It's the steadfast policing operation that has transformed the face of Britain's 'counterfeit capital' in less than a year. Now, Greater Manchester's top cop is promising a similar effort to 'clean up' another of the city's most notorious spots.
Chief Constable Stephen Watson says Operation Vulcan will target Piccadilly Gardens 'in a matter of weeks'. It's the same operation which launched as a crackdown on organised crime and the counterfeit trade in Strangeways and Cheetham Hill.
The Greater Manchester Police boss told BBC Radio Manchester this morning (August 29) that Vulcan had led to 215 counterfeit stores being shut down, with the operation 'literally ripping out tens of millions of pounds from organised crime'. Now, he is promising police will target Piccadilly Gardens with 'vim and vigour' ahead of the area's regeneration.
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"I think Piccadilly Gardens is not the gateway to Manchester that any of us want," he told the Mike Sweeney programme. "I think it looks poor, it does attract too many of the wrong sorts of people, it creates a sense of lawlessness, a lack of safety, there's too often the smell of cannabis around the place and it does need tidying up."
Chf Con Watson said 'Vulcan Piccadilly' would see a 'similarly focused effort' to the one which has transformed the so-called 'Counterfeit Street' area since last autumn. He explained it would be 'properly populated' with officers - including those in the neighbourhood team, a dedicated Vulcan team and two newly-appointed chief inspectors.
He added: "The important thing with Piccadilly Gardens is we are absolutely determined to clean it up, and we are going to bring real vim and vigour to the endeavour. But what is really important is the ongoing relationship we have, the good relationship we have, with Manchester City Council who I think have some really ambitious plans.
"There are going to be very specific plans put in place, and ultimately those plans will seed - I hope - private investment coming in behind that which will be public investment to smarten up the infrastructure. It needs to look better, it needs to be redesigned to an extent, and we need to bring in a vibrancy and something which is self-sustaining."
Piccadilly Gardens is one of the most talked about subjects in the city - with residents often raising concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour, as well as the look of the landmark area. Last month, Manchester City Council appointed a design team to work on the transformation of Piccadilly Gardens, describing its vision to 'create a world class space'.
All existing listed monuments, statues and 'infrastructure' are expected to be retained as part of the project, as well as the existing Pavilion structure. The public will be able to have its say during a period of consultation before a formal planning application is submitted, council bosses said.
The chief constable described the project as another 'clear, hold, build-type strategy' like the one in Cheetham Hill. The idea is GMP will focus on clearing the area of criminal activity before longer-term redevelopment plans can come to fruition.
Chf Con Watson also told BBC Radio Manchester that Operation Vulcan would soon concentrate on the Metrolink network as well, while a focus will be kept on Cheetham Hill at the same time. Responding to concerns about passenger safety, Chf Con Watson admitted 'you really don't need the aggro' when travelling on the tram - and raised concern about people who 'believe they can travel with impunity'.
"We are going to get our people very much more visible and present on the tram system," he added. "My message to anybody who is going to get onto our transport system frequently without having paid for a ticket and misbehaving themselves is we - together with Transport for Greater Manchester - are coming for you.
"We do need to tidy it up, and we need to tidy it up on the basis that this is what people rightly expect of us, and it's good for our city-region to have a first-class transport system."
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