High pitch effort

Ethan Davies climbs scaffolding at Manchester Town to check out ongoing renovation work

MANCHESTER'S neo-gothic architectural masterpiece, the Town Hall, has had its beauty masked for several years now as it undergoes a major renovation.

For years, passersby have only been met by towers of scaffolding, sheets of white canvass, and signs promising a glamorous new Albert Square.

Now, however, as more the square is revealed, the Manchester Evening News has been given special access to climb the scaffolding -- and reveal what's behind the curtain, so to speak.

Inside the vast structure, which is made up of 4,000 tonnes of scaffolding, a 'tent' has been erected around the Grade-I listed building to allow work to continue. It therefore means there are impressive views overlooking the city, and looking within the building site, too.

A handful of journalists were invited to don full-PPE clothing and climb inside the hoist. Our first stop was roughly two-thirds of the way up the building.