You can have your say on the huge new development.
Dubbed an ‘urban oasis’, and spanning a whopping 28-acres opposite the Trafford Centre and Trafford Palazzo, Therme Manchester is being built by global developer and operator, Therme Group.
Ahead of the plans being formally submitted to Trafford Council in just a few weeks time, developers are now asking the public to view and comment on a new design for the "game-changing" Therme Manchester, reports The Manc.
In case you didn't know, Therme Manchester will be the UK's first city-based wellness resort.
Also being built alongside Manchester-based developers Peel L&P, and is gearing up to be "a beacon for the North West" - with a wide range of attractions for all ages and budgets forming part of the plans.
You can now have your say on plans for Manchester's 'game-changing' new £250m wellness resort / Credit: Therme Manchester
Based just an hour from Leeds, the first all-season urban beach, and an indoor waterpark with dozens of water slides, thermal pools, spas, and saunas and steam rooms, are just some of the attractions in the works, as well as an education centre, and so much more.
There’ll be a strong focus on health, wellbeing, and sustainability once the resort opens.
Therme Manchester will be the UK's first city-based development of its kind / Credit: Therme Manchester
Since the concept of the development was first unveiled to the public back in 2020, developers say they have already implement a series of design improvements in a bid to provide "better access for the large number of expected visitors".
According to developers, the project has moved from being principally a single building with an undulating roof line, to a more "pavilion-style concept" with separate connected structures that are "immersed and enveloped" in a natural landscape.
Some of these design improvements include creating three separate entrances for people arriving from all directions, a new landscaped green boulevard for those travelling by car, as well as new on-site parking places that will be "concealed in nature", and better access for cyclists and those arriving on foot via public transport.
There’ll be a strong focus on health, wellbeing, and sustainability once the resort opens / Credit: Therme Manchester
"Therme Manchester will have a transformative impact on the city and individuals," Stelian Iacob - Senior Vice President and CEO of Therme Group UK - said as the public consultation opens.
"The Therme experience is designed around physical and mental wellbeing.
"Human contact with water, steam, fresh air and nature is optimised in an environment that sets itself apart from the pressures of daily metropolitan life [and] we are confident that Therme Manchester will be a catalyst for a wave of local urban development that, over time, will bring new homes and jobs and will create opportunities for the wider area.
"As such, we hope that our project will act as an urban anchor and a destination that gives a fresh identity to this area of the city."
The rules around booking driving tests in the UK are officially set to change from today in a bid to make the system ‘fairer’.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has now introduced new rules for car driving test bookings, putting learners ‘firmly in control’ of their own booking, as it is now against the law for third parties – including unofficial test booking and cancellation finder services, as well as driving instructors – to make bookings for someone else.
It will also be a breach of DVSA’s terms and conditions for the booking service for third parties to change, swap, or cancel a driving test for someone else.
Learners should only ever pay the official DVSA fee – which is £62 on weekdays and £75 on evenings, weekends and bank holidays.
The Government says the new rules aim to make booking driving tests ‘fairer’ for learner drivers.
While driving instructors will no longer be able to book tests on behalf of of learners, they will still be able to advise learners on when they are ready to take a test, as well as set their available times to prevent learners from booking tests at times that do not work for them.
Following on from changes to test alterations which were introduced at the end of March, from 9 June 2026, further restrictions will come into force limiting learners to moving their test only to one of the three nearest driving test centres.
The DVSA has also pledged to continue increasing driving examiner capacity to help provide more tests for learners to book.
“Our priority is to stop learners being exploited by third parties, put them in control of their driving test, and make the process fairer by clamping down on businesses that resell tests at inflated prices,” commented Beverley Warmington, who is the DVSA Chief Executive.
“These new measures help bring a halt to a system where the use of bots and third parties increases the amount some learners pay for a test and blocks test availability for many others.
“These measures will help free up appointments for genuine learners who are ready to take their test.”
You can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for FREE across Leeds
Thomas Melia
Did you know you can watch The Devil Wears Prada 2 for free across Leeds just by taking a quick trip to the shops?
If you’re eager to watch Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) and the Runway Magazine crew on the big screen once again, you can do so for free.
After making its cinema premiere earlier this month, 20 years since the first film, The Devil Wears Prada 2 continues the story with more iconic quotes and a whole host of celebrity cameos.
One of these is pop phenomenon Lady Gaga, who also appears on the soundtrack for this stylish sequel alongside artists like Miley Cyrus, Doechii, and Brit acts Raye and Olivia Dean.
Just like real life, the story follows the real-life fashion news outlet and media brand, Runway Mag, undergoing some major changes.
For instance, they’re wrestling with scrapping print editions of their beloved publication and swapping this for online short-form content.
The sequel to this fashion-focused film also sees role reprisals from Stanley Tucci and Emily Blunt, with new additions from Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh and Justin Theroux.
Now, enough of us talking at “a glacial pace”, let’s get all of you fashion fans those free cinema tickets before they go out of style.
An all-new promotion courtesy of not one, but three notable names: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Diet Coke and Sainsbury’s
The UK Supermarket chain is currently running a promotion during the film’s big-screen run, where if you purchase a 30-pack of Diet Coke, you can get free tickets to The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Simply purchase one of the big crates of Diet Coke between Wednesday, 29 April and Tuesday, 19 May, before snapping a picture of your receipt and uploading it online.
So it really is that simple, all you have to do is buy a 30 pack of Diet Coke and get a free cinema ticket for doing so – did somebody say girl maths?
For more info and to upload your receipt, visit the promotional website HERE.
The Hoot -
13th June 2023 
