Russell T Davies starts building work for Manchester LGBT+ centre

Award-winning screenwriter Russell T Davies has launched building work for a new £2.4m LGBT+ centre in Manchester.

The creator of Channel Four series Queer as Folk broke ground for the centre in Sidney Street, just under a mile from the city's Gay Village.

The three-storey rebuild replaces the original LGBT centre and will support an additional 50,000 people a year.

Mr Davies said: "It is going to be an amazing place".

The old Sidney Street centre served the LGBT+ community for over 30 years but had fallen into disrepair in recent years and was deemed no longer fit for purpose.

He added: "I came to live in Manchester in 1987 just before it opened and, now there is a brand new start, it is very exciting."

"Think how radical it was in 1988 - there were very few places like it in Europe - and it is still quite rare even now."

The Proud Trust, the youth charity which manages the centre, said the original centre had been built with high windows and without a letter box with the idea of making users feel safe.

"Nowadays, the same features unfortunately have the opposite effect," it added.

Centre Manager Dr Ali Hanbury said she was excited at the backing from Mr Davies who won a Bafta for his revival of the BBC's Dr Who series.

She added:"Not only is he an internationally acclaimed writer and somebody I have the utmost respect for, he has also been instrumental in bringing the LBGT+ issues to the mainstream through his work."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]