| There'll be a surprise on the bill of guests at Manchester city centre's hotels and aparthotels from Saturday - a £1 per night per room tourist tax. Officially called the 'City Visitor Charge', it's the first of its kind in a UK city and follows in the footsteps of European hotspots such as Madrid and Rome. The projected £3 million in annual takings will be used to fund a new organisation — the Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID), designed to "improve the visitor experience" and "support future growth of the visitor economy" over the next five years. "I think [the message it sends] has been a consideration, however when you compare it to European cities that have had taxes and visitor levies in place for a number of years, we feel it's a small amount comparatively," Annie Brown, the first chair of the ABID, told the Manchester Evening earlier this month. "There are other cities in the UK looking to put in place what Manchester has done, I don't think it's a charge that's off-putting." A recent report by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership suggested a similar tax could work in places like the Lake District. Claire Smith, president of Lancashire hoteliers group StayBlackpool, said she would be against the move which she warned would hit families on longer holidays hardest. 
Meanwhile, new research conducted by law firm Brabners says Manchester is set to be the UK's most attractive city for institutional investors in 2023. In a study of more than 400 UK and US-based institutional investors, Manchester is ranked as the number one city for investment in 2023, ahead of London, in the inaugural Brabners Northern Investment Index report, while Liverpool and Leeds ranked joint sixth. Brabners' analysis compared the intentions of institutional investors with existing interests in the UK and what they mean for the future of businesses in the North. Half intended to increase their investment in the region during 2023, with similar numbers having already done so in 2022. Robert White, CEO, Brabners said: "While the results of our Northern Investment Index report show that investment is increasing, and institutional investors recognise the potential of investing in the North West, it is important to also acknowledge the wider picture and the support the region needs to 'level up' in other ways. "Recent data published by the IPPR North points to the low base from which the region is starting and ranks the North as one of the world's least supported advanced economies when compared with its international peers."
Mayor calls Transport for the North 'a talking shop'  Ben Houchen at Darlington station
Scheduled to speak at Transport for the North's annual conference in Newcastle this month, Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen cancelled at the last minute, saying a local investment meeting took priority. And the North's only Conservative metro mayor has now launched a scathing attack on the regional transport body after records show he has attended no meetings in almost five years despite being a board member. Transport for the North (TfN) brings together regional mayors and local representatives from across the North of England to lobby Government and other transport authorities for further investment and greater connectivity. The mayor labelled TfN a "talking shop" and said he continues to deliver for the Tees Valley, unlike members who "sit around tables for long periods of time saying what should be done and congratulate themselves for their efforts". Mr Houchen is the only Conservative of six mayors on the board and joined in 2018, representing the Tees Valley Combined Authority. But despite being expected to attend 22 meetings in that time he has failed to show up at any, writes Local Democracy Reporter Bill Edgar. Transport for the North has been contacted for comment but has previously said members do not have to attend a certain number of meetings, with local authority representatives often sent as a replacement.
Social media 'could have collapsed abuse lies trial'  Eleanor Williams lied about being the victim of an Asian grooming gang
Ministers were yesterday urged to tighten conditions for social media by a Cumbrian MP who claims the viability of a trial involving a woman who lied about being the victim of an Asian grooming gang was put at risk. Conservative MP Simon Fell raised the case of Eleanor Williams, who was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after falsely claiming on social media to have been the victim of an Asian grooming gang. He suggested placing social media under the same conditions as traditional media outlets. Justice minister Mike Freer said contempt of court and reporting restrictions apply to content published on social media, but also said the Government is taking further action on the issue. Williams, of Barrow-in-Furness, made a series of false allegations, describing being beaten, abused and trafficked by Asian men, in a Facebook post in May 2020, which was shared more than 100,000 times. Mr Fell, MP for Barrow and Furness, raised the case at a session of questions to justice ministers in the Commons. He said: "The environment made it increasingly difficult for the police to do their job gathering evidence and even risked the viability of a trial going ahead at all. "Traditional media carries reporting restrictions for cases like this. I wonder whether the minister might agree to meet with me to discuss whether we can look at applying the same conditions on social media channels."
 Graphic by Carly Holds.
It's easy to imagine that coffee shops are a modern phenomenon but some date back to the 19th century. In Sheffield, the Highfield Cocoa and Coffee House was built in 1877 by cutlery and steel magnate Sir Frederick Thorpe Mappin to keep working-class men out of pubs. And there's a row brewing in the steel city after it emerged a developer wants to demolish the former Mappins Coffee House building - described as an important part of the city's working-class history - and replace it with new shops and apartments. Sheffield Council's heritage champion Janet Ridler has stepped in to halt the demolition while Hallamshire Historic Buildings (HHS) and the Victorian Society have already lodged objections, as Local Democracy Reporter Julia Armstrong writes. Robin Hughes of HHS spotted that the developers had separately applied for a fast-track demolition order that would have allowed the building to be knocked down in days, before councillors had even considered the planning application. Cllr Ridler said the site "has a significant place in Sheffield heritage" and added: "It is part of our working-class history, it was designed for ordinary people to use which is a really interesting narrative." In the planning application, put forward by Spring Planning Ltd on behalf of applicants Keeton's Management Services Ltd, the building and former Tramway pub next door would both be demolished to make way for ground-floor retail space and 22 apartments above.
Mould scandal social landlord insists it's not racist  Awaab Ishak vigil outside Rochdale Council offices (Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing - the housing association at the centre of the scandal of tragic two-year-old Awaab Ishak - came under fire yesterday in a new Housing Ombudsman report which exposes a culture of 'othering'. The probe, launched after Awaab died as a result of a damp and mould in his flat, said staff at RBH held prejudices and "lazy assumptions" about asylum seekers and refugees, who were considered "lucky" to have a roof over their heads. Awaab's parents had come to the UK as asylum seekers from Sudan, but the report highlights they were not the only tenants who felt 'discriminated against' by RBH. Following his inquest last November, a statement from his family urged the social landlord to 'stop being racist'. But as Stephen Topping of the Manchester Evening News reveals today, staff at the disgraced housing association were sent an email reassuring them they were 'not a racist organisation' days after being called out by Awaab's family. Three days on from the inquest concluding - amid a national media storm which saw housing secretary Michael Gove suggest 'discrimination' had played a part in the tragedy - all RBH staff were sent an email with the subject heading 'Important update regarding accusations of racism'. The leaked email, signed off by the 'RBH leadership team' and seen by the M.E.N., insisted that RBH is 'not a racist organisation' and suggested senior staff 'know how hard we work to be inclusive and to tackle racism'. 
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Northern Stories  Performers dressed as jellyfish on roller skates skate around the Beatles statue at the launch of the festival
- A festival accompanying the Eurovision Song Contest will be a celebration of Ukraine "tinged with bitterness" as the war continues in the European country. EuroFestival, a two-week series of events in Liverpool, has announced 24 culture commissions for May which include a performance by Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest winner Jamala, 12 huge lit-up nightingales and collaborations between British artists and Ukrainian artists. EuroFestival in May – a two week series of events which includes collaborations between artists in the UK and Ukraine – will be "unique in every sense" according to the director of Culture Liverpool, Claire McColgan.
- A transgender woman from Yorkshire will serve her sentence in a male prison after stabbing her partner before tying her up and leaving with her bank card. Zara Jade was jailed for nine years with an additional three years on licence after pleading guilty to six offences including false imprisonment, assault and robbery. The 54-year-old was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court after the attack at a Halifax flat last August. New rules banning some transgender women from female prisons in England and Wales came into force last month.
- Pupils across Lancashire will be encouraged to walk to school on a dedicated day this summer in an attempt to cut air pollution and promote the health benefits of travelling to class on two legs rather than four wheels. "Lancashire Walks to School Day" is set to take place on Friday May 19 after the idea was given the green light by Lancashire county councillors. The initiative will provide an opportunity for children to highlight concerns about climate change, as well as having the potential to reduce traffic congestion. It is also hoped that the event will limit – if only for a day – the dangers and negative health effects of cars parking close to school gates and leaving their engines running.
- Leeds City Council has apologised after it sent bailiffs to a man's home over an unpaid debt, because they'd failed to update his records. A debt enforcement agency visited the resident "several times" last year, causing him "stress" and "negatively affecting his health", a report by the Local Government Ombudsman said. The report told how the man had moved house in 2020, but despite notifying the council of his new address, the local authority failed to update its records accordingly. As a result it sent letters relating to arrears on the man's account to his old address.
- Women working at Northumberland County Council earn "slightly more" than men, says the authority's deputy leader. Richard Wearmouth said he was "very pleased" women earned more at the council "on balance." According to the Government's website, in 2022/23 women's mean hourly pay was 0.6% higher at the council than men's. Furthermore, women occupy 63.6% of the highest paid jobs at the council. In comparison, the mean average gender pay gap across the UK – that is, the difference between men and women's average hourly pay – was 5.45% in 2022 according to Government figures. In monetary terms, the mean hourly difference in pay is £1.44.
- A painting picked up in an East Yorkshire charity shop for just £2 caused a huge shock when it sold for £1,300 at auction - ten times its pre-sale estimate and a 650-fold return on the finder's humble investment. The watercolour depicting "Richmond from the East" was bought in a charity shop in Driffield before being sold in the spring art sale of David Duggleby auction rooms. The work is by Harold Sutton Palmer (1854-1933), a renowned landscape artist who had his first acceptance by the Royal Academy in 1870 when he was just 16 years old.
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