 | Recycled art July 27, 2009
An environmental art competition has been launched by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce in support of the city’s Year of Environment 2009.
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 | Water bills to fall July 24, 2009
Water bills in the Northwest will fall by around £17 over the next five years as regulator Ofwat proposes allowing water company United Utilities to spend £3.4 billion on improvement works.
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 | Green Flags awarded July 22, 2009
The Northwest has won more Green Flag Awards for the quality of its parks and green spaces than other region.
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 | Port Salford approved July 20, 2009
Proposals for a huge new cargo port on the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford have been approved by planners.
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 | Charity canal challenge July 17, 2009
A gruelling challenge starts tonight as six men from Lancashire attempt to cycle the length of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in aid of Christies cancer hospital.
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 Reborn city builds on its reputationManchester has cemented its reputation as the regeneration capital of Britain with a trio of awards from architecture experts.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced a prestigious Top 50 of the people and organisations producing the country's best architecture.
The top three places all go to Manchester-based projects or builders. Topping the list is Urban Splash, the company founded by former Manchester University student Tom Bloxham, which has transformed large parts of the city.
Urban Splash's work in creating the New Islington development in Manchester, where it is replacing a run-down council estate with new homes, has won special praise from the judges. They also highlight the company's recent work in Castlefield and the Seedley-Langworthy areas of Salford.
Second place goes to Argent, the company that ensured the transformation of Manchester's Piccadilly Place. And Manchester city council is third, for what judges call its "brave approach" to redesigning the city.
Urban Splash's success comes just a year after it finished third in the Top 50. As well as carrying out its pioneering work in and around Manchester, Urban Splash has in the last year converted Birmingham's listed 1960s Rotunda office block, rescued the art deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe and created flats in Bradford's historic Lister Mills.
At New Islington, Urban Splash has used a number of designers to create apartments and homes on stilts after extensive consultation with local people. Its work in the Seedley-Langworthy areas will mean 400 brick terrace houses being transformed into chic modern homes.
Argent, which also finished second in last year's Top 50, wins praise for its use of space in its designs. The company is now set to transform the King's Cross area of London.
Manchester city council has risen from ninth to third in the Top 50 because of what the judges call its role in making the city the UK's "regeneration capital'.
Judges praise the council's track record of buildings such as the City of Manchester Stadium and the Manchester Convention Centre, and cite the city centre's transformation after the 1996 IRA bomb. They applaud the legacy of well-designed buildings and the council's current plans to deliver 13 new or radically-transformed secondary schools.
One judge says: "I am so glad one council has had the bravery to chuck out the rule book. Manchester is the only council which seems to be reacting flexibly."
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