Business

The beautiful private office in the heart of Manchester’s coolest coworking space

The best of both worlds.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 13th January 2023

Manchester’s coolest coworking space – which comes with a Michelin-trained chef in the cafe – has a beautiful new office space up for grabs that offers the best of both worlds. 

Use.Space’s brand new office within its building near Piccadilly is the perfect size for a small local business looking to take that little step up from hot-desking. 

The space has room for six staff and is decorated in sunny yellow, with designer wallpaper and tonnes of natural light. 

And while it comes with a door you can actually shut for some privacy, it’s right in the heart of Use.Space’s creative hub.

Other spaces in Use.Space’s Manchester office. Credit: The Manc Group

That means that you have access to all the facilities on offer, from the cafe (with food from Michelin-trained chef Laurie Curtis, of Manchester Pasta Co) to the Business Support Programme, where you can speak to experts in all sorts of industries for advice and guidance – while still having the peace and quiet and dedicated space needed to run a business. 

The dog-friendly building, just an eight minute walk from Manchester Piccadilly (but with free car parking for those who drive), is broken down into hot desks, private offices, event space, meeting rooms and breakout areas.

The private office space that’s up for grabs at Use.Space. Credit: Supplied

Beyond the six-seater private office set slightly back from the buzz of the coworking space, the spaces at Use.Space include the Mindful Green Room (with a meeting space inside an indoor greenhouse), the Meet-Up Cafe filled with colourful furnishings and plants, and even a ‘Garden of Wonderland’ outdoor space. 

Use.Space was founded in 2019 by Manchester entrepreneur David Walter, who wanted to create a coworking space that was also a community, a hub of information and a business network.

He said of the private office that’s up for rent: “The best of both worlds for you and your team, a stylish private office, in the heart of a thriving coworking community. 

“Close your door and you have your own private and well-appointed office for six, with free car parking included. Open your door and you enter an inspirational coworking space with an active business community of SME’s, start-ups and freelancers and access to meeting rooms, breakout spaces, cafe area and kitchen facilities.”

There’s a choice of memberships available. For more information contact Community Manager Archie Hyndman, email [email protected], call 07712 177701, or visit usespace.co.uk.

Featured image: The Manc Group

Business

A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure

Danny Jones Danny Jones Little Italy Timperley closing permanently

Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.

The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.

Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.

But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.

Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.

“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.

“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”

Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.

Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.

They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.

Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.

“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”

As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.

“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”

It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…

Award-winning chippy in Prestwich announces heartbreaking restaurant closure

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Little Italy Timperley (via Facebook)

Business

The bizarre explanation behind Manchester’s new mini ‘green space’ – that’s completely closed off

Danny Jones Danny Jones Fenced off green space Manchester city centre gated lawn

One thing you always hear people who live in central Manchester calling out for is green space, but when a new patch of grass does arrive, you don’t exactly expect it to be completely inaccessible.

Just a quick FYI to those of you passionate about supporting what little nature there is left in our city centre: brace yourselves, as this one is rather annoying…

For anyone who’s walked down Whitworth Street West past the once lively Locks, or even got off at Deansgate–Castlefield tram stop and come down the glass stairs closest to the Albion Bridge, you may have noticed a rogue patch of grass surrounded by black fencing next to the City Road Inn pub.

It could be considered a nice little lawn were it not completely fenced off, but the question is, why has it popped up there? Well, local lad Curtis Rothwell has recently debunked the whole frustrating mess for us in a helpful video.

Yes, as explained by the Pre-Construction Manager who works for local utilities contractor Zenit Infrastructure Solutions Limited, the somewhat laughable but disheartening gated green space on Whitworth Street is essentially a feeble attempt at adhering to permission laws.

As detailed by Rothwell, the plot bought for a sizeable sum last year (only the original developers didn’t have the funding to actually pull off their initial plans) is now set to become student accommodation.

Currently, real estate firm Tri7 – which has now been fully folded into the parent group known as Fusion, as previous part-owners already – still has a hold on the land for now.

However, after being ordered by Manchester City Council to tidy up the area in the meantime, as they await planning permission to be fully approved, they decided to lay these new rolls of turf there.

Ok, so while the notion of the Council ordering a property company to make urban spaces look pretty and the idea of introducing more grassy zones into the city sound good on paper, as you can see, the real-life result doesn’t quite match up.

gates green space whitworth street west manchester
whitworth street lawn
fenced off green space bit of grass in manchester
Credit: The Manc

Not only does this feel like a bare minimum effort to appease the local authorities ahead of erecting yet another skyscraper, but more importantly, it feels like sheer nonchalant neglect and/or plain dismissal of those Manc residents crying out for more grass, nature and a break from the concrete jungle.

The fact that the rare green space is totally blocked by tall, almost authoritarian-feeling fences and sealed off by a big, black gate comes across like a casual two fingers to both the Council and those living in the city centre.

Speaking to The Manc, Curt commented: “It’s positive the council can take charge of how our empty spaces look after demolitions. In this case, maybe the demolition was carried out too early, which happens, but when it does, greenery is the best look they can give to local people.”

You can see the latest update on the planning permission HERE, and for now, if you’re looking for green spaces in Manchester, you’ll find them more frequently beyond the outskirts and heading into the boroughs; this one is strictly off limits. Find a whole bunch of ones that aren’t down below:

10 of the best green spaces around Greater Manchester
Sod the Whitworth Street Lawn, you can always go enjoy all the other green space gems across Greater Manchester.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Curtis Rothwell (via LinkedIn)

More Business

Boddingtons is back on tap draught in Greater Manchester

Business

A sneak peek at the first pour: Greater Manchester celebrates the return of Boddingtons

A new sports bar is set to open at Manchester Airport Terminal 3

Business

Manchester Airport shares major update and new images of Terminal 3 upgrade plans

J.W. Lees Brewery now the exclusive Manchester supplier of Boddingtons

Boroughs

Local brewery J.W. Lees is helping bring back Manchester’s beloved Boddingtons beer

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches