Altrincham Town Hall has been saved after the building came under threat of being ‘disposed of’ and being sold off to the highest bidder, with a nearby cultural organisation swooping in at the 11th hour to rescue the much-loved local space.
The town hall — which has served as a venue for weddings, parties, funerals and community meetings for decades — was set to fall into private hands and be sold off to a nursery group after Trafford Council said it had become too expensive to run.
However, a glimmer of hope was given when the authorities opened up the tender to businesses and community organisations in the area following a petition signed by more than 2,000 Altrincham residents over the past few months.
As confirmed on Tuesday, 19 March, the council confirmed that the bid was won by local group Oyez Arts, who will now be taking over the 25-year lease on the Jacobean building which dates all the way back to 1901.
According to Altrincham Today, Oyez Arts’ vision for the venue is to transform it into a completely new arts centre, working with local artists and creatives on a wide range of activities, as well as continue to be a space where people can meet, commune and ‘thrive’.
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Speaking to the local outlet, co-founder Jo Cushing said: “We are excited to bring Oyez to Altrincham. Oyez literally means ‘Hear Ye’, it’s an official town hall cry and we love that it represents a call to gather our community as well as a celebratory shout-out.
“Our events will make the Town Hall buzz with life and bring something new for everyone. We believe, together, the possibilities are endless.”
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The other half of the team, Jodie Saint, added: “The vision is to turn it into a lively hub of arts activity, including performances, book clubs, film clubs, nit and natters, that kind of thing. We want to appeal to as wide an audience as possible across the community.”
Better still, not only will the building still remain in public use but the pair are also hoping to launch a community share offer later this year (similar to the plans that helped locals back Stretford Public Hall in 2017) to help fund some necessary renovations.
Celebrating the local retention of the space, Council Leader Tom Ross said there were a number of “excellent bids” but that they are delighted for Oyez to be chosen as the winner — as are we.
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We’re buzzing for the Alty natives who fought so hard to keep it going and we look forward to many more years of Altrincham Town Hall being an important local and creative hub for the community.
A new community arts group is to take over the lease at Altrincham Town Hall, Trafford Council has announced.
Oyez Arts will provide Altrincham with a new arts centre, working with local creatives to provide a wide range of arts activities.
Featured Images — Altrincham Today/Trafford Council/Altrincham Town Hall (via Facebook)
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Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Danny Jones -
19th March 2024 
