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Manchester Wall

 

Can anyone tell where is the beauty or the functionality of Piccadilly Gardens wall shown above, which is located in central Manchester and here are more photos to help you?

 

 

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The wall was Probably created at the edge of Piccadilly Gardens at the time to hide the transformation of Piccadilly Gardens to a Piccadilly Square. The project transformed gardens of beautiful flowers and roses beds to mostly paved areas and ugly buildings that caused the project to further reduced the green area that Manchester disparately needs. There is one thing created in the Square, and that is the fountain, which is a positive element of the project as the fountain is very popular with families and children, locals and visitors alike.  The wall reminds you of some places in the world where they pay to design and build charming and expensive villas then surround them by big walls for privacy and security, and no one can see the beautiful villas. But this is Manchester and Piccadilly Gardens / Square is a public place and for everyone and should save. Another positive element is the wall has not been vandalised with graffiti, and that is a massive plus to Manchester and the Mancunians.

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With the wall there, if you approach the square from the tram and bus stops side the fountain view is mostly blocked and hidden apart from a pretty small opening, and nothing much attract you to go and see the fountain unless you need to cross the Square towards Oldham Road you stop and see it. 

 

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 Anyone agrees with improving the wall to beautify it and make it more functional as it is there?  Please propose an idea (s) to improve the site and to make it more attractive and inviting for locals and visitors to come to see what is left of the gardens and to discover the fountain which is a focal point in Manchester.

 

Probably make the wall an open-air public gallery for Manchester artists, which is, we know,  Manchester desperately needed for the number of talented artists Manchester has or probably hanging garden to bring back more flowers and roses to Piccadilly Square. Then one can call it Piccadilly Gardens, not Piccadilly Square. If you have any other idea or you can elaborate more on these two ideas, please let us know.

 

  Here is an amateur sample just to give ideas in the before and after pictures,

if the artists use the wall to display their work

( Artists please do not be offended by this amateur work it this only an example )

 

 

Manchester Wall Before

 

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Manchester Wall After

 

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There are so many projects in Manchester and the city is now half old and the other half is either new or under development and we are recording this fast development as fast as we can by taking photos all the time and showing Manchester changing and shall update regularly to see how the city is looking and changing monthly if not weekly

 

View this photo set on Flickr

 

View this photo set on Flickr

 

 

View this photo set on Flickr

 

 

To see how Manchester is changing, please come back and click below link for a Picturistic update 

 

Picturistic update for changing Manchester

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Manchester Is Booming Against All The Odds.

Construction work in central Manchester and Salford is at its highest level since the financial crisis. Manchester looks more like a building site and with cranes dominating the skyline as apartment blocks increasing every year. Any empty plot of land in the city centre has been grabbed by developers to build apartment blocks and offices. The empty and long-neglected mills and warehouses have not been spared by the developers and they have been converted or in the process of being converted to apartment blocks. The process of reconstruction Manchester seems going to continue as some of the old buildings started to be demolished and rebuilt. These old buildings became not cost effective to rent when the developer can get a planning permission to rebuild them with more units per floor and with a much higher number of stories. Probably Manchester hasn’t seen the present scale of the reconstructing in the city centre since it’s creation.

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All this happening despite the uncertainty because of Brexit as it seems Brexit bites has not affected the redevelopment of Manchester at all and despite the reports that have been circulating that England property prices are overpriced by 12% and also both the Government and the opposition promised to build low-cost accommodation, when they form the new government, units to help first time buyers, which could cap or reduce the prices of the apartments in Manchester.

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Travelling To London - Don’t get a Surprise, a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for 130.

Manchester visitors and for the matter of fact locals as well, driving to London to visit should know about the congestion charges applied to some areas in London.

London has also emission charges.

 

The Congestion Charge is a £11.50 daily charge for driving a vehicle within the charging zone between 07:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday. That is if you pay the charge the same day, By midnight the charge is £14 to be paid the following day, otherwise, you have to pay a Penalty Charge Notice for £130 that you receive by post.

Also, You can pay the charges up to 90 days in advance of your journey and the charge is £11.50 per day of your visit to London.There is no charge on weekends, public holidays, between Christmas Day and New Year's Day inclusive, or between 18:00 and 07:00 on weekdays. You'll also need to check if your vehicle is subject to the new Emissions Surcharge (also known as the 'T-Charge').

Before you start your journey to London you need to know if you have to pay for the emission charge

Use the T-Charge Compliance Checker ( https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/emissions-surcharge/compliance-checker ) and your car registration number.

The T-Charge Compliance Checker will give you this message if you have to pay for the charge :

Thank you for using the T-Charge checker. Your vehicle is subject to the T-Charge if you travel in the central London Congestion Charge zone Monday to Friday between 7 am to 6 pm, you will be charged £10 a day. This will be in addition to the Congestion Charge.

 

The T-Charge Compliance Checker will give you this message if you don’t have to pay for the charge :

Thank you for using the T-Charge checker. Your vehicle is not subject to the T-Charge.

If you do not know London and entered the charging zone without knowing or missed the road signs for the zone you may get the surprise, penalty notice to be paid !!!!

Here is the Map for the charging zone from Transport for London site.

 Also, You have to Avoid Unofficial selling websites

Unofficial websites selling the Congestion Charge often charge a premium on top of what you would pay through the official online payment process. They also frequently make misleading claims. Make sure you only use the official Transport for London (TfL) service when paying the Congestion Charge.

 

What if a visitor left to go home, he/she had hired a car and drove into the charging zone without knowing, will they be traced?

what if someone prepaid the charge and never used it at all or for fewer days than the chared days, will they be refunded?