manufacturing system. The bar-codes can be scanned at different points in the production and distribution process, each time triggering a kanban signal to the relevant unit of the manufacturing system. This innovative technology therefore should enable Kingsland to reliably monitor a single item throughout its journey through the blending, shipping, bottling, warehousing and distribution centres onto the shelves of supermarkets and off-licenses. Kingsland also produces its own labels, such as, the "award-winning" Southern Star range of Australian wines, Tierra del Rey and Hair of the Dingo.

Kingland itself has been through considerable change since it was orginally part of the Co-operative movement some 40 years ago. In 2001 the company was subject to a £14m management buy-out. In 2002 the company moved into a new 40,000 sq ft warehouse. This year the company was subject to another management buy-out only 4 years after being purchased by its previous management. This deal was backed by the wonderful people of Tenon Corporate Finance

And no wonder because Kingsland is the UK's largest indepedent bottler of wine offering "a complete solution from vine to shelf", although I don't recall there being many vineyards in Irlam. Maybe global warming will enable Kingsland to eventually consolidate their operation in one location! In 2004 the company achieved a turnover of £120m and employs 250 people.

Kingsland operate in a growing market. The UK is the largest importer of wine in the world (not surprising since British wine is so bad), plus the liberalisation of the licensing laws is likely to provide Kingsland with new market opportunties. Kingsland also won a contract recently with Tesco to import six varieties of wines from five different countries and to organise the bottling for their Unwind label, which has screw-caps rather than the traditional cork.

So from their cosy location at the bottom of Fairhills Road, closes to the banks of the ship canal, Irlam is connected into a global production network encompassing South Africa, Chile, Australia, France and Italy.

Sources of information:

http://www.cobbetts.co.uk/

http://www.ukbusinesspark.co.uk/

http://www.themanufacturer.com/uk/

Salford Advertiser - Legion ban widows from xmas party

2005-11-19T01:07:00.000Z

I am amazed by the lack of festive cheer displayed here by the British Legion. The Legion itself is dying out as it membership ages and passes away. Over the years it has become an essential part of community life in Britain, but now it seems that certain members don't want to be part of the community, and want to turn their back on it. Its not often said, but there has always been a mysognistic streak to the Legion. Its attitude to women is somewhat ambivalent, with women accepted as servants, but not members or customers. You would think that as the Legion dies out it would want to embrace women. The role of women, particularlty in the World Wars is often over-looked. Perhaps their is time to introduce a pink poppy and maybe service women should set up their Legion, and ban the type of ban narrow-minded oafs who seem to currently run the Legion.

Home front paying off for RTS

2005-09-28T23:11:00.000+01:00

Home front paying off for RTS

Police 'too busy' for 999 robbery call

2005-09-20T22:10:00.000+01:00

Police 'too busy' for 999 robbery call

Money Plans - Millionaire helps out unlucky gambler : Onlypunjab.comTeam-

2005-06-06T10:29:00.000+01:00

Money Plans - Millionaire helps out unlucky gambler : Onlypunjab.comTeam-

News

2005-05-28T21:15:00.000+01:00

News

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Woman Tells of Horrific Fire Engine Death Crash

2005-05-25T22:19:00.000+01:00

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Woman Tells of Horrific Fire Engine Death Crash

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Manchester | Fireman denies death crash charge

2005-05-24T21:25:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS | UK | England | Manchester | Fireman denies death crash charge

Helpless deer mutilated by gang of sick youths

2005-05-20T08:28:00.000+01:00

Helpless deer mutilated by gang of sick youths

News & Star

2005-05-15T03:51:00.000+01:00

News & Star

Gangster is finally caged

2005-05-06T00:38:00.000+01:00

Gangster is finally caged

Morson flying with jumbo deal

2005-05-02T19:54:00.000+01:00

Morson flying with jumbo deal

Queen rewards magnificent seven

2005-04-23T13:26:00.000+01:00

This is another interesting company. I have already on this blog site alluded to the potential of a high tech chemicals cluster emerging in Irlam. I wonder if Salford City Council has noticed this. Varn Products was formed in 1947 by Vincent Von Zwehl Sr. The company specialises in ink. There is some history to this in the area, for example, there was company called Azko Nobel located in Cadishead until recently. They relocated to Eccles and the site has now been redevelpoed as housing. Varn today is global corporation. The company was bought out in 1999 by Day International., which began life as the Dayton Rubber Company in Ohio. I understand it used to make garden hoses. This company has gone through several ownership changes, but essentially is a corporation dedicated to print technology in the textiles industry. People often assume that Manchester declined when the cotton industry declined. But cotton was just one sub-sector of a larger textiles industry. THe legacy continues, which may explain why Varn nee Day International are in Irlam.

Queen rewards magnificent seven

BELLACIAO - CATKILLER : Caterpillar workforce surprised by Israeli arms trade protest - Collective Bellaciao

2005-04-13T08:37:00.000+01:00

A fascinating aspect of globalisation is how connections between localities are rendered meaningful and interdependent. I am a big fan of Joe Sacco - a Maltese born journalist and cartoon artist, who illustrates his own travelogues from some of the world's most potent conflict points. He wrote an amazing comic book about Palestine, detailing the everyday life of a people living under occupation. It is one of the great ironies of the post-war period how the Israeli state treats the Palestinians, given the Nazi attrocities. Sacco reveals in poignant detail the realities of Palestinian life. I suppose it is very easy to dismiss this conflict as something distant and beyond our shores, but through our everday practices we may be conciously or unconciously contributing to global injustice. I like this news story therefore, because it represents a point of realisation for a group of people who hitherto were unaware of their culpability in global affairs. No way am I suggesting we should retreate from the world, rather we should confront these realities and become self-aware and self-critical. Possibly the world might be a better place as a consequence. Whose to say this change couldn't start in Irlam.

BELLACIAO - CATKILLER : Caterpillar workforce surprised by Israeli arms trade protest - Collective Bellaciao

Univar

2005-03-07T12:11:00.000Z

What connects localities into an intricate patterns of global interdependencies? Companies like Univar. Univar's "Cadishead terminal is a state-of-the-art facility offering bulk and drummed product storage for the solvents market. Operated by Chemitrade, Univar's specialist solvents provider, the site is a sea-fed multi-functional facility". Basically it imports and stores glue.

Univar are big players in the corporate world - manufacturing chemicals, coatings, inks, adhesives, food and forest products (?), waste management, pharmaceutical products etc. Established in 1924 by George Van Waters and Nat Rogers buying and selling mundane stuff such as paint in Seattle. The company was quaintly known as Van Waters & Rogers. In the 1950s Van Waters & Rogers acquired Braun-Knecht-Heiman and also expanded into Canada. During the 1960s the company merged with United-Pacific-Corporation to form VWR Pacific Corporation and then just Univar Corporation in 1973 (with Van Waters & Rogers continuing as a sub-division). In 1986 Dutch companyRoyal Parkhoed acquired a major chunk of Univar. Since then the two companies have become intertwined. Both companies' expansion has been mainly achieved through a series of corporate takeovers. For instance Univar established a European presence in 1991, buying a Swedish company with a distribution stretching across the UK and Scandanavia, whilst Royal Parkhoed expanded throughout Europe. in 1996 Royal Parkhoed finally purchased the rest of Univar - which explains why Univar is listed as a Dutch company on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange as UNIVR and the company's registered office is now in Rotterdam and not Seattle. Univar merged with its main rival, Royal Van Ommeren, in 1996 - producing yet another company birth - Royal Vopak. Royal Vopak decided to sell off its chemical distribution arm in 2002 which led to the restablishment of the Univar name and the creation of another independent company.

So from selling paint in the Pacific Northwest, the company now operates across 166 locations, has sales totalling $4.7 billion and employs about 7000 people world-wide. In the UK, Univar's main office is located in the Little Germany area of Bradford (Yorkshire), and operates 0ver 14 sites comprising over 32,500m2 of warehouse facilities and nearly 300 bulk storage tanks.

Why is the company is Cadishead? I would guess they use the Canal because they handle in bulk materials. Its probably best to import and export materials from as close to the source of their production and consumption as possible. Despite deindustrialisation, the North West remains a major industrial region, so I guess a lot of their customers are nearby. The Canal is becoming economically viable again, particuarly for the transportation of bulk materials - mainly because of rising fuel costs on the road. Much cheaper I guess to shift stuff down the canal rather than unload at Liverpool and use road and rail freight to get the stuff to their processing and storage plants. In 2004 the company Cordell was awarded a contract to undertake extensive civil, structural, piped services and electrical reconfiguration works at the Cadishead Terminal of Univar Solvent, in conjunction with the construction of the A57 Cadishead Way by-pass - employing 25 'men' (sic) over a 10 month period.

The company's growth and expansion has inter-locked with a varied and complex set of financial and geographical interpdependencies - but hybrid national and local identities. Just what is Univar - an American company, a Dutch company or something more than that?

Sources:

http://www.univarusa.com/

http://www.univar.co.uk/html/Locations/Cadishead

Bikers salute a fallen Angel

2005-03-02T22:50:00.000Z

This is a sad story, again highlighting the carnage that goes on the motorways which orbit Irlam and Cadishead. What I find interesting here is the international aspect of this story. Despite being a somewhat banal place, Cadishead is indeed connecting quite intricately to global social movement because of the Angels. I was once walking up the highstreet home and passing the clubhouse I encountered a bunch of Portuguese angels sipping tea outside. It does beg the question of what a truly cosmopolitan place is like, because the insitutions of local governance would have us believe that it only resides within the centre of the city. But maybe cosmopolitanism is more than having a few "ethnic restaurants" and nice art galleries. Too often cosmopolitanism is seen as a way of allowing the new middle classes to exericise their consumption preferences for the exotic in the city centre. The Hells Angels are far removed from this scence, but maybe are equally, if not more, transnational and exotic then our urban policy makers would believe. Why can't cosmopolitanism be located within spaces of working class culture?

Bikers salute a fallen Angel

Cadishead in the Black

2005-03-02T21:57:00.000Z

The link I got this press release from is now dead, so its a good job I kept a copy of it. Cleansing Services Group (or CSG Lanster) own a rather large 24 acre industrial plant which continues to dominate the landscape of Cadishead. The plant, known locally as the Tar Works, has had a long presences in the town, and is certainly an important source of local employment, but the relationship between the two is a fraught one. During the CB craze of the early 1980s, local radio hams referred to Cadishead as Smelly Town, a knickname derived from noxious tar smell which emanated from the plant. I remember from the early 1970s, some of the rusting green containers which make up most the site, exploding showering local neighbourhoods in tar, including houses in Partington across the Manchester Ship Canal. I remember playing in the back garden of some relative's house in Partington, whilst watching a serious fire at the Lanster plant. Various cousins and aunts rushed out to usher us back inside, with the warning "last time it went up tar hit the windows". However, I am not entirely sure that tar was ever produced there. I remember the tar smell, but for as long as I can remember the real function of the plant involves "processing bulk waste streams and the collection of packaged waste". Sorry I forgot to insert the word "hazardous" before bulk waste. Would you trust a company, which in its own press release refers to itself of Lanster, whereas everyone else, inlcuding Companies House, thinks its called Lanstar Ltd (of 30 Grange Road, Botley, Southampton).

Most local people would like to see the back of this eyesore I imagine. My hopes were raised when in the most recent Salford UDP, the site appeared to have a limited future. Salford City Council's vision was that the site would close and all contaminated materials removed. A new by-pass running through the site (now approaching completion) would open up access to the site to allow for subtantial residential development. But my hopes were then dashed by the press release from CSG announcing the plant, rather than face closure, was to "step up its processing of hazardous waste. Cadishead returns to the black!"

I love press releases. Especially when they come from private companies, because of the euphoric langauge they often use. For example, the prospect of more toxic waste coming to Cadishead actually represents "a turnaround in fortunes for the plant", although not necessarily for local residents. In addition "the site is unique in the processes it has to offers and would undoubtedly leave the North West in particular and the rest of the country without a 'Best Available Technology' (BAT) if it was to close. With the current Landfill Dirctive prohibiting liquids to land and pending enforcement regarding the ceasation of co-disposal in 2004, the Cadishead site will be in a unique commercial position". Fantastic.

It is good to know the plant will operate more efficiently and will be an exemplar of BAT. Hopefully the company will improve on its safety record, which in recent times has been somewhat patchy. For instance Lanstar Ltd (of 30 Grange Road, Botley, Southampton) have been found guilty of the following offences:

5.4. 2002. Failure to comply with condition 1.11 of Waste Management Licence number WM/0169/M11 contrary to Section 33 (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Fined £5,000.

Also on 5.4.2002. Lanstar (or Lanster) failed to comply with condition 1.16(c) of Waste Management Licence number WM/0169/M11 contrary to Section 33 (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Fined £7,500. Hmm, a bad day at the office perhaps, especially when you consider that on the same day they also were found guilty of failing to comply with condition 2.8 of Waste Management Licence number WM/0169/M11 contrary to Section 33 (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and fined a further £7,500.

Also on the 5 April 2002 the same company failed to comply with condition 2.12 of Waste Management Licence number WM/0169/M11 contrary to Section 33 (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Fined £10,000.

Basically this follows the accidental release of creosote and ammonium into the ground. I guess any run-off from the site would eventually end up in the Ship Canal, making a mockery of the celebrated campaign to clean up the Mersey Basin. Perhaps mutated wild fowl and fish can live creosote I don't know. I am not sure why creosote is even being manufactured, as only the most heartless homeowner would ever use to protect their fence panels, given that the stuff is lethal to most flora and fauna living in your garden. Despite efforts made by the company to clean up the spillage, safety inspectors still recorded high levels of chemicals up two weeks after the aformentioned clean up.

"Lanstar have six previous convictions for offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974".

Source: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/786992?lang=_e&region=North%20West

You would think these misdemeanours would have encouraged management to radically overhaul its health and safety procedures. Alas on the 25th May 2004, the company were fined a further £78,000 when a rusting tank at the plant accidentally released napthalene, creosote and ammonium into the environment. In additional the company was ordered to pay over £47,ooo in costs to the Environment Agency. When I say the site has rusting storage tanks, I am not kidding. These tanks have been around as long as I have, and they are noticably pitted and damaged. Despite warnings from the Environment Agency, the company has continued to store toxic waste in them, which is more horrific given their plans to step up waste processing at the site. What are they going to do? Store it in cardboard storage boxes from Ikea! This place is a Three-Mile Island waiting to happen. You would think, therefore, Salford City Council would be re-thinking its planning decision to allow up to 300 new homes to built on adjacent sites. You would be wrong.

Cadishead Community Hall

2005-02-28T23:13:00.000Z

"Cadishead Community Hall was built in 1954 by local labour and with money from what was then the biggest employer in the district, Lancashire Steel, the building was originally given to the Cadishead Pensioners' Association". This sort of thing tells us a little about how the industry dominated the town. I remember an east German football - I think called Carl Zeis Jena, which was a town, dominated by a large factory, where everything in the town owed its existence to the factory. The same is true of Irlam and Cadishead to an extent. The ultimate irony, is that although the community hall remains, little of the community spirit that built it in the first place remains. I know some good people who work there, but the building itself sits isolated in a small park, and is heavily fortified against vandalism. How does the thinking work here of a vandal? I live in the community. Here is the community hall. Lets smash it. Blame my parents. The last time I took my kids to this park to play one sunny sunday morning, we found it littered with 100s of broken bottles. A council worker who had come to make the tiniest effort of cleaning things up, simply laughed and made a joke of it. It seems our public spaces have become no go zones. The park itself is perhaps the most dreary in the country. Strewn with broken bottles, a vandalised tennis court and bowling green, where the equipment is locked up in a container, the park is bounded on one side by a disused railway embankment (a useful thoroughfare for local criminals) and the rusting containers of the Lanstar plant. Lovely smell.

Trafford Interchange Greenbelt Destruction

2005-02-04T18:06:00.000Z

You gotta hand it to lucky Stuart

2005-02-04T10:39:00.000Z

The story of Stuart and the manufacture of surgical gloves is pure Robinson in Space stuff. I am delighted for Stuart himself, a man from Wythenshawe with a "bear-like handshake" who has basically made it, but I'm interested in his decision to centralise his business operations under one roof in one location - the high-tech business centre that is - not Silicon Valley, nor is it the M4 Corridor - but Irlam! I like the way the town is represented here - summed up in the following piece of journalism

"He is dressed casually, in slacks, sweater and loafers and staff are encouraged to dress informally if they so wish. 'We want this to be a fun place to work,' he says.
So why Irlam? Well, it is in an area which is booming, with an influx of, hi-tech business and housing. It is at the heart of the north west and a network of easy access by road, road, sea and air to anywhere in the UK - and beyond"

I like the connection between fashion, fun and surgical gloves.

What he says about Irlam is basically correct. Yes it is central, has good access and communciations. Yes there are hundreds of housing either under construction or planned in the near future. According to Salford's Unitary Development Plan, once the bypass is complete there is further potential to develop the infrastructure around the town. A plan for example to provide Irlam with its own motorway junction on the M62 - making it fully integrated into the transit based space economy which connects Liverpool to Hull. There are plans to build two new road bridges across the Ship Canal to connect the town to the vast industrial area or Carrington, a move which would radically improve job opportunities for local people. There are plans to build a new rugby league stadium on the outskirts of the town for Salford, which will form part of a major leisure and commercial development. But it goes further. Salford City Council would like to see the trams come to the stadium and cross the canal via a new bridge. There is a proposal to develop land around the town as a new port for Salford, connected via new railways including a new crossing over the canal and perhaps the reopening of a disused railway line. My favourite is the proposal to radically develop Barton Aerodrome as Manchester's second airport. If you read the full article, however, you also see how his spatial decision making was influenced partly desire to be close to family - revealling something about the embedded nature of the social reations which underpin contemporary patterns of capitalist development. This location factor does not come with transport infrastructure.

Stuart's business is located on the Northbank Industrial Estate. This piece of land was once home to Irlam Steelworks - one of the largest integrated steelworks in the country - a huge structure which also possessed its own internal railway system and docks. The steelworks also dominated social and cultural life of the town. It was like being brought up in some planned East German industrial community under a communist regime. The works, however, closed in the 1970s with thousands of people made redundant. The town declined. I left school in 1983 and 50% of my fellow school-leavers went on the dole, unable to find work. People predicted the town would basically disintegrate. I always remember a speech given by the Headmaster at my primary school one morning assembly. I don't know about other people, but this speech seemed a little strange in front of audience of 7-8 year olds. He told us about the steelworks closing, how many fathers had been thrown out of work. He told us a story about how he once had to deal with a difficult child who was struggling his school, and how he had called in his father. And this father said it didn't matter that his son couldn't read or write properly because, like his dad and his grandfather, he would leave school and folllow their footsteps into the fiery furnaces of the steel mill. The headmaster then went on to say how after the steelworks had shut, he had a meeting with the same family. And I remember the headmaster bellowing - "and now he is a postman, is that what you want to be when you grow up. A postman! If you don't work hard at school that's what you'll be!" I was very disturbed by this motivational speech. Not only, because it put the fear of god into me - cos I was only about 7 years old. But also because it challenged a working class gender specific workplace identity. In other words, the whole world where men did men's work was changing - completely challenging my ideas about men and masculinity. And although I am unsure about the recasting of postmen as social pariahs, the headmaster was basically right. The economy was changing. Blue-collar manufacturing was disappearing. In the future, you would need new skills - of literacy and numeracy, or 'feminine' emotional qualities, such as emphathy and care, if you were going to get on in the new post-fordist flexible labour market and make a life for yourself. That has basically informed my world view ever since. And I've always been haunted by this vision of a bumbling former steelworker on a bicycle trying to deliver letters but he can't read the fucking addresses because he never learnt to read.

Which brings me back to the Northbank Industrial Estate. The site lay in ruins for almost a decade. There was some attempt to attract new business there made by Salford City Council who built an internal road system - the landscape and the environment resembled some post-nuclear apocalypse. It was great place to go as a young teenager. You could make dens, mess around on the railway tracks, throw stuff in the canal (cats, bricks, pieces of machinery), set fire to things, with no consequences. The Thatcher government, however, established a number of quangos known as UDCs during the 1980s. Manchester had two of these non-elected business led organisations - Central Manchester and Trafford Park. For some reason, Trafford Park Development Corporation's remit included the regeneraton of the former Irlam steelworks, even though Trafford Park itself is located some six miles away. TPDC therefore replaced Salford City Council as the planning authority for this land in Irlam, and despite my reservevations about lack of accountability and the implications for local democracy, their regeneraton plan was very successful. Today, the Northbank is emerging as a key site in the high-tech end of the North West's chemical industry. There are also at least two major redistribution centres located there. The workforce is higher than it ever was when the site was a steelworks. The environment is much improved in terms of water and air quality. There is now even a small container dock complete with crane unloading ships! This has been a major but quite revolultion in the town's fortures and it is good to see some recognition in the wider media, because most peopl'es perception of Irlam is that it is a shit hole.

That said, history has a tendecy to repeat itself. I applaud plans to once again make Salford a port town - because in 50 years time when the docks decline our children can regenerate them as a gentrified waterfront location. But I am also haunted by a new vision, a headmaster of the future, bellowing at a hall full of frightened children, warning them about the imminent closure of surgical gloves manufacturing plant. What is their future?

You gotta hand it to lucky Stuart: "

Big Dripping Pussy

2005-02-04T09:54:00.000Z

This story is only loosely connected to Irlam and Cadishead, but is a great bit of news. Its a pity that the Pope is on his last legs and the Iraqi elections are underway, because otherwise this story may have found its way past editorial control on ITN, to be featured at the end of News of Ten as the warm fluffy item which sends you to bed feeling safe and secure that there are nice people out there. I can hear Trevor McDonald now - reading the autocue. What is interesting about this news, however, is not necessarily the story itself, but the comments by other readers. In particular, I quote Bernie (Trafford):

"The sort of teenagers who do this have useless parents it starts with them being allowed to chase pidgeons in sale town centre and progress to them throwing cats in the canal at sale. I see them every saturday with their fat lazy mothers eating pasties outside greggs whilst their offspring torture pidgeons. They allow them to throw sticks etc at the geese in sale water park and so on. it is usually the same families. They then grow up with no boundaries and eventually end up assaulting toddlers on railway lines, the bulger boys started torturing cats then progressed to Jamie Bulger enough said".

This is great local news - where a cat being thrown into a canal is somehow connected to the brutal murder of a toddler in Liverpool! Its like there is some sort of inevitable process going on - starting with pulling the wings of flys, before moving on to attempting to blow up a frog with a bicycle pump, being mean to cats, antagonising dogs, pestering sheep. And then before you know it, you have accepted the post of a local GP and started doing away with 100s of harmless pensioners, or you have started stuffing body parts of your victims down your drain.

I perversley enjoy the geography of Bernie's Manchester though. Its this banal environment of deteriorating water scapes - of canals and waterparks and low order retail centres, connected by "fat lazy mothers eating pasteries outside greggs" - disused railways - the stark video surveillance images of Bulger's killers leading the hapless toddler out of the shopping centre to his death - whilst local people simply stand by and ignore the strange situation of a young boy crying profusely whilst being forcibly led by the hand by two strangers.

What is all about is the collective guilt shared by many people British society. Thousands of people could have intervened to prevent Bulger's death, but they simply elected not to intervene because of "boundaries". There seems to be some set of rules of regulations where public interventions are somehow made impossible, because of misplaced respect for privacy and the individual. We seem to live in a society where geography has been redefined and that the only boundary that matters is that of the skin and the body. Any intervention therefore is seen as a violation of others.

I also guess whats going on here is also a shared sense of fear - fear of reprisal from our actions to intervene - a narc culture where teenagers and single mothers seem to have been recast as contemporary folk devils - as the root cause of society's ills - family breakdown, vandalism, binge drinking, drug taking, child abuse and so on. What's happened to the British sense of collective spirit, or a desire to help the poor and needy rather than victimising or stigmatising them? I personally blame Thatcher!

This is where the RAC man comes in, because it shows us that some people do care - and perhaps, people like Steve embodies this lost sense of collectivity - but maybe he also provides us with some hope for the future.

Ill Communication

2005-02-01T08:58:00.000Z

Yet more postal related workers' uprising. The revolution spreads like wildfire. I like the sub-headline "Inconvenience". Is this all complaints concerning workers' rights and working conditons amounts to - inconvenience. This is why there was never a bolshevik revolution in Britain. It would have been too 'inconvenien't for most people. Either that or it rained on the day the revolution was supposed to happen and everyone went home moaning about the British summer.

Postal staff set to strike

Saz Tattoo Studios

2005-01-26T19:49:00.000Z

My understanding is that Saz is something of an institution. I've only ever been in the shop once mind you. It seems tattoos and biking go together. Counter-culture, however, has yet to meet the society of Yaris drivers.

Saz Tattoo Studios

::ROACHFEST.ORG:: UGLY RADIO

2005-01-26T19:47:00.000Z

More about the Cadishead music scene. To be honest I haven't been to the jam nights. Perhaps I should.

::ROACHFEST.ORG:: UGLY RADIO

2005-01-26T19:44:00.000Z

An example of the Cadishead music scene.

Cadishead - explanation-Guide.info - for information, definition, meaning, reference - free encyclopedia, glossary of terms

2005-01-26T19:40:00.000Z

The website seems to contain a pretty inaccurate history of Cadishead. This interpretation is something I've seen on a number of websites. I've never heard of there being a civil war between the towns. I personally think some wag has made this up and submitted it to an online encyclopedia. An alternative history to the Caddison story, suggests that the settlement was formed much earlier and is named after a Saxon warlord who once settled in the area.
Cadishead - explanation-Guide.info - for information, definition, meaning, reference - free encyclopedia, glossary of terms

Haunted Places in the United Kingdom

2005-01-25T21:51:00.000Z

A reference to a haunting in Cadishead, in Great Woolden Hall, which is 600 years old and is said to be haunted by the ghost of Captain Blood, a cavalier from the English civil war.

There are two Woolden Halls, the Great one and the little one. Neither is easy to find, but they are quite nice architectural surprises when you do. Cadishead 600 years ago must have been a very bleak place indeed. The area would have been dominated by the swamp land of Chat Moss. There was no real settlement until the building of the Ship Canal in the late 19th Century. The only buildings around would have been small farmholdings and inns which provided overnight stops and stables on what was once a long and arduous road link between Manchester and Liverpool. My understanding is that much of the Moss may have been a lake surrounded by forest at one point not long ago in history. I will try and find out more about the origins of the naming of the moss, which may have something to do with St Chad. The moss was drained in the 18th and 19th century to make way for agricultural use and the Liverpool-Manchester rail-link. The area was fertilised using night soil i.e. human excrement. This would have been shipped into the area probalby down the River Irwell from nearby Salford and Manchester and perhaps later the Ship Canal from 1894. There is a road in Irlam called Tramway Road, which indeed used to be tramway which allowed deposits to be transported quickly to the moss. Its kind of liberating to know that the early prosperity of the town where you were brought up was pretty much based on shit.

Haunted Places in the United Kingdom: "England - Cadishead Manchester - Great Woolden Hall - A 600 Year old hall that is haunted by the ghost of captain blood a cavalier from the English civil war. "

Station safety fear

2005-01-25T15:30:00.000Z

Its kind of reassuring to know that the station I use sometimes up to 6 days a week is among the most datnagerous in the conurbation. I mean it must take First NorthWest Trains a considerable degree of planning to almost completely neglect this station to a point where there is hardly any shelter, no seats, no ticket machine, no staff, a number of broken lights and perhaps the least desirable subway underpass between platforms that you have ever seen. The old station building sits forlornly fenced off from passengers undergoing what seems to be a permanent renovation process. Rail privatisation was supposed to give passengers choice and comfort. Yet another legacy of the wasteland of public services created by the Tories and short-sighted politicians. As rail fares increase again, owning a second car is slowly becoming a desirable solution to the problem of getting to work and back. Why does everything have to be cost-driven? Why do the railways have to make a profit? Why can't certain services simply operate at cost or at a loss because they provide a public good, of benefit to all? If I am not on the train then I must be in my car - driving toward environmental meltdown.

Station safety fear

An Irlam Collection

2005-01-25T10:26:00.000Z

Here is a web site dedicated to people called Irlam. The only famous person I can think of called Irlam is some second rate softcore star called Krya Irlam (no don't bother looking for pictures of her, its not worth it). There is however a famous haulage firm called James Irlam, which I guess is some sort of rival to Eddie Stobbard, in the strange world of people who have attempted to form cults around haulage and logistics firms.

An Irlam Collection

Tiger Moth Square, Irlam by Cookson and McNally

2005-01-25T06:22:00.000Z

How do we regenerate and revitalise our public spaces? Not like this.

Tiger Moth Square, Irlam by Cookson and McNally

Pc accused over Samaritan death

2005-01-25T05:32:00.000Z

Although this a tragic story, I my sympathies go out to those affected, but I find the biblical connotations of the way this story is reported quite interesting. Its like stories from the bible being rewritten by Alan Partridge, "Moses came down from the mountain, driving a Toyota Lexus with leather upholstery and air-con unit". I am also reminded of the ITV series The Second Coming about an ordinary working class bloke from Manchester who turns out to be Jesus. It makes me think if Jesus did come back - what would he drive? I reckon some sort of MPV so that his disciples could travel with him in relative comfort. Perhaps he could opt for a model with built in DVD players to keep His followers amused during particulaly long drives between mountain top sermons.

The location of this accident is not unusual. J11 of the M60 must be one of the busiest motorway sections in the world. There must 125000 plus vehicles passsing this point each day. For there to be so few fatal accidents, therefore, is perhaps surprising.

Pc accused over Samaritan death

Post strike chaos

2005-01-25T05:19:00.000Z

Irlam postoffice seems to be the last bastion of working class resistance to Blairite Britain. This story refers to another strike over pay and conditions at the local post office, the second such industrial action within a month. If only these things were reflected on Postman Pat then may be the younger generation would grow up less tolerant of the shit which is heaped upon them by mangement. Up the strikers I say. That said, their Christmas strike meant my Aunty didn't get her present until New Year's day. Bastards.

The only time I remember Irlam ever being on the six o'clock news was when they announced the Steelworks was to close and several hundred strikers marched down the hight street in protest, carrying placards and shouting. I feel this action, having spoke to people involved since, was too little too late. I sense that some people feel resentment that this industrial action didn't go far enough.
Post strike chaos

Environment Agency - Chemical spill costs �78k

2005-01-24T17:23:00.000Z

More on toxic waste.

Environment Agency - Chemical spill costs �78k

Cleansing Service Group Ltd - Press Releases

2005-01-24T17:11:00.000Z

This is wonderful news for the town as it secures Cadishead as the north west's premier toxic waste processing site.

Cleansing Service Group Ltd - Press Releases

Irlam & Cadishead - Local History

2005-01-24T17:09:00.000Z

More stuff for the Irlam and Cadishead in Space project. This information is courtesy of Salford City Council. Somewhat ironic that the towns have only been in Salford for around 30 years. Previously the settlement had its own district council and fell within the auspices of Lancashire's control. I still remember the red Lancashire United buses, which were then replaced by the orange and brown livery of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive. Of course these disappeared with the privatisation of the Greater Manchester bus network. We now have single decker First Bus buses. Its funny how buses can be associatiated with seismic shifts in economic hegemony, but I every time a First Bus bus passes I can only think of Thatcher's brand of aggressive neoliberalism and the running down of the bus network. Only recently, for example, did we get (publicly subsidised) night buses back - which means it is possible for an individual to take part in the city centre's night-time economy without having to come home at last orders.

Irlam & Cadishead - Local History

UK Nights

2005-01-24T15:32:00.000Z

Some fantastic images on this website, showing Cadishead in all its gloomy icy backwater glory

UK Nights

MP joins Angels bearing gifts

2005-01-24T14:52:00.000Z

For those of you who don't know, then Irlam and Cadishead is the biking capital of Greater Manchester. There are a number of motorbike shops and repair centres, plus the headquarters and club house of Manchester's chapter of the Hell's Angels. Every year they run a charity event, which this year was highly publicised attracting the interests of Hazel Blears and soap-star Beverly Callard (who apparently was seen later having a very good time indeed in the club house)
MP joins Angels bearing gifts

Kiss for Ben, a born survivor

2005-01-24T14:47:00.000Z

This is a touching story about a local family whose baby contracted the superbug virus MRSA whilst in hospital. I'm not a sentimental person. I think this case however highlights a key problem of the post-keynesian health care system - that actually cleaning hospitals may be a good idea rather than a cost cutting measure.
Kiss for Ben, a born survivor

Scotsman.com Business - Latest News - Management Team Buys Wine Supplier

2005-01-24T14:42:00.000Z

Having read Robinson in Space last year, I have become somewhere obsessed about doing a mini-version but based on the town of Irlam and Cadishead. However, I need to build up some source material first. Here is an example of a development, for instance, which will affect the space-economy of the town. Robinson, I hope, would approve of this methodology. Hopefully I can build up more material over time. Watch this space - literally.

The story below is interesting. The wine supplier in question was originally part of the Co-Op group. The Co-Op had a number of plants in Irlam, including a soap factory, a fireworks/munitions factory (depending on who you believe), a matchbox factory, and most famously the Margerine Works. Together with the steelworks, these industries represent the orginal identity of the town. All have disappeared. Where the steelworks was located is now an industrial park created by the now defunct Trafford Park Development Corporation, an unelected quango established by a former Tory government. The site, however, is home to an impressive array of companies, but sadly few of them stir any passion. Maybe there will be a blog in 50 years, lamenting the demise of pvc window manufacturers and distribution centres.

Scotsman.com Business - Latest News - Management Team Buys Wine Supplier

1881 Census: Residents of Prestwich Union Workhouse

2005-01-24T14:12:00.000Z

Possibly a distant relative.

1881 Census: Residents of Prestwich Union Workhouse

The Beer Call

2004-07-27T17:39:00.000+01:00

I run a website which provides support for a small network of friends living and working in Manchester, to enable them to get together on a regular basis in the pub and talk about things. Some of the topics of conversation find themselves featured on the website. In a way the Internet allows nostalgia to become an instant commodity, a space where you can fondly reflect on past times and conversations, which only happened the week before.

The Beer Call