11 buildings shortlisted in the 'RIBA North West Awards 2019'

11 buildings have been shortlisted for the:- 'RIBA North West (Royal Institute of British Architects) Awards 2019.' The winners will be announced at an Awards evening at the Manchester School of Art, on Wednesday, 8 May 2019.

The shortlisted buildings are:-

► A Restorative Rural Retreat for Sartfell, Isle of Man, by Foster Lomas.

► Alder Hey Hospital - Institute in the Park, Liverpool, by Hopkins Architects.

► Farnworth House, Widnes, by Smith Young Architects.

► Irwell Riverside, Salford, by Shedkm.

► Market Hall, Isle of Man, by horncastle:thomas with Brinkworth Design.

► Mustard Tree, Manchester, by OMI Architects.

► Ordsall Chord, Manchester, by BDP.

► Preston Bus Station refurbishment, Preston, by John Puttick Associates with Cassidy + Ashton.

► Roof Gardens, Manchester, by Ollier Smurthwaite Architects.

► The Lookout, Pettypool, Cheshire, by Walker Simpson Architects.

► 2 St Peter's Square, Manchester, by SimpsonHaugh.

RIBA North West Interim Director, Tom Mills, welcomed the news:- "The North West region continues to play host to a remarkable array of delightful, carefully-crafted buildings. I congratulate all practices who have been shortlisted in this competitive process. The longlist for the 2019 North West Awards was of exceptional high calibre, with entries received from a range of national and international practices. It's great to see so many North West-based practices in the running, representing the wealth of talent that we have in our region."

All shortlisted buildings will be assessed, by a regional jury with the winning buildings announced at the:- 'RIBA North West Awards' evening and reception, on 8 May 2019, at Manchester School of Art, Cavendish Street.

Regional Award winners will be considered for a highly coveted:- 'RIBA National Award' in recognition of their architectural excellence, the results of which will be announced in June 2019. The shortlist for the:- 'RIBA Stirling Prize' for the best building of the year will be drawn from the:- 'RIBA National Award' winning buildings later in the year.

Several 'RIBA Special Awards' will also be announced including:- the 'RIBA Sustainability Award' is sponsored, by Michelmersh and 'RIBA Project Architect of the Year 2019' is sponsored, by Taylor Maxwell.

Usdaw wins justice for former Kleeneze workers and calls for reform of insolvency law to protect staff and taxpayers

USDAW has won justice for members who worked for Kleeneze, best known for selling household and beauty products through its network of door to door sellers, after the Manchester Employment Tribunal granted a protective award because the staff were not properly consulted about their redundancy, as required, by law.

In April 2018, around 140 staff were sacked at 2sites, Heywood, Greater Manchester and Accrington, Lancashire, when the company suddenly went into administration.

Paddy Lillis - Usdaw General Secretary says:- "Yet again the taxpayer will have to pick up the bill for what is owed to sacked staff because administrators deliberately flouted the law. It's absolutely disgraceful that workers can be treated in this way in the 21st century.

The former staff at Kleeneze have had to wait for nearly a year for this decision, having already been through the trauma of losing their job and being forced to seek justice through a lengthy tribunal process. The company and administrators failed to consult or treat staff with dignity and respect, so the tribunal decided to make a maximum award to the former staff.

This area of law requires review because it is riddled with injustices for both workers and taxpayers as liability to pay the protective awards when companies are in administration falls to the Government's insolvency fund. The Government needs to end the perverse financial incentive for employers and Administrators not to comply with legal obligations on collective redundancy consultation."

62% of lonely people put the TV on for company

LONELY Brits spend a total of 1 MONTH every year watching TV on their own, a study has revealed. 62% of lonely people put the TV on for company, 31% put the radio on, and 27% speak to the dog or cat. Sadly even 7% even ask Alexa or Siri a question for a bit of electronic friendship. New research by Rotary Great Britain and Ireland, show that almost ½ of the adults in Britain say that they are lonely and 41% say that they feel most lonely in the evenings when they get home from work. The average Brit sits alone in front of the box for 3hrs 30mins, every day, compared to just 2 hours spending time with friends or family. People aged between 25 to 45 on average socialise for an average of 3 hours and 20 minutes.  A ¼ of the respondents polled would like to socialise more, ⅔ (66%) are happy with the amount they do, and 4% said they would like to socialise less in a typical day. Women are more likely to want to socialise more with 27% compared to 22% men. Younger people are more likely to want to socialise (41%) than older people (20%), and 34% of single people would want to interact more, as do 40% of parents with children under 5 years old. On average, British people have 5 close friends whom they feel close enough to discuss personal issues. Those aged between 25 to 34 have an average of 7. Almost a ⅕ of older people say they have no close friends or just the 1 if that!

Amanda Watkin, General Secretary for Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland, said:- "How sad that loneliness is so prevalent in these modern times. No one should have to spend so much time alone in front of the TV or feel they need to chat to Alexa or Siri for company. People seem to be losing the art of socialising with each other and relying on technology instead. That's why we're encouraging people to seek out new groups or volunteering opportunities as a way to meet new people and have the opportunity to socialise within their local community."

34% of respondents feel close to their mothers, yet 22% feel close to their fathers. Men (25%) are more likely to feel close to their dads than women do (19%). 40% feel close to their siblings, 62% with their partners and 26% with their work colleagues. Other responses came in with College or School friends (20%), neighbours (15%) or through playing sports (8%). 8% of the respondents say that they don't have any close friends. Of those who do, 16% see them daily and 49% see them on a weekly basis. A further ⅕ (20%) see their close friends monthly, whilst 16% see them less frequently.  47% of respondents speak to their close friends in person, a ⅓ (33%) tend to contact them most frequently via text message and 11% tend to call them. 15% of respondents see texting as a better form of communication than speaking to someone and 30% view sending photos (e.g. Snapchat) to be a good form of communicating. 24% of those surveyed see a voice call as a better means of conversation than having a face to face conversation. 49% regards this method as the same as speaking in person.  47% of those surveyed say that they tend to feel lonely. 6% are lonely all the time, 14% say they often feel lonely and 27% sometimes get lonely. Londoners are most likely to feel lonely, with 11% of respondents feel lonely all of the time and a further 21% often feeling lonely. Evenings are the time when the most people feel lonely, 41% of people said that this feeling descends when they are alone in the evening. 14% of those surveyed have gone to the shops for the sake of getting out and have a conversation with someone, 6% have gone to the GP for the same reason, and 6% have ordered post just to chat to the postman!  19% of respondents say they often find themselves playing with their phones and ignoring the people around them.

Top Impact of Loneliness:-

1. Low self esteem (30%)

2. Depression (27%)

3. Anxiety (26%)

4. Trouble sleeping (24%)

5. Irregular eating (16%)

6. Lack of appetite (12%)

7. Headaches (11%)

8. Brain fog, confusion or memory loss (10%)

9. Stomach pains / digestive issues (8%)