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Luke Hewitt

Journalist in Manchester

X: @Lukehew

Bluesky: @lukehewitt.bsky.social

Mancunian Matters •

Yellow box penalty notices raise over £450,000 for Manchester City Council - Mancunian Matters

Manchester City Council has fined drivers £465,555 for yellow box traffic violations in 18 months. 


Since November 2023, the council has enforced ‘moving traffic contraventions’ in seven different locations around the city. 


A moving traffic contravention can be anything from entering a bus lane, stopping in a yellow box, driving down a restricted road, or performing a U turn where they are not permitted. 


The locations are monitored by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras,...
Mancunian Matters •

Manchester Library of Things - Mancunian Matters

A blue shipping container in Levenshulme has everything you need. Want to clean your windows? There’s telescopic ladders. Want to play ‘When I’m cleaning windows’? There’s ukuleles. There’s projectors, a metal detector, lawnmowers, a leaf blower, pots, pans, and a tower fan. Hammers, banners and spanners. Even a thermal imaging camera.


The container is home to the Manchester Library of Things (MCRLOT) and it has a simple premise – provide the local community with a bevy of tools and household...
Mancunian Matters •

Sing Their Name Choir provides hope and support in Greater Manchester - Mancunian Matters

Stephen Hall is quick to say he’s not the greatest singer, but for this choir that doesn’t matter. It’s about much more than that.

Sing Their Name Choir was created to provide support and hope to people in Greater Manchester who have lost loved ones to suicide.

In 2023, the north-west had the highest rate of suicides in England and 200 people die by suicide each year in Greater Manchester. 

Support groups specifically for people bereaved by suicide aren’t as widely available as mental h...
Mancunian Matters •

Manchester Airport has second longest average flight delays in 2024 - Mancunian Matters

Manchester Airport was the second worst airport in the UK for flight delays in 2024, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority. 


On average, a scheduled departure flight leaves Manchester just over 25 minutes late. Only Gatwick had longer average delays, of just under 29 minutes.


In the aviation industry, flights are viewed as late if they depart over 15 minutes after the scheduled departure time. No airport in the UK had average delays below this threshold.


Scheduled flights...
Mancunian Matters •

Petition launched to save Prestwich Post Office from closure - Mancunian Matters

A petition has been launched to save the Prestwich Post Office branch after potential closure plans.

Prestwich Labour councillors started the petition for the site on Kingswood Road, Prestwich, after plans announced by the Post Office suggested it could be closed along with 115 other branches across the country.

Seven other branches in Greater Manchester are also at risk too, with branches in Harpurhey (Barnes Green), Didsbury Village, Eccles, Hyde, Leigh, Salford, and Stockport listed....

Students fall victim to ticket scams on Manchester Students' Group - The Mancunion

Students and graduates across Greater Manchester are falling victim to ticket scams in the popular Facebook community, Manchester Students Group. Dozens of posts in the group are from members who claim they have lost money to scammers operating bogus profiles. This story extends much further than Manchester, with scammers using unsuspecting people’s photos from across the country to create more realistic-looking prof