A big thank you to all who have signed and circulated my petition to save Manchester's iconic Medlock Mill, aka the Hotspur Press Building. 

As heartbreaking as the fire has been, it should give us all a boost to know so many people are unwilling to passively accept the complete erasure of this historic landmark.

With this in mind, I am appealing to local [and not so local] signers of the petition to join a proposed new campaign group: The Friends of Medlock Mill.

The aim of the organisation, as with the petition, will be to generate and sustain media interest in the site, and to pressure decision-makers into saving as much of the Mill as possible. 

One idea I have is to hold a public meeting on the history and future of the site, with speakers from the various heritage groups who have been involved in fighting the current development plans for the site. 

One such group, the Georgian Group, have already expressed enthusiastic support for this initiative and have agreed to send a representative to speak, should the meeting go ahead. 

I am currently awaiting a response from SAVE Britain's Heritage, which has also made representations to the DCMS over securing listed status for the mill.

If you want to see the the Friends of Medlock Mill become an actual thing, and not simply a naive idea I had while avoiding work, please send a brief email to:

friendsofmedlockmill@yahoo.com

Please also send any campaign ideas - and continue to circulate the petition!

Thanks! Steven

PS a [tiny] bit about myself...

I am a history teacher, working in the FE Sector. I have absolutely ZERO claim to any specialist architectural knowledge or even any previous involvement in campaigning over the built environment [to my shame].  

However, I am a proud Mancunian, who lives a short stroll away from Medlock Mill, and it has always been very dear to my heart. The fire has made me realise just how much so many of us take our heritage for granted - and that complacency and indifference are the developers' best friends!