City Centre

Ambitious plans to transform notorious Manchester back street that ‘stinks of wee’

A troubled part of the city centre could be given a massive transformation if plans go ahead.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 22nd November 2021

A plan to transform Back Piccadilly – a city centre street plagued by anti-social behaviour – has been revealed.

If it goes ahead, the street will be given ‘high quality landscaping’ and, based on the artist impressions, turned into a road festooned with fairy lights.

Back Piccadilly is currently a key service road for the Northern Quarter and Piccadilly Gardens area, which skirts past Sacha’s hotel.

Thackeray, a real estate investment, development and asset management company, wants to ‘breathe new life’ into a section of the street.

The plans for Back Piccadilly, near Sacha’s hotel. Credit: Thackeray

The street is currently lined with bins, covered in graffiti, and ‘stinks of wee‘, leading to some nicknaming it ‘p*ss alley’.

Its proposed revival is part of Thackeray’s plans to transform the 7-9 Piccadilly building into a ‘landmark that aligns with the City Council’s ambition to reshape Piccadilly Gardens’.

The plans include the addition of a roof terrace with panoramic views of the surrounding area.

Read more: Man spotted with ‘flamethrower’ on night out in the Northern Quarter

Thackeray said: “The rear of the building addresses Back Piccadilly and presents a unique opportunity to breathe new life into this part of the City.

“The proposed development will deliver a new access into the proposed office accommodation, providing visual improvements and increased security through passive surveillance.

“The introduction of high quality landscaping and shared surfaces sets out a commitment to urban renewal through the greening of laneways and the creation of a new, reimagined link between Piccadilly Gardens and the Northern Quarter.”

Featured image: Google Maps / Thackeray

City Centre

Classical musician Hauser announces huge arena gig in Manchester later this year

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Croatian cellist and former member of classical band 2CELLOS, Hauser, has announced a tour including an arena date in Manchester this year.

World-class musician Stjepan Hauser, known professionally as Hauser, is getting ready to pack his cello and cheeky smile as he embarks on ‘The Rebel Is Back’ tour.

Hauser has amassed a worldwide cult following of classical music lovers, by not only respecting the genre, but evolving it too by intertwining his cello skills into modern day pop hits.

The cellist has covered lots of current pop songs while part of musical duo 2CELLOS like ‘We Found Love’, ‘Despacito’, and ‘Viva La Vida’.

You can also expect to hear covers of some of music’s greatest compositions, including the timeless opera classic ‘Nessun Dorma’, and highly-adored ballet piece ‘Swan Lake’.

Recently, Hauser has teamed up with London Symphony Orchestra to reimagine Ennio Morricone’s ‘Le Vent, le cri’, taken from the 1981 French film Le Professionnel.

Hauser has performed in over 40 countries and played at some of the most prestigious venues across the world – including Royal Albert Hall and Sydney Opera House.

He’s also become a social media sensation, capturing people’s attention via his videos playing his cello in a variety of interesting locations like a swimming pool, at the desert, and even on the famous Brooklyn Bridge.

Classical musician Hauser announces huge arena gig in Manchester later this year / Credit: Stefan Brending (via Wikimedia Commons)

You’ll be able to identify a lot of the tracks played out when Hauser visits AO Arena, as his upcoming album titled Cinema, features a wide variety of soundtracks and film theme tunes.

The highly-anticipated LP from Hauser contains ‘What Was I Made For?’ from Barbie, ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘A Time For Us’ from Romeo and Juliet, alongside lots more motion picture melodies.

The musician is quite familiar with Manchester city city centre too, Hauser studied at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester before taking the classical world by storm.

Read more:

Hauser is bringing ‘The Rebel Is Back’ tour to AO Arena in Manchester on 29 November, and you can find tickets HERE.

Featured Images – Publicity Picture via Simon Emmett

City Centre

A giant ‘carnival on bikes’ championing Black culture is coming to Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Black Unity and Culture Bike Ride Manchester 2025

One of the biggest bike ride events in the country, dubbed a ‘carnival on wheels’, is coming to Manchester this year.

The Black Unity Bike Ride (BUBR) was set up in London following the murder of George Floyd, which took place on 25 May 2020 and set shockwaves around the world.

Now, as the event is looking to reach across the UK, the event celebrating Black culture, joy, empowerment and unity is coming to our city region and its surrounding areas for the first time ever.

It’s set to be a truly brilliant and inspiring event.

Teaming up with London Marathon Events (LME) once again, the mass participation veterans have been lending expertise since 2021, and now they’ve reached a new five-year agreement to help continue strengthening BUBR and, hopefully, create a national movement by setting up in two new cities.

Manchester marks the first stage of the Black Unity Bike Ride expansion, which will see thousands take to cycling from Alexandra Park in Moss Side on a 12-mile route through the city and back to the beautiful outdoor space.

Aiming to mirror the success of the flagship BUBR event down in the capital, Manc participants and supporters can expect a vibrant, ‘festival feel’ with pumping music throughout.

Back at Alexandra Park, there’ll be even a huge pop-up home base for the event, bringing together Greater Manchester’s Black community with a big food and vendor village, more music and an uplifting atmosphere all day long.

The inaugural Manchester event will come just a fortnight after the sixth annual edition of the founding Black Unity Bike Ride in London, which sees waves of cyclists take on 17 miles, starting at Leyton Sports Ground and finishing in Dulwich Park.

black unity bike ride manchester 2025
BUBR London
Credit: Black Unity Bike Ride Manchester (supplied)

Promising route leaders, cheer zones and pitstops on the route, plenty of music, not to mention various indie food and drink traders pulling from a wide range of different ethnicities and cuisines, it’s this kind of full-on festival energy that BUBR Manchester is striving to capture.

Once again, it’s a ‘carnival on wheels’.

BUBR MCR 2025 will take place on Sunday, 17 August, the birthday of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a key political activist – the forefather of the ‘Garveyism ideology – as well as publisher, journalist and orator who has his own national day named after him in his home country of Jamaica.

He advocated for the empowerment and rights of African descendants and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA), in addition to organising America’s first-ever Black nationalist movement.

You can see the event documentary film, which chronicles last year’s Black Unity Bike Ride in full down below. It really is a moving watch – pardon the pun.

Read more:

It’s also worth noting that the Black Unity Bike Ride Fest is completely FREE, as the goal is to get as many people as possible. You can sign up

BUBR founder, Tokunbo Ajasa-Oluwa, said of the upcoming event: “What began as a bold idea on London’s streets has grown into a national movement. We are very excited to bring the event to Manchester, it has been an aspiration for a few years so we can’t wait until Sunday, 17 August.”

“BUBR has valued London Marathon Events’ support since 2021, and we are very proud to extend this relationship with a new five-year commitment. The partnership is a true statement of intent when it comes to community, inclusion and inspiring active lives.”

BUBR has been to Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana and more; Manchester is up next and there’ll be another new home in 2026.

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

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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