Councillors promise no repeat of ‘mini tornado’
It's after a 'dust devil' swirled across Ancoats over the weekend
‘Appropriate measures’ will be implemented to ensure there’s no repeat of the Ancoats ‘mini tornado’ seen over the weekend.
Images shared online showed a swirling mass of dust moving across Great Ancoats Street, in the city centre, on Saturday afternoon (May 10).
One eyewitness ‘froze’ on seeing it. Violinist Adam Riding, 30, said: “I just saw this dust blowing upwards. It was this dark cloud and at first I thought it was an explosion but I didn’t really hear any noise. I froze.
“I didn’t know what to do and as it got higher and higher I got my phone out and started videoing it. It was probably over within a minute. It all happened really quickly.
“It was the most amazing thing. I’ve never seen anything like that. And to witness it in the city on really not a very windy day. It was like this wind tunnel between buildings had created this mini-vortex. It was bizarre.”
Although it had the appearance of a tiny twister, the column was actually a ‘dust devil’ which ‘forms due to irregularities caused by temperature contrasts on different surfaces around’.
A meteorologist added: “It then causes rotation of the air and, when there’s dust and debris, you can get these columns of air.”
It’s understood the devil originated from the former Central Retail Park site, which is currently being redeveloped into a huge Civil Service office complex and a public park. Some 7,000 civil servants will work in the building one day.
Manchester City Council has now issued a statement saying it will ensure ‘appropriate measures’ are taken by the developers to avoid a repeat dust devil.
The offices are being constructed by the Government Property Agency (GPA), which bought half of the former retail park from the local authority. The other half of the site remains council-owned.
A Manchester city council spokesperson said: “The meteorological conditions required to create a so-called ‘dust devil’ are uncommon in urban areas and so it’s rare that a site is affected in the way we saw over the weekend.
“However, dust control is a consideration for any development, and we’ll ensure the developer takes appropriate measures to manage the site throughout the construction period.”
It comes after Ancoats and Beswick councillor Chris Northwood said ‘a few residents reached out about’ the incident. The Liberal Democrat posted on X on Sunday (May 11): “I’ve had a few residents reach out about this – including several who saw it in person.
“I’ve asked the council’s environmental compliance team to look into it as this is shortly after the site clearance, ready for new offices and there should be dust management in place.”
A GPA spokesperson added: “We understand a large dust cloud formed in the area around this site for a short time at the weekend due to exceptional meteorological conditions.
“In response to this, the contractors currently managing the site have taken the additional steps of bringing in a road sweeper and a towable water bowser to reduce the likelihood of dust being blown from this plot if unusual weather patterns continue.”