94 properties proposed for 1.03 hectacre Stretford site

Plans to build nearly 100 houses and flats on a site once home to an RAC call centre have been unveiled.

The scheme would see 94 properties built across the 1.03 hectacre Stretford site. They would be a mix of houses and flats, planning documents reveal. All the homes would be classed as ‘affordable’.

The land, off Thomas Street, formed part of the old Stretford Gasworks. After the gasworks closed in the 1960s, it was redeveloped into the Longford Trading Estate.

Plans to create the call centre there were approved in 2000. However, the RAC eventually vacated the land, citing difficulties attracting and retaining staff at the Stretford location as a key reason, according to planning documents. The company relocated its offices to Salford Quays.

The land has stood empty since the building on it was demolished in 2024. Now, developers MCI Developments and JS Hennessey (1999) RBS have put forward plans to bring much of it back into use.

Pre-application discussions with Trafford council considered a much larger scheme. Under those plans, 192 homes would have been built over a 3.4h of land, including additional land to the northwest which the National Grid previously used as a gas holder and depot site.

Council officials raised concerns over the loss of so much employment land, however, and the proposal was scaled back to its current size. The developers said this would allow more employment space to be retained and the site to ‘continue to make an economic contribution’.

They added the ‘cost of remediation’ for the western parcel of land would have ‘rendered the site unviable for residential uses’. The companies consider the delivery of affordable housing sufficient to ‘outweigh’ any ‘adverse impacts’ from the loss of the remaining employment space.

The scheme would see 46 houses and 48 apartments built. These would range from one- and two-bed flats to three- and four-bed town houses. The apartment buildings would be four storeys in height.

Some 94 parking spaces are proposed for residents, with an additional 25 for parking.

Three communal green spaces are also planned. These include a landscaped open space at the edge of the canal, and a space at the centre of the development with ‘rain gardens’ and ‘ornamental tree planting’.

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PORTHCURNO (ENGLAND): Newly discovered documents have revealed the first telegraph messages and joy when England was linked for the first time with India on 23 June, 1870, via thousands of km of cables laid painstakingly below the seas, reducing time from months to minutes.

The sylvan Porthcurno valley in Cornwall, located on the Atlantic coast 506 km south-west of London, was the unlikely place of a revolution that enabled Britain and its former colonies to communicate with each other.

Museum officials told a visiting PTI correspondent that Porthcurno was the hub of international cable communications from 1870 to 1970, and a training college for the communications industry until 1993.

Now a museum housing rare equipment and details of the history of telegraph, Porthcurno has been granted millions of pounds in funding to develop an international education programme that includes community groups in India.

Among its rare archives discovered last week is a collection of the first telegraph messages sent from Porthcurno and Mumbai (then Bombay).

Until that landmark day, communication between England and India was unreliable, and often took months.
According to the document, the first message was dispatched on the night of 23 June, 1870, and a reply was received in 5 minutes, which was a technological feat at the time.The message was called a ‘complimentary telegram’ between the ‘Managing Director in London and the Manager in Bombay’.

The first message was from ‘Anderson to Stacey: How are you all?’, to which the reply was: ‘All well’.

The second message from Anderson was: ‘Please ask gentlemen of the press, Bombay, to send a message to gentlemen of the press, New York’.

After several messages that night, including some to the governor of Bombay, from Lady Mayo to viceroy Lord Mayo based in Shimla, and one from the Prince of Wales to the viceroy, a response was received from journalists based in Bombay.

It said: ‘From the Press of India to the Press of America: The Press of India sends salaam to the Press of America. Reply quick’.

The document notes that the viceroy of India had sent a telegraph to the president of the United States and “received a reply which reached him in 7 hours 40 minutes”.

The viceroy’s message, which was read in the American Congress the same evening, was: “The Viceroy of India for the first time speaks direct by telegraph with the President of the United States. May the completion of the long line of uninterrupted communication be the emblem of lasting union between the Eastern and Western World”.

Telegraphic communication with India was first established in 1864 by overland telegraph lines from Europe to the top of the Persian Gulf and then by an undersea cable to Karachi, but the overland section was never satisfactory, prompting efforts to lay more reliable cables below the sea.

In 1869, telegraph pioneer John Pender established the British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company, whose task was to lay undersea cables to India.

The five ships used to lay the thousands of km of cables were the Great Eastern, William Cory, Chiltern, Hawk and Hibernia.

It took six weeks to lay the cables from Suez to Bombay. This was followed by the laying of the final link from Malta to Porthcurno.

It was the first long distance cable ‘chain’, and opened to the public with much jubilation, museum records show.

After the link with India was established, Porthcurno was linked by undersea cables to several other areas across the world.

At its height, it was the world’s largest station with 14 cables in operation. Porthcurno’s telegraphic codename was ‘PK’.

During World War II, tunnels were dug by Cornish miners to house an underground building and Porthcurno’s entire telegraph operations.
The building today houses the museum and archives that started the communication revolution in the late nineteenth century.
Besides 1.44 million pounds funding received in January, the museum this week has been granted 35,000 pounds from the international telecommunications organisation SubOptic to develop an education project with community groups in India, among other countries.
Museum officials said the money will fund an international education programme that will benefit users from spring 2013.

It will include online learning resources, including video clips, animations and games that will enable users to discover the science of global cable-based telecommunications, as well as its impacts on local identity, democracy and culture.

This article was written by

PUNE: The statistical models used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had failed to predict all the three droughts in India in the last decade. Though statistical models will still be used for monsoon forecast, the ministry of earth sciences is putting more emphasis on dynamic models.

M Rajeevan of National Atmospheric Research Laboratory said, “the failure to predict the 2009 drought has raised many serious issues. On the other hand, the state-of-the art coupled ocean atmospheric models have sho-wed improved skills in predicting inter annual variability of Indian summer monsoon rainfall.”

He was speaking at the golden jubilee conference of Indian Institute of Climate Change (IITM), Pune, on ‘opportunities and challenges in monsoon prediction in changing climate’. Since 2011, the IITM has used the coupled model for monsoon forecast.
Better weather forecast needs data from all parts of the globe. “In every part of the world, farmers are saying that the climate is not as it used to be. Hence, traditional knowledge is also failing. For better prediction of weather, we need observations from all countries. We need super computers of even higher capacities. We need to have knowledge about how to translate scientific progress into concrete applications,” said Michel Jarraud, secretary general, World Meteorological Organisation.

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NEW YORK — United Rentals Inc. shares skyrocketed nearly 19% in morning trading Thursday, reaching $958.50 by 10:43 a.m. EDT on April 23 as the equipment rental giant reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter results and highlighted robust demand across construction, infrastructure and industrial projects.

The massive 19.38% surge, or $155.62 per share, marked one of the largest single-day gains in the company’s history and pushed its market capitalization well above $50 billion. Volume spiked dramatically in early trading, reflecting strong institutional and retail interest in the industrial bellwether.

United Rentals delivered a standout quarter, with revenue climbing 12% year-over-year to $3.71 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. Adjusted earnings per share reached $11.42, significantly ahead of forecasts. The company also raised its full-year guidance, citing sustained momentum in private construction, public infrastructure spending and energy sector activity.

CEO Matthew Flannery attributed the performance to “broad-based strength across our end markets.” He noted particularly robust demand for heavy equipment used in data center construction, semiconductor manufacturing facilities and renewable energy projects. The company’s specialty rental segment, which includes tools and power solutions, also showed double-digit growth.

Analysts reacted quickly to the results. Several major firms raised price targets, with some calling for $1,100 or higher within the next 12 months. The rally reflected relief that United Rentals continues to navigate supply chain challenges and equipment cost inflation better than feared, while benefiting from multi-year tailwinds in U.S. infrastructure spending.

The stock’s breakout comes as the broader industrial sector shows resilience. Government infrastructure bills continue to flow into roads, bridges, airports and utilities, creating sustained rental demand. Additionally, the boom in artificial intelligence data centers has driven unprecedented need for cranes, generators, excavators and other heavy machinery.

United Rentals operates the largest fleet of rental equipment in the world, with more than 600 locations across North America. Its business model — owning equipment and renting it out at high utilization rates — generates strong free cash flow and attractive margins. The company has also expanded through strategic acquisitions, most recently strengthening its presence in the specialty equipment segment.

Investors have rewarded United Rentals’ disciplined capital allocation. The company has returned significant capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks while maintaining a healthy balance sheet. Its ability to generate cash even during economic slowdowns has made it a favorite among value-oriented industrial investors.

Thursday’s surge pushed the stock to fresh all-time highs, breaking above previous resistance levels. Technical analysts noted strong momentum indicators and suggested the move could attract trend-following buyers in the coming sessions. However, some cautioned that such a sharp one-day gain may lead to short-term profit-taking.

For retail investors, the rally highlights the opportunities in cyclical industrial stocks during periods of economic expansion. United Rentals often serves as a proxy for overall construction and industrial activity, making it sensitive to macroeconomic trends while offering growth potential through operational improvements.

The company has benefited from favorable industry dynamics. Many contractors prefer renting over buying equipment due to high capital costs and maintenance requirements. United Rentals’ scale allows it to offer competitive rates while maintaining industry-leading fleet utilization rates above 70%.

Looking ahead, management expressed confidence in the remainder of 2026. They highlighted a strong backlog in key end markets and continued pricing discipline. While some analysts watch for potential slowdowns in commercial construction, public infrastructure and technology-related projects are expected to provide a buffer.

United Rentals has also made sustainability a priority. The company continues expanding its fleet of electric and lower-emission equipment, positioning itself for evolving customer preferences and potential regulatory changes. This forward-thinking approach has resonated with institutional investors focused on environmental, social and governance factors.

The stock’s performance stands in contrast to some other industrial names that have faced margin pressure this year. United Rentals’ ability to pass along cost increases and maintain strong utilization has set it apart from peers.

Market watchers will closely monitor upcoming economic data for any signals that could impact future demand. Interest rate trends, federal infrastructure disbursements and corporate capital spending plans will all influence United Rentals’ trajectory in the second half of the year.

For long-term investors, Thursday’s move reinforces United Rentals’ position as a high-quality compounder in the industrial space. The company has delivered strong returns over the past decade through disciplined execution and strategic growth.

As trading continued Thursday morning, the stock held most of its early gains, trading well above $950. Analysts expect continued volatility around earnings reactions, but the underlying fundamentals appear supportive for further upside if execution remains strong.

United Rentals’ dramatic rise highlights how specific industry tailwinds can drive outsized stock performance even in a complex macroeconomic environment. For investors seeking exposure to America’s physical economy — from highways and data centers to energy projects — the company remains a leading pure-play option.

The coming quarters will test whether United Rentals can sustain its momentum. With strong first-quarter results and raised guidance now on the books, the market appears to be pricing in continued success. Whether the stock can maintain these elevated levels will depend on delivering consistent results through the rest of 2026.

For now, shareholders are celebrating a remarkable day. United Rentals has once again demonstrated its ability to generate substantial shareholder value in a recovering economic cycle. As the company continues executing on its strategic priorities, investors will watch closely to see if this breakout marks the beginning of a new leg higher for the industrial giant.