Application by Fifth Avenue nightclub to extend their opening hours rejected after lobbying by your councillors

Earlier this week a panel of councillors from the city council’s licensing committee rejected in its entirety an application by Fifth Avenue to extend their opening hours. This was after a number of objections from residents - including a video recording shot by a resident of drunk patrons engaging in anti-social behaviour outside nearby residential properties - and your local councillors.

Fifth Avenue has more police callouts than any other venue in the city and we regularly receive complaints from residents. We’re delighted with this result and we hope the licensing committee will find in favour of residents more often now we have two councillors making a strong argument on behalf of a common sense licensing policy that balances the needs of residents and the demands of a diverse night life.

To report any noise nuisance issues linked to late night premises in your area contact the council’s Contact Centre on 0161 234 5000 or e-mail contact@manchester.gov.uk, copying in your local councillors.

To report any non-urgent anti-social behaviour or criminal activity linked to late night premises in your area contact GMP on 101 or e-mail a1apt@gmp.police.uk, copying in your local councillors. In an emergency call 999.

A new award in memory of Alan Turing has been launched to coincide with the centenary of his birth.

The Alan Turing Memorial Award will recognise individuals or groups who have made a significant contribution to the fight against homophobia in Manchester.

The annual award has been launched by Manchester City Council, in partnership with The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (LGF). The award will be a new special category in the LGF’s Homo Heroes Awards.

Alan Turing is considered to be the father of the modern computer. In Manchester he created the world’s first computer with storable memory. All modern computers – from laptops to iPads – are based on this prototype, which was called the Manchester Computer. His codebreaking work during the Second World War was instrumental in Britain’s defeat of the Nazis.

But Turing was also gay. He was prosecuted for having a relationship with a man and was forced to take female hormones to avoid jail. Two years after being convicted, Turing took his own life by taking a bite from an apple he had laced with cyanide.

Details of the award will be outlined later today at his statue in Sackville Gardens in Manchester’s Gay Village as part of a special ceremony to mark what, on Saturday 23 June, would have been his 100th birthday.

Councillor Kevin Peel, Manchester City Council’s lead member for gay men’s issues, said: “Alan Turing’s achievements during his life were remarkable. Had he not been hounded to death by the state because of his sexuality, who knows what other breakthroughs he could have made. Sadly, we will never know.

“The fact that we are celebrating his life and work shows how society has moved on, but the battle against homophobia continues. On a daily basis people still face prejudice because they are gay, even in our great city.

“This award will recognise those people who are making a difference to victims of homophobia, it will recognise those people who aren’t afraid to stand up and say we won’t tolerate it. It also represents a lasting legacy to Alan Turing, and is a fitting tribute to that great man. I’m sure he would have approved.”

Paul Martin OBE, Chief Executive of the LGF added: “Alan Turing made a monumental contribution to the freedom that every single one of us enjoys in the UK today. What makes Turing’s legacy so tragic is that in the final months and years of his life, many of his own freedoms were denied to him.

“He was punished because of his sexuality and had to make the humiliating choice between imprisonment or chemical castration. This ultimately led to him taking his own life. Had Turing been alive today, he would have rightly been celebrated as a hero.

“The Homo Heroes Awards provide an opportunity to celebrate people, businesses and organisations in our everyday lives that have made a significant contribution.”

Councillor Bev Craig, lead member for lesbian issues, added: “We’re really pleased to be working in partnership with the LGF to recognise those people who stand up for Manchester’s LGBT communities.

“Alan Turing was not ashamed of who he was – but he paid the ultimate price. No-one should have to end their lives because of the bigotry.”

Nominations for the Alan Turing Memorial Award – and all the other Homo Heroes categories – can be made on the LGF’s website at www.lgf.org.uk/hero. The winner will be decided by a panel and the award will be presented by Cllr Peel at the Homo Hero Awards ceremony in September. The winner will also be invited to the Town Hall to be received by the Lord Mayor.

Councillors Kevin Peel and Joan Davies and Parliamentary candidate Lucy Powell have organised what we hope will be an incredibly exciting event exclusively for city centre residents on community organising and we’d like to invite you to attend.

The event will be facilitated by Arnie Graf, Director of the Industrial Areas Foundation – a leading American community organising network – and a mentor o…f Barack Obama during his days as a community organiser.

We’ll be exploring ideas of community activism and engagement and looking at ways to build a strong community organisation and develop community leaders here in the city centre. I think in an area where many people don’t know their neighbours and there aren’t traditional community links and groups such as residents’ associations (with some noteable exceptions of course) to fight the corner of residents and lobby for change in our community this is a real opportunity to look at how we can change that from the ground up.

This isn’t a party political event, it is about how we can work together as residents to deliver positive change in our area.

The event will take place at a city centre venue (TBC) from 10am to 12pm on Saturday 14th July. A limited number of places are available. If you can make it please get in touch with your contact details as soon as possible.