Manchester institution Afflecks Palace appears to be under threat as the city's redevelopment frenzy continues.
In a story I wrote for today's Manchester Evening News, traders tell how the building's landlord, Bruntwood, has so far failed to give them any information about what will happen when the lease expires on June 14.
Afflecks Palace is a vibrant, if slightly down-at-heel, shopping emporium - the kind of place you go to buy anything from fancy dress to chunky jewellery and pieces by local clothing designers.
It's also the place where the Fat City record shop first began, and where Red or Dead founder Wayne Hemingway and Urban Splash supremo Tom Bloxham started their careers.
It's one of the only independently owned, creative retail spaces left in the city and is central to the boho vibe of the Northern Quarter, the up-and-coming area of the centre it is in.
No one knows whether the building will be hived off for redevelopment, or if the lease will be renewed but at a much higher rate - one which small traders will struggle to afford.
Some stall-holders seem to privately believe the situation may be linked to the forthcoming project to knock down and build on a neighbouring site, currently home to a multi-storey car park.
What is certain, is that if Afflecks is allowed to disappear, efforts to promote the Northern Quarter as a quirky, trendy place to be will look hollow to say the least.
In a letter sent out to traders, Afflecks Palace the company (which lets stalls out and deals with the admin), warned: "We may find ourselves priced out of our own market. The rent you pay for your stall would at the very least double, which would make it unviable for most of you to continue and no longer viable for us as operators to continue to run.
"We have to face the fact that property in Manchester is now at a premium, due to development fever."
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
a blow for independence?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Blimey!
But surely Affleck's was past it in about 1995?
These days, you go in and end up faced with hordes of god-awful teenage goths giving you evil looks cause you're not "alternative" enough.
Or maybe I'm just old. I say knock down the fleapit and something new and fresh will appear in its place -- there's no way it'll just die.
I agee the place needs some serious work doing but if Afflecks closed, wouldn't it be a serious blow to any kind of diversity in the city centre?
Surely we have enough bland chain stores and soulless "luxury" apartment blocks already?
Whilst I agree that Affleck's (as nostalgia) isn't the place it once was, the move to close would be significant blow. Significant as it has been the last bastion of independent retailing in central Manchester - especially after the bomb took out the Corn Exchange.
There was a piece on Channel M a few weeks ago which highlighted that around half of the "luxury" apartments in Manchester, and surrounding areas such as Salford Quays, were empty. Hence the rents coming down and no doubt percieved revenue from the owners being way short of expectation.
So then, it would be doubley sad if Afflecks were to be cleared for nobody. But sentiment didn't stop the Hacienda apartments being built.
perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't written the story. Afflecks palace has supposed to be closing for the last 15 years. Now when it really is in trouble no ones gonna care
Er right okay, Mr or Mrs Anonymous, so you believe it will all be my fault for reporting FACT - ie that there were real issues with a lack of communications between the two parties? Give me a break.
I was handed the story to do and I did it. That is what I do for a living.
It's not for me to say no when someone raises concerns - and in this case, traders were extremely concerned. So worried that they actually posted in the letter they had been sent about it by their managers to the MEN office.
If the whole thing is sorted now, that is great news, but it doesn't mean the whole thing was a cry-wolf story. There almost wasn't a new agreement.
If the MEN hadn't actually covered this story in the first place, it probably would have taken Afflecks and Bruntwood far longer to sit round a table together and thrash out new terms. And that wouldn't have helped anyone.
Sometimes people need a little push to start communicating again, and I for one am pleased if this has all resulted in a new lease and the survival of Afflecks as we all know and love it.
I do not accept that I will somehow ultimately be personally to blame if the same thing happens years down the line. That is utterly ridiculous.
Hi Ciara
A public meeting is being held on Sunday March 25 to discuss city centre issues.
It starts at 6pm in committee room 1 in Manchester Town Hall. Present will be the council's city centre spokesman Councillor Pat Karney and Labour's candidate for the city centre in the May election Kathy Crotty.
Kathy says she is keen to hear people's opinions about Affleck's.
Pass it on.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/aflexpalace/
Post a Comment