A new foodhall and community space is opening up in the heart of Sale town centre next week, and it’s just in time for Christmas.
Store Retail Group – the team behind the popular General Stores and foodhall concepts across the region – has announced that the Trafford suburb of Sale is the next place to welcome a brand-new foodhall to its town centre, and it’s opening next week ready for the busy festive season.
Sale Foodhall in Stanley Square will open to the public on Thursday 18 November, with an exciting line-up of food traders, community space, and new retail offering.
If you’re unfamiliar with the foodhall concept, it has already proved hugely-popular in Stretford and is now being rolled out in neighbouring Greater Manchester suburb with a large and colourful unit that has plenty of space for rotating indie food vendors, plus the much-loved artisan pizza experts Basillico, and proper tasty burger-slingers at What’s Your Beef set to join the lineup as permanent residents.
The first temporary trader to join the foodhall family at the new venue will be Eat Dutch, which is set to bring its authentic mini Dutch pancakes to Sale throughout November and December.
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Sale Foodhall in Stanley Square will open to the public on Thursday 18 November / Credit: LekkerEatDutch | Basillico Pizza
The new Sale Foodhall boasts a 150-cover dining and drinking space, plus an outdoor terrace, and it has replaced the ‘Groceries and Beer’ unit, which has been operated by the Store Group for the last two years, but has now relocated around the corner to the Stanley Square Shopping Mall in a huge 5,500 sq ft food, drink, and retail destination.
The new unit will also have a bar serving local craft beers, wine and spirits, a coffee shop with bakery unit, plus General Store’s trademark ‘cornershop’ retail space.
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The flexible spaces will provide a variety of uses for the local community, from pop-up retail spaces, to informal classes.
“We’re looking forward to becoming an even bigger part of the community here in Sale [as] it’s been a brilliant home to us over the last two years, and we can’t wait to open the doors to a much bigger space,” explains Mital Morar – Founder of Store Retail Group.
“This is a chance for us to evolve into that proper community hub that we always strive to create – from baby groups to beer tastings, everyone is welcome.
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“Our local neighbourhood is everything, and at the centre of will always be quality independent food and drink as well as convenience.”
Sale Foodhall is a large and colourful unit that has plenty of space for rotating indie food vendors / Credit: Store Retail Group
The grocery store within the new venue will offer the same great innovative neighbourhood retail concept that Store Retail Group has become known for, and as well as championing local makers from food and drink, to homeware, the shop will be a destination for artisan alcohol, local fresh baked goods, and zero-waste household essential refill stations too.
Sale Foodhall follows the launch of the Store Group’s two new General Store launches at Deansgate Square and in MediaCityUK earlier this year.
On top of that, there are also plans in the pipeline for another new General Store at Manchester’s new garden neighbourhood KAMPUS in the city centre, plus a new Foodhall in Northwich has already been announced, with more exciting plans to come.
Featured Image – Store Retail Group
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Salford man jailed after pointing loaded gun at police and members of public while on the run
Emily Sergeant
A man from Salford has been jailed for more than a decade after he pointed a loaded gun at police officers and members of the public while he was on the run.
Jay Conway, of Leicester Walk in Salford, appeared at Manchester Crown Court last week (6 March 2026) where he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm without a licence, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and assault of an emergency worker, as well as also pleading guilty to possession with intent to supply class A and class B drugs.
His sentencing comes after officers from Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Salford Challenger team were patrolling Albert Park in plain clothes on Tuesday 20 May 2025.
They spotted a man riding an e-bike and wearing a balaclava, and attempted to detain him there and then, but despite their best efforts, he fled the area, brandishing what officers believed to be a pistol in the process.
The suspect – which was later identified as Conway – stole a bike and cycled on to Great Clowes Street, where a neighbourhood officer heading towards the incident attempted to detain him but he resisted. The officer deployed his Taser but he drew the pistol for a second time, pointing it at police and also at a member of the public.
Conway then dropped the firearm – which police later confirmed as a viable, loaded pistol – and a mobile phone, and fled for a second time.
Thanks to a ‘fast-paced and thorough’ investigation by specialist GMP teams, involving forensic analysis of the phone and CCTV which identified Conway as the suspect, he was arrested by armed officers the following day in Whalley Range.
“Nobody – a police officer or a member of the public – should be confronted by a gun,” said Detective Superintendent Simon Moyles, following Conway’s sentencing.
“These were frightening incidents and Conway is clearly a dangerous individual who is rightly serving a prison sentence. We need to commend and recognise our officers who showed immense bravery in trying to stop Conway.
“Guns have no place on our streets and the work we are doing in Salford, and across Greater Manchester, in relation to firearms incidents continues.
“If you know anyone who is using, or possesses, an illegal firearm, we urge you to get in touch with us as, for each firearm we recover, that’s potentially a life saved.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Nearly 300 new ‘social rent’ homes given go-ahead as part of £500m Wythenshawe regeneration
Emily Sergeant
Nearly 300 new homes are set to be built in Wythenshawe as part of a wider £500 million regeneration scheme.
In case you didn’t know, Placemaker Muse and Wythenshawe Community Housing Group submitted three separate planning applications for 422 new affordable homes back in December 2025, following a public consultation with locals.
Now, works on two of the three new communities can begin, with the third expected to get the green light in the coming weeks.
Brotherton House – which is a former office building – will be transformed into 216 new homes, including an extra care apartment building with 109 homes for people in later life and those living with dementia, while C2 The Birtles, also currently retail and office space, is situated next to the former market square and will be replaced with 81 one and two-bedroom apartments.
Alpha House, which is currently awaiting a planning decision, has now been demolished and will be rebuilt to provide 125 one and two-bedroom apartments – including 16 wheelchair accessible homes.
According to developers, all the homes will be ‘affordable, high-quality, and energy-efficient’, with additional outdoor and communal spaces to promote health and wellbeing.
The approval given to build these new homes forms part of the wider ‘ambitious’ plan to transform Wythenshawe over the next decade.
The wider masterplan for Wythenshawe will see up to 2,000 new homes created over the next 10 to 15 years, which will complement the wider investment currently underway in Civic – supported by £20 million of Government funding, and £11.9 million from Manchester City Council.
Nearly 300 new homes have been given the go-ahead as part of a £500m Wythenshawe regeneration scheme / Credit: Muse (Supplied)
New community facilities in the town include the Culture Hub – which is now underway – the Food Hall, currently awaiting a planning decision, new workspaces, and improvements to the outdoor spaces in Civic, all designed to create a ‘greener and more welcoming’ town centre.
“For us, this is about delivering the truly affordable homes local people have told us they need,” explained Andrea Lowman, who is the Executive Director of Development at Wythenshawe Community Housing Group.
“Every one of these homes will be for social rent, giving more families, older residents and people with additional needs the opportunity to live well in the heart of Wythenshawe.
“As the local social housing provider, we are focused not just on building new homes but on creating sustainable communities and making sure this investment strengthens the town centre for existing and future residents alike.”
Georgina Pellant -
11th November 2021 
