News
Housing association apologises for tenant’s body discovered after six years
Ms Sharpe has now accepted that Bolton at Home, which manages more than 18,000 households across the borough, should have acted sooner
A housing association has apologised after a man’s dead body was discovered in his home after six years.
Robert Alton, 70, was discovered dead in his flat on Hemsworth Road in Bolton on March 9th, 2023. A coroner ruled he was believed to have died six years earlier in 2017.
The retired bookkeeper’s skeletal remains were only discovered after housing association officials from Bolton at Home had to force entry into the property to carry out a gas check, an inquest heard.
Officials entered Mr Alton’s home to find a half a metre pile of unopened mail and his body on the floor at the top of the stairs.
Also found at the property were food items with expiration dates in 2017, and a pair of reading glasses placed on a TV guide dated May 4th 2017.
When Mr Alton’s body was found a police investigation was subsequently carried out — which concluded there were no suspicious circumstances.
Coroner, Peter Sigee, ruled at an inquest last week that the ‘appropriate conclusion is an open conclusion’.
Bolton at Home has issued an apology for the ‘opportunities we missed’ and offer ‘heartfelt condolences’.
The horrific discovery has highlighted issues of loneliness and neglect within our society.
Bolton at Home group CEO, Noel Sharpe, says everyone at the housing association has been left ‘deeply shocked’ by the incident, and realises it will ‘concern and upset people’ to learn that Alton’s body remained undiscovered for such a long time.
He admitted that it’s ‘completely unacceptable’ that something like this has happened, and assures that it’s taken action to ‘reduce the risk of it happening again’.
In a statement, Mr Sharpe added: “The reason we didn’t discover Robert’s death for so long is because our previous procedure, while meeting legal requirements, wasn’t strong enough to prevent something like this happening.
“We’d made Robert’s home gas safe in June 2017 by turning off the gas supply externally after we were unable to contact him to arrange the annual gas safety check, and following this, we made many attempts to contact Robert over a number of years to arrange gas safety checks.
“[But] it’s clear that the action taken by us to understand why we couldn’t contact him didn’t go far enough, and opportunities were missed in spotting that something was potentially wrong.
“We should have done more to check on Robert’s welfare.”
Bolton at Home changed its procedure in July 2022, and now claims to begin the process of seeking access to a tenant’s home via a warrant in instances where it is unable to contact them to arrange a gas safety check.
We’re pleased to announce that Proper Manchester is rebranding as Finest City Guides.
As part of this change, the Proper Manchester brand, including its social media channels, will transition to the Finest City Guides name.
This is a rebrand of the existing platform rather than a new or unrelated business. The same team behind Proper Manchester will continue to operate Finest City Guides as we develop the platform under its new identity.
Previous name: Proper Manchester
New name: Finest City Guides
Our social channels and other brand assets will be updated to reflect the Finest City Guides name as part of this transition.
More from Finest City Guides coming soon.
News
Oasis announce huge reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘make peace’
The news we’ve all been waiting for!
After years of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Oasis are officially BACK together for a reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers have put aside their differences in the name of music, making thousands of fans extremely happy in the process.
The band teased the news on their socials over the weekend, posting a video on Sunday morning with today’s date (Tuesday, August 27th) and the time 8am.
And now shows have been announced for multiple dates in the UK and Ireland, with tickets going live this Saturday, August 31st.
The legendary Mancunian rockers will take to the stage next summer, with gigs in Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and, of course, Manchester.
15 years after splitting, the band confirmed they would be back for 14 shows, saying: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
The gigs will be Oasis’s ‘only shows in Europe next year’, with tickets on sale this Saturday at 8am in Ireland and 9am in the UK.
The Oasis 2025 tour dates in full:
July
4th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
5th – Cardiff, Principality Stadium
11th – Manchester, Heaton Park
12th – Manchester, Heaton Park
19th – Manchester, Heaton Park
20th – Manchester, Heaton Park
25th – London, Wembley Stadium
26th – London, Wembley Stadium
August
2nd – London, Wembley Stadium
3rd – London, Wembley Stadium
8th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
9th – Edinburgh, Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium
16th – Dublin, Croke Park
17th – Dublin, Croke Park
You can grab your tickets HERE.
News
Stagecoach hiring over 100 new bus drivers for Bee Network with £31k salaries
Fancy a career change?
Stagecoach Manchester is hiring over 100 new bus drivers to work from its Oldham depot, following the second phase of the Bee Network launch in March.
You can apply for a range of roles, from positions with no experience required to fully qualified bus drivers.
Successful applicants will receive full training as part of the job, and trainees will get paid to train. Then after only 12 months’ service at Stagecoach, drivers can expect to earn up to £16 per hour, which equates to £31.6K per year, before overtime.
As well as that, drivers that already hold a PCV licence may be eligible to receive a £1,200 joining bonus.
Stagecoach
There’s also a host of other benefits available to all Stagecoach employees, like 28 days paid holiday, generous pension and free Stagecoach bus travel for successful applicants and a companion.
Rob Jones, Managing Director at Stagecoach Manchester said: “Expanding our offering in Oldham means we’ll be investing more in the economy and supporting our local community, as well as strengthening our workforce.
“Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’re a fully qualified, experienced bus driver, there’s a role for everyone here in Oldham.
“We’re looking for personable and dedicated drivers who are ready to help us build on the success of the Bee Network and connect the people of Oldham and Greater Manchester with the places and people that are important to them.”
Stagecoach
Phil Cornwall, bus driver at Stagecoach Manchester, said: “I’ve been a driver at Stagecoach for 25 years and I couldn’t recommend it more.
“From the perks to the people to the passengers, it really is a great place to work.”
To apply, head to the Stagecoach website HERE.
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