Burnett Boulevard, Lowry Lane or Sutton Street? One famous child of Manchester is set to be immortalised following an X-Factor style school competition.
Five schools in East Manchester will compete against each other via a talent show style presentation to have a new road between Alan Turing Way and Grey Mare Lane named after their famous star.
Each school has been researching a famous Mancunian and will make their presentations to a panel of judges at the Etihad Stadium – sadly not featuring Gary Barlow or Nicole Scherzinger.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration is excited at the opportunity for the children to learn about the historical figures and put a mark on their neighbourhood.
“Each time they use the new road, every pupil involved can say that they played a major role in the major transformation of their community,” he said.
Ashbury Meadow Primary School, The East Manchester Primary Academy, Connell Sixth Form College, St Barnabas Primary Academy and St Brigid’s Primary School have also made a series of artworks to be displayed on the project site.
The road will form part of the Beswick transformation project between Manchester City Council and Manchester City Football Club.
This transformation includes a new sixth form college, new sports and leisure facilities, improved local shops as well as new energy and broadband technology.
Five names have made it through ‘boot camp’ and the schools will now compete to have each of them recognised with the road name.
Billy Dean, former Olympic gold medallist, is a contender for the honour.
Dean won gold for Great Britain at the 1920s Olympic Games in Antwerp as part of the water polo team.
Having started his career with Manchester Swan and Salford, Dean went on to star for the Hyde Seal club who dominated English water polo.
Another contender for the road name is Sunny Lowry, who in 1933, became only the fourth British woman to swim the channel.
Lowry, born in Longsight, Manchester, was second cousin to the artist LS Lowry.
Following her successful channel swim, she returned to Manchester’s central station to be greeted by cheering crowds.
In recent years she was President of the Channel Swimming Association and presented Ian Thorpe with one of his several gold medals at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
John Edward Sutton, a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician is also a famous Mancunian who could be chosen.
He was elected to Manchester City Council is 1894 and at the General Election of 1910 was elected as Labour MP for Manchester East – which included the Bradford area.
The fourth presentation subject is famous children’s author Frances Hodgson Burnett, famous for stories such as ‘The Secret Garden’ and ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’.
Born in Manchester in 1849 she used her life to inspire her works and stories.
‘The Secret Garden’ was inspired by her love of gardening while she modelled ‘Little Lord Fauntleroy’ on her youngest son, who wanted something for boys to read.
The final star is Davy Jones, the Manchester-born lead singer of 60s band The Monkees, who died in February 2012.
Jones led the band to success in both the UK and the US – with The Monkees marketed as the American answer to The Beatles.
Previously Jones had acting successful, being nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of the ‘Artful Dodger’ in London and Broadway stage productions of ‘Oliver!’
The five schools will each champion one of those famous Mancunians for the right to see the new road named after their star.
Each will be looking for a ‘it’s a yes from me’ from the panel at The Etihad.
Image courtesy of Bill Boaden, with thanks
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