Eats

Mancs’ fury as new skyscraper dwarfs one of Manchester’s best rooftop bars

Onwards and upwards, quite literally, I guess...

Daisy Jackson - 18th February 2024

Ever since its relaunch in 2022, The Deansgate pub in Manchester has had one of the city’s best rooftop bars.

But the pub’s beautiful two-storey terrace, with views of the Deansgate Square towers, has suddenly been dwarfed by a development next door.

It’s not just a big tower – it’s an L-shaped tower that’s quite literally hugging two sides of the pub.

Your view currently is of its concrete spine, later to be replaced by shiny glass and brick and concrete.

As things stand, The Deansgate can’t even open its rooftop terraces, so close is the construction site to where punters should be nursing a Guinness.

And when it is able to open, its views of the southern city centre skyline will be completely blocked by the 22-storey, 357-bedroom aparthotel being built at 325 Deansgate.

The tower, from Dean Street Developments, is going to be so tall, it will also be cosying right up to Beetham Tower’s Cloud 23, historically the city’s leading sky bar.

Fans of the reborn boozer are, understandably, gutted.

The Deansgate's roof terrace last summer. Credit: The Manc Group — The Deansgate’s rooftop terrace last summer. Credit: The Manc Group

How the same terrace looks now — The Deansgate’s rooftop terrace last summer. Credit: The Manc Group

When photos of the construction site were shared on local Facebook groups, one person commented: “Beautiful character building and bridge dwarfed by the new grey builds. There has been no attempt to blend these tower blocks.”

Another questioned: “Jesus, how did this get through planning due to the implications on the pub next door and one of the nicest beer gardens in town.”

Someone else said: “Lower Turks Head. Briton’s Protection. The Black Friar, Salford. The Deansgate. The Sir Ralph Abercrombie. I’m certain that there must be more – probably many more – local pubs now dwarfed into insignificance (or soon to be) by the “New Manchester”. There can’t be much more sky left to build over can there?”

Several people have compared The Deansgate to P J Clarke’s in Manhattan, a brick-built pub that still stands unchanged even as gigantic glass structures popped up on all sides.

The view from The Deansgate's roof terrace has been covered by a new skyscraper — The view from The Deansgate’s roof terrace has been covered by a new skyscraper

The huge aparthotel is taking shape beside the pub — The view from The Deansgate’s roof terrace has been covered by a new skyscraper

Of course, even without the rooftop terrace space, The Deansgate has a lot going for it.

There are bars and cosy snugs spreading across three floors, retained features like stained-glass windows and woodwork, and a menu of traditional pub favourites.

The Deansgate isn’t the only pub that’s being bullied by a sharp-edged glass monolith either.

There was outrage across the city a few years ago when those proposals for a ‘tower on stilts’ right beside the Briton’s Protection were submitted, squashed into a plot currently only big enough for a tiny car park.

And the Lower Turk’s Head’s beer garden now has a view straight up the side of the tower block nicknamed the ‘Shudehill Shard’.

Amber Leaff, general manager for the Deansgate commented: “The Deansgate continues to operate as normal indoors, with three floors offering visitors plenty of space to enjoy a drink or some classic pub food and we’re delighted to continue to welcome customers through the door.”