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Hello,
I have been a bit of a Stockport naysayer ever since I found myself slightly chilly with wet hair outside Grand Central swimming baths in 1997. And the long trudge down the many steps to the bus station didn’t improve my mood.
But 26 years later, I have decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. I’m not one to hold grudges. And after reading Jenna Campbell’s piece about how great it is, I think I’ll have to join the Stopfordians at Foodie Friday - if they’ll have me.
We’ll be discussing the up-and-coming parts of the market town in today’s newsletter. We’ll also be looking at plans for the first new railway station in decades, some disused railway arches in Manchester and a pet crematorium in Wigan.
'A diamond in the rough'
I do think DJ Luke Unabomber must have been in a very jovial mood when he declared: "Stockport is the new Berlin." But I once declared: "Crisps are the new superfood", so I know something about hyperbole.
And though his comment was undoubtedly tongue-in-cheek, there is plenty to recommend Stockport to the hipsters and history lovers who flock to the German capital each year, as Jenna Campbell has been explaining. And all for the price of a 42 bus ticket.
The thousands who descend on the Old Town for Foodie Friday each week have been known to talk enthusiastically and at great length about the event - which has live music by the Victorian Market Hall and a strong line-up of food and drink traders.
Artist Eric Jackson - known for his comical posters depicting Greater Manchester’s suburbs - recently created a ‘Das neue Berlin’ artwork featuring a Sally Bowles-type figure at the Underbanks to capture the recent zeal about the town.
And his Stockport Alphabet piece - which gives special mention to landmarks like the blue pyramid, the hat museum and Strawberry Studios - was rejigged a while back to reflect ongoing changes. “In the original version, I wasn’t very complimentary about Underbanks because, although I’ve always loved the buildings around there, it was full of charity and sex shops; it was horrible, " he said last year.
Now that street is home to a wealth of independent boutiques, bakeries and bars. “Stockport is always changing, I’ve always liked it, but I thought the council was a bit reluctant to let anybody do anything interesting in Stockport, but the brakes are off now.”
With a new transport hub on the way, a £1bn revamp of the town centre under way and new homes being built, things are looking up - and Stockport was recently named in The Sunday Times’ Best Places to Live list.
As Jenna writes, the ‘Underbanks’ corner of town - known as the ‘Soho of the North’ - has been credited with breathing new life into the town. Early adopters like Plant Shop, Rare Mags and SK1 Records all saw its potential when they set up several years ago, and in more recent years, new faces have sought to remind people of this ‘bohemian spirit’.
Tony Murray, owner of Old Town General Store, reckons the success of his clothing store is down to the area's businesses bouncing off one another and buying into a new Stockport narrative. “It’s just been so well received because so many things of a similar level have opened up around the same time and instantly helped each other. The old adage of ‘Stockport isn’t shit’ is actually true. That's generally what people used to think of the town centre, we didn’t have many nice bars or restaurants, and any shops were all very high street and all about the Merseyway.”
Tony hopes more independent businesses will pick Stockport now. “It couldn’t get worse than it was and, what we’ve rediscovered in this town is pride. Now people are proud to say they’re from Stockport. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a bit of a diamond in the rough, but that’s what it should be, it’s not pretending to be something that it’s not.”
Sophia Barrese, of Top of The Town Vintage, lives near the town centre with her fiancé Joe Donovan - the drummer in Stockport band Blossoms. She thinks more people will start to move to Stockport as a result of national and regional coverage. “There’s definitely a buzz about Stockport. So many great attributes in one place. So if you want something like city living you have Underbanks and the Market, but if you want a taste of country living, you are only 10 minutes from that too,” she says.
This week Runaway Brewery will open its first site in the town. Co-owner Marc Welsby says: “Here, there’s people who are genuinely interested and invested in Stockport as a place. It’s not just big brands going in, so it’s not some generic, homogeneous experience. To us it feels like Stockport has a real soul.”
As Jenna writes that the town’s burgeoning food scene has also played a part in its success. But Martin Wilson, owner of magazine shop Rare Mags, says there is still a way to go. A few years ago he would struggle to think of onward retail to recommend to customers, aside from some nice old pubs. “We’ve still got those, but we’ve also got a lot more to offer now too,” he says. “I would say it still has a long way to go, but it’s got a path now. It doesn’t need to be an overnight success story, it’s better if it's long-term, organic and real.”
‘A new community’
The Manchester Evening News is launching its own WhatsApp community this week. You can sign up for the latest breaking news, exclusives and top headlines to be sent straight to your phone via the messaging app by clicking on this link and selecting ‘Join Community'.
Nobody will be able to see who's receiving our broadcasts and no one else can send messages except for the M.E.N. team - and you can leave any time you like. All the details are here.
Under the arches
Disused railway arches have long been a source of creativity in Manchester. Cloudwater and Track were the first microbreweries to set up taprooms within arches beneath Piccadilly Station where you could sip a third of a tasty DIPA whilst sitting among the barrels (usually with your coat on). Both moved on to bigger venues nearby, but the recent addition of Sureshot under the arches proves there’s still plenty of appeal in those old brick structures.
Now plans have been revealed to turn a row of abandoned railway arches on Corporation Street - close to the old Charter Street Ragged School - into shops, bars, restaurants and cafés.
As Joseph Timan writes, ten arches on the road are part of a £4m redevelopment project by The Arch Company. The developer owns 253 spaces in Manchester and Salford, making this the largest concentration of railway arches outside of London.
Plans submitted to Manchester Council show how the derelict arches look and how it’s hoped they can be transformed. Developers say the Pop-up Bikes shop, which is in the middle of the row of arches, will remain occupied throughout the redevelopment.
‘Majorly underserved’ area could get new station
Andy Burnham is determined to build a proper commuter hub for his home town - and he’s just one Whitehall signature away.
Both the mayor and Leigh MP James Grundy are pinning their hopes on a Golborne Train Station, near High Street. If approved by the government, it would be the first train station to be built in Greater Manchester in a quarter of a century.
Golborne’s old station closed in 1967, but the old platforms can still be seen today. The town has no direct bus, train or tram services to Manchester. And despite the arrival of the Leigh Guided Busway, in 2016, the area around the Golborne end is still ‘majorly underserved’ according to Mr Burnham.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority has already approved £16m for the development and delivery of a new railway station at Golborne. And an extra £1m has also been put aside for the project.
“Golborne has a rock solid case for a station. It is now becoming quite clear,” Mr Burnham told George Lythgoe. “It has been sent to the Government for sign-off. I prioritised it as mayor because of the very poor transport connectivity in that area - and if Metrolink isn’t coming anytime soon to the Wigan borough then it has to be the case to improve rail connectivity.
“This is not favouritism as it is majorly underserved and I declare the fact I do live around there, but Transport for Greater Manchester told me early on that Golborne is the station that has the strongest justification.”
The mayor says Golborne could be the flagship station of the rail Bee Network. And Mr Grundy hopes construction could start as early as next year. “I am firmly convinced that it is going to get over the line,” he says.
The stigma stopping girls in sport
There has been a major change in sport recently. The England Women's football team have announced that their new home kit will feature blue shorts, instead of white ones to help players feel more comfortable while on their periods. They will also feature a leak-protection liner in response to athletes' feedback.
And they’re not the only team making changes, as Sophie Halle-Richards writes. Manchester City's women incorporated burgundy shorts into their kit earlier this season. During the European Championship last year, England midfielder Georgia Stanway said: “It's very nice to have an all-white kit, but sometimes it's not practical when it's the time of the month.”
Helen Hardy, founder of Manchester Laces, hopes conversations about the subject at an elite level will filter down to amateur and grassroots football. “It's brilliant to talk about the subject in general and hopefully that leads to the next generation being able to talk about it more when they experience their first period," she told BBC Breakfast. !It's stopping girls at the moment. It certainly was a barrier to me growing up playing football. It certainly made me nervous and not feel like I wanted to get on the pitch.”
The ultimate goal
Tom George was on Bury New Road for less than five minutes when he was approached by someone offering him drugs. “I’m minding my own business, sauntering along in the early afternoon sun, when a lad in a black tracksuit accosts me out of nowhere,” he writes.
Tom was sent out to investigate how how easy it is to buy illicit drugs in the notorious Strangeways district of Manchester. But he was startled by the persistence of a man who offered him pregabalin - a prescription drug rife on the streets around the prison.
Offered a £10 per strip deal, Tom left the area pretending to get some money. But he was pursued by the dealer. “I loiter for a while on the corner of Moulton Street but it's not long before I hear a piercing whistle and notice the same man walking towards me. He asks if I’m still interested in the pregabalin, and also offers me cannabis and cocaine. I say I'm not, make my excuses and beat a hasty retreat to my car,” he writes.
A huge police crackdown is ongoing in the area with dozens of warehouses and shops shut, more than 100 arrests made and millions of pounds of fake goods seized from 'Counterfeit Street'. But it’s business as usual for some. Tom saw shuttered shops still open and 'spotters' lingering on street corners. “The trade in fake merchandise and illicit prescription drugs may not be as widespread or brazen as it once was in the city centre's shabby gateway, but it still exists - for now,” he writes.
Detective Chief Inspector Jen Kelly says there is ‘a lot of work to do’ but officers intend to stay in the area 'for the long term’. She says: "The ultimate goal for me is for this area to be safe. I want the schoolkids up the road to be able to come to school and feel safe. I want legitimate business to thrive here."
You can read the full piece here.
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Weather etc
- Thursday: Light showers changing to partly cloudy by nighttime.10C.
- Road closures: A662 Pollard Street Westbound, New Islington, closed due to roadworks from Pollard Street to A665 Great Ancoats Street. Until April 13.
- Trivia question: Which former manor house, dating back more than 750 years, is the former family seat of the Radclyffe family?
Manchester headlines
Going: The Saxon Street gas holder will be dismantled by ‘late summer or early autumn’. Residents living in the shadow of the Miles Platting landmark have been able to view the structure close-up in recent weeks. Dr Jenna Ashton, a lecturer in heritage studies at the University of Manchester, got the chance to examine the 30-metre tall tower and National Grid - which owns the structure - will film the works for the Manchester Archive. More here.
Pet crematorium: A new pet crematorium could cause ‘psychological distress’ and ‘horrific odours’ if it gets the green light, objectors have claimed. Plans have been proposed for a crematorium and two cremators on Chanters Industrial Estate, in Atherton. However the scheme has led to a number of objections from people living around Arley Way where the site is based. If the site becomes operational, there will be up to 10 cremations a day, a design and access statement said. Ashes would not be kept on site. The application will be reviewed by Wigan Council’s planning committee on April 11.
Waterways: Water bosses should face ‘absolute accountability’ for dumping sewage in places like the River Mersey in south Manchester, including being sent to jail, a team of Greater Manchester MPs have suggested. Labour’s shadow Environment and Rural Affairs Secretary Jim McMahon is backing a campaign to clean up the UK’s waterways. Shadow Transport Secretary Mike Kane and shadow Culture and Tourism Secretary Jeff Smith have launched a scathing attack on the privatised water sector over the volume of raw sewage dumped in rivers, lakes and the sea. Councillor Sarah Haughey, who represents Trafford’s Longford ward, says she regularly sees the banks of the Mersey ‘covered in human waste’ with sanitary towels, toilet roll, baby wipes and human faeces visible. United Utilities say work on 34 storm overflow projects in Greater Manchester is due to begin.
‘Metal obscenity’: Councillors have angrily turned down Three UK Ltd’s bid to put a 50-foot ‘metal obscenity’ of a mast on land near a primary school in Boothstown, Salford. The application also included a wraparound cabinet at the base of the 5G mast, three antennas, three equipment cabinets and other ‘ancillary equipment’ on the land at Leigh Road. Members of the city’s planning and transportation regulatory panel have previously voiced frustration at being unable to prevent telecom masts being erected in random locations outside homes across the city because of Government legislation. On this occasion they were able to turn the application down regardless of officers’ recommendations to approve. More here.
Worth a read
“When Colin and Alan Hesketh began working at their father’s independent sports shop in the 1970s, it was one of dozens across Greater Manchester. Almost half a century on, it’s the last one standing,” writes Tom George.
“In a world dominated by online shopping and huge retailers, Bury Sports and Trophies is a throwback to a bygone era. Inside you'll find its walls and counters lined with everything from snooker cues and cricket pads to snorkelling gear and slingshots. If you grew up in or around Bury the chances are that you’ve bought something from here down the years.”
After decades as a fixture on the town's high street, the much-loved business is set to close when Colin and Alan retire at the end of April. Even though, they say, trade is better than ever.
"We could be here another ten years if we wanted but with me being 70, I thought it was time to pack up. I'd like to put my feet up,” says Alan.
You can read Tom’s ode to this much-loved local shop here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Ordsall Hall
