Plans have been submitted to turn a decades-old garage in the heart of Ancoats into a thriving market place, prioritising affordable retail space for small businesses.
If it all goes ahead, Blossom Market will be a beacon of local retail, with eight units that can home everything from bakeries to greengrocers to art spaces to bars.
The plans have been put forward by Blossom Motor Co, which has occupied the site on Gun Street for generations but is now ‘hanging up its spanners’.
After 80 years serving Ancoats, current owners (and brothers) Sean and Paul are heading to retirement and want to support this bustling neighbourhood in a completely new way.
This is a proposal with its heart in exactly the right place.
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As Manchester city centre continues to grow outwards and upwards, the team proposing Blossom Market feel that rising rents are pushing local businesses out.
This is especially true in newly redeveloped neighbourhoods like Ancoats, where luxury apartments and large food halls are commonplace.
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Blossom Motor Co is ‘hanging up its spanners’ and planning a new life as Blossom MarketBlossom Motor Co could be turned into Blossom Market. Credit: Instagram, @aterliermbarchitects
Blossom Market’s aspiration is to protect the area’s independent spirit, keeping the business within the family whilst continuing to serve the local community by offering flexible, affordable spaces for emerging businesses.
Inspired by similar businesses like Brixton Village in London, Box Park, and Queens Arcade in Leeds, the plan will be to develop something ‘the community truly needs’.
Blossom Motor Co has now lodged planning permission to turn their beloved garage into this retail market, hoping to provide a space for ‘young local businesses to grow and thrive’.
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The garage itself has been in the same family since 1948, with fathers and sons working alongside each other every since. Sean and Paul have been running the business since 1994.
If planning permission is granted, the 4,036 sq m space will be totally rebuilt internally to create a mixed-use market space filled with different local businesses.
How Blossom Market could look. Credit: Supplied
Blossom Market says: “More recently it has been a challenge for fledging businesses to develop a physical presence due to rising city centre costs.
“Often resorting to weekend markets and pop up events we aim to create a more permanent platform to enable small business to grow whilst providing local residents a hub of high quality produce, products and experiences.
“Open seven days a week and with a mixture of small to medium sized units with flexible leasing terms, it will provide the perfect space for businesses looking for their first physical space.
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“Our goal is to create a desirable destination that local residents want to visit regularly and small businesses want to be a part of – building a beacon of commerce in one of Manchesters most exciting central locations.”
Manchester Airport releases statement after customer data stolen in ‘targeted’ cyber security attack
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has released a formal statement after data was stolen from 8.7 million customers in a ‘targeted’ cyber security attack yesterday.
Manchester Airport Group (MAG) – which operates Manchester Airport, Stansted, and East Midlands Airport – said the cyber security incident happened at around 1pm yesterday (Thursday 27 August), and that the data seized from 8.7 million customers included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes.
The data that was stolen related to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings, and in-airport WiFi sign-ups, MAG stated.
It was initially confirmed that the system the hackers accessed did not hold customers’ bank or payment details, however, and that all other regular airport operations and customer parking continued uninterrupted.
Manchester Airport has now released a formal statement to reassure customers that they are taking the matter ‘extremely seriously’.
The statement reads: “Manchester Airport Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities, and at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
MAG insisted that the incident had not resulted in any ‘operational disruption’, adding: “Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously, and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
Featured Image – MAG
Business
Workers at major Manchester city centre hotel to strike this bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
Workers at one of the most prominent hotels in Manchester city centre are set to strike this bank holiday weekend.
Workers at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel and its bar venue The Refuge, who are members of the union Unite, will take 24 hours of strike action on Saturday (29 August) in what is said to be a ‘long-running dispute’ over union busting.
The strike day chosen by the workers is the second day of this year’s Manchester Village Pride, and is historically the most lucrative day of the year for their employer.
This is because Kimpton Clocktower is located very close to the Pride Parade route, and for several years has been a very popular location for people attending the festival, and even runs a number of Pride events itself.
Unite says that for months now, workers at the Kimpton Clocktower – which is owned by InterContinental Hotels Group UK (IHG) – have been asking for formal union recognition to improve conditions after raising several issues with management, but IHG UK has refused this and instead ‘targeted’ the union for its actions.
Workers at a major Manchester city centre hotel are set to strike this bank holiday weekend / Credit: Rebecca Hope Photography (Supplied)
Previous strikes have already taken place this summer, apparently causing ‘financial hits’ to the business in the process – with the bar being forced to close early at several events as there were not enough staff to cover them.
“A strike on Kimpton’s most profitable day is entirely of its own making,” commented Unite regional officer, Alison Treacher. “Throughout this dispute, Kimpton Clocktower management have treated its loyal workforce with contempt and our members have shown they will not stand for it.
“There is still time to avoid this highly disruptive strike action, but that relies on IHG changing tack by listening to its members and giving them the union recognition they have long been calling for.”
This dispute is said to be the first ever hospitality strike in the North West.
Unite is currently running a petition demanding that IHG UK stop targeting union activists, recognise the Kimpton workers rights to have their grievance heard collectively, and support their union recognition campaign.
Daisy Jackson -
20th February 2025 
