Residents near the proposed No 10 North site in Manchester have rejected tabloid claims that the area is a drug and prostitution hotspot. The Sun described the area around New Islington Marina and Great Ancoats Street as “Hooker Alley,” but locals told the Manchester Evening News that is not the case.
Residents Dispute Tabloid Claims
The Sun reported that the site was “an area popular with sex workers and homeless junkies,” where addicts can score crack for £20 and “shoot up heroin and smoke crack in the streets.” Reform UK mayoral candidate Sian Astley echoed this narrative on Facebook, saying, “The fact that Burnham’s northern ‘nerve centre’ may be only a few hundred yards from a drug hotspot tells us all we need to know about drug crime under Labour.”
However, when local democracy reporter Charlotte Hall spoke to residents, she found a different perspective. Tom Bennion said, “I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of crime in the area - it’s more the kind of place where people take their kids out, walk their dogs, that kind of thing. Mind you, I don’t hang around here at night. Maybe it all changes.” Fashion buyer Steven Aston agreed: “This place has a history. And maybe people still associate it with that kind of thing from ten or fifteen years ago. But it’s been heavily developed and, well, gentrified. It’s not like that anymore. It’s quite a young, affluent area.”
Crime Statistics and Context
Manchester saw a 31% rise in recorded drug crimes last year, with 6,631 offences in 2025. Greater Manchester Police said this was due to cracking down on crime gangs. The area around the former Toys ‘R Us was once a notorious red light district, but investment and redevelopment in Ancoats have improved crime levels and driven up rents. One local, Liam Smyth, commented on Ms Astley’s post: “You don’t fix a neighbourhood by running away from it. Putting a major nerve center right next to a challenged area brings immediate investment, more foot traffic, and a much heavier security and police presence exactly where it’s needed most. If leaders only set up offices in pristine, wealthy areas, we’d rightly accuse them of hiding in an ivory tower.”
Mayoral Election Developments
With eight days until the Greater Manchester mayoral election, Restore Britain candidate Marlon West has been temporarily suspended from his NHS role for 'offensive' social media posts. The Nursing and Midwifery Council published an interim decision to suspend him for 18 months. Labour candidate Bev Craig, the first female and LGBT+ leader of Manchester Council, told a hustings about being told to “grow her hair” and “be less gay,” but said she found a place where she could thrive.
Theresa May's Advice to Burnham
Former Prime Minister Theresa May advised Andy Burnham that “running the United Kingdom is not the same as running Manchester,” during a Chatham House conference. Burnham has recycled Greater Manchester policies as PM, including dropping the cap on England’s bus fares from £3 to £2. He said, “For too long, people have said that cheaper transport isn’t an option. I don’t accept that.”
