End of year newsetter: the 12 Cs of Castlefield

DECEMBER 2020

Hello, We hope you have been keeping safe and well in this most challenging of years.

We’ve been a little quieter, but we wanted to take this time to share that it’s not been all bad news this year and there’s still plenty to celebrate in Castlefield.

Therefore, we are proud to present…

The 12 C’s of Castlefield at Christmas

1. The ‘C’ Word

As you will have heard before it’s been an ‘unprecedented year’. When we held our last AGM and public meeting in February, we couldn’t have anticipated the year ahead to turn out as it has. Led by our Chair, Carol Middleton, trustees have still been working hard behind the scenes a despite being slightly slower under the circumstances have still had made good progress working with local stake holders.

2. Communi-tree

This winter has seen the replanting of a new ‘festive’ tree outside Atlas Bar on Deansgate. Once bedded in we hope to add lights so that’s something to look forward to for Christmas 2021!

3. Castlefield Cheers

It’s been an especially challenging year for the hospitality sector. So we were delighted to see The Wharf recognised in the 2021 Good Pub Guide. The only citycentre pub to receive recoginition this year, The Wharf reached the top 10 in the Town Pubs category. CONGRATULATIONS!

4. Castlefield on Camera

We all know Castlefield looks fantastic in real life but once again its being sparkling on camera. This year has seen the filming of ITV police surveillance drama Viewpoint, a Netflix drama set in Victorian England The Irregulars, Sky One production Intergalactic and CBBC show My Mum Tracey Beaker. Keep your eyes out for these programmes coming to the screen over the coming months or in the meantime see the Rochdale Canal play a staring role here.

5. Cash for Castlefield

Awarded over £8k from the MCC Neighbourhood Investment Fund to further advance the masterplan for the Roman Gardens. Work will include lighting to the North Gate and improvements to the east/west pathway.

6. Castlefield 2030

What will Castlefield of the future look like? This year we have been continuing to build the Spirit of Place vision and action plan. We hope to have this ready to share with members in quarter one, 2021.

7. Castlefield Litter Pickers

One of the local heroes of this year has been Gary Rumens founder of the Castlefield Litter Pickers group. The group has been responsible for 300+ bags of litter (and counting) being cleared from the area. We were also delighted to welcome Gary as a Forum trustee and integrate Castlefield Litter Pickers as a Forum action group.

8. Community Champions

Are you interested in taking a more active role in the Castlefield community? We have action groups for fundraising, the roman gardens, litter picking, gardening and environment, events and marketing and the future of Castlefield - Spirit of Place.

If you want to find out more information contact info@ourcastlefield.co.uk.

9. Community action

In the autumn local residents helped to install new ‘Why do you drop litter here?’ signage to prevent anti-social littering. The success of this pilot campaign by Keep Britain Tidy and Manchester City Council will be evaluated over the coming months. If effective expect to see additional signage across the city soon.

10. Creative Castlefield

One positive of lockdown was seeing people getting outside and getting creative with fantastic photography and painting of the sights of Castlefield. Here’s just a snapshot of a few of our favourites.

11. Lockdown Castlefield

Manchester artist Elton Darlo spent every day of Lockdown in Manchester City Centre, drawing the people and places he saw trying to survive the new “normal”.

He has now published his book – Lockdown 2020, An artist’s perspective - which contains many sketches exploring Castlefield. You can buy online at https://eltondarloartist.com and 10% of profits will go to Mind.

12. Coming soon

Looking forward to next year we are hoping to return to a more regular calendar of community events and activities, this includes our public meetings. In the meantime, we are looking forward to our first ever virtual AGM and Forum public meeting. The date for your diary is 1st Feb 2021, more details will be shared in the New Year. So, it’s not all been doom and gloom!

We wish you season’s greetings and all the best for the New Year. If you’re interested in getting involved in 2021 we have action groups for fundraising, litter picking, gardening and environment, events and marketing and the future of Castlefield - Spirit of Place.

Find out more by dropping us an email to info@ourcastlefield.co.uk Merry Christmas from all of us,

We know the festive season isn’t easy for everyone. If you’re struggling here are a range of useful organisations you can contact for support:

Samaritans - https://www.samaritans.org

Citizens Advice - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk National Domestic Abuse Helpline - https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk

Alcoholics Anonymous - https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk

Manchester Central Food Bank - https://manchestercentral.foodbank.org.uk