James Chittick

Bury Council has admitted that a missing letter on signage at the new Radcliffe Library resulted from an alarm needing to be repositioned during installation, rather than a design error. Contractors have been instructed to add the letter urgently. The £40 million Radcliffe Hub, supported by council funding and £20 million from the UK Government's Levelling Up Fund, will include a library, swimming pools, gym, café, Clip 'n Climb attraction and community facilities when it opens later in the year.

Greggs reportedly renamed its Sausage, Bean and Cheese Melt the “sausage, bean and cheese thing” after Andy Burnham referred to it that way in an interview. A Manchester branch displayed new signs honoring Burnham, while its manager said the publicity caused sales to rise sharply. Greggs has not said whether the temporary local renaming will be adopted nationwide.

Thousands of people across Greater Manchester gathered to watch the 2026 solar eclipse, with major viewing events held at Sharples High School in Bolton and Heaton Park. Schoolchildren and families used eclipse glasses, pinhole projectors and other equipment to observe the event safely, while science teacher Mukesh Songadia explained phenomena including totality, the solar corona and the diamond-ring effect. Clear skies produced strong viewing conditions across the region, and the article notes that an eclipse with more than 90% solar coverage will not be visible from the UK again until 2081.

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team responded to eight incidents between July 7 and August 4, assisting injured walkers and cyclists, people experiencing medical emergencies, and missing-person searches across the North West. Volunteers worked with ambulance services, the air ambulance, police, and other rescue teams to evacuate casualties, locate missing people, and support searches, including one for David Henry in which a body believed to be his was found. The team used SARCALL PhoneFind technology to locate three people missing on Rivington Moor.

A man in his 20s suffered life-threatening injuries when his Sur-Ron electric bike crashed with a Tesla on Holden Road in Leigh at around 5 p.m. on July 31. Greater Manchester Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is seeking witnesses and CCTV, dashcam, doorbell or mobile-phone footage of the incident.

Children aged five to 15 in Bolton will be able to travel free on Bee Network buses throughout August under the Government’s Great British Summer Savings campaign, without registering. Transport for Greater Manchester will also allow 16-year-olds to activate their Our Pass a month early, giving all under-18s in Greater Manchester access to free bus travel during the month. The scheme is intended to make summer trips and days out more affordable for families.

Labour and Co-operative candidate Bev Craig won the Greater Manchester mayoral election with 309,525 votes after first- and second-preference ballots were counted, defeating Reform UK's Sian Astley by more than 152,000 votes. In Bolton, Craig led Astley by 19,718 to 12,524 first-preference votes and added 4,170 second preferences, while Astley gained 4,998. Turnout in Bolton was 23%, slightly below the regional figure of 25.14%. The Greens finished third locally, narrowly ahead of the Conservatives, while Labour retained control of the Greater Manchester mayoralty.