Cloudwater is opening a new beer hall inside a former Victorian shipping warehouse
"We're proud to be able to open another venue in the city, especially one neighbouring Canal Street, which has long been a vital part of the city's nightlife."
Manchester brewery Cloudwater is opening a huge new flagship beer hall in Manchester.
The world-renowned brewer will bring its super-fresh, acclaimed beer selection to the Kampus neighbourhood.
They’ll be taking over the ground floor of Minshull House, a former Victorian shipping warehouse.
With a communal beer hall, beer tap wall, full kitchen and 3°c cold store, plus outdoor seating in both the Kampus garden and the new square on Chorlton Street, it’s set to be quite the behemoth – taking over a 3,798 sq ft space at the neighbourhood.
The Cloudwater garden at Kampus./ Image: Kampus
The beer hall’s kitchen will serve local and seasonal food throughout the day in a relaxed setting, perfect for work or casual lunch, but by the evening the space will become more lively with a mix of dining, parties and events.
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The new beer hall will become the brewery’ biggest location to date, complementing their existing tap room in London and the Sadler’s Cat pub and Unit 9 tap room in Manchester.
Speaking on the new opening plans, co-founder Paul Jones said: “We’re looking forward to joining the community at Kampus, which already includes a number of outstanding independent operators who are a major credit to our city.
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Image: Cloudwater
“Manchester means so much to us – far more than simply acting as our home city, it provides us with inspiration, feeds our creative energy and informs our values.
“So we’re proud to be able to open another venue in the city, especially one neighbouring Canal Street, which has long been a vital part of the city’s nightlife.”
The brewer has been creating its beer in Manchester since 2015, with its first brew dating back to Valentine’s Day.
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Since then, Cloudwater has grown into a huge export for the city as well as a local treasure, creating hundreds of evolving and seasonal beers and gaining a loyal band of followeres along the way.
Image: Cloudwater
In 2020, they brewed the equivalent of over a million pints of beer.
The brewery is the latest big name to join Kampus which, with the likes of Nell’s, General Store, Beeswing, Great North Pie and Pollen also signed up, is fast becoming a haven for some of Manchester’s most-loved indies.
Adam Higgins at Capital&Centric, described Cloudwater as a ‘perfect fit’, adding: “Every neighbourhood needs a good boozer and we just know it’ll be one of the friendliest, most inviting places in the city to kick back and enjoy a beer in the garden.”
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“It’s amazing that they’ve chosen Kampus for their biggest venture yet and we can’t wait to see what they will deliver.
Terms have been agreed on the 3,798 sq.ft space at the neighbourhood, being developed by Capital&Centric and HBD, with the brewery eyeing a spring opening.
Teen sentenced after deliberately driving into a female police officer in Stockport
Emily Sergeant
A teen who deliberately drove into a female police officer at a retail park Stockport earlier this year has been sentenced.
Harvey Bell was at a retail park on Wilmslow Road in Cheadle back on 25 January 2025 when he seriously injured a Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer during a shocking incident – which left the officer requiring hospital treatment.
At the time, the 19-year-old from Knutsford was present while police were investigating reports of class C drug use in a car park.
Police parked in front of an Audi and the officer signalled for Bell to remain stationary and turn the engine off, but instead he reversed, and as the officer approached the front windscreen, Bell drove at the officer, knocking her to the ground.
He then proceeded to drive over her legs with both sets of wheels, before heading out of the car park at speed.
#JAILED | A man who deliberately drove into a police officer in Stockport has been jailed.
Harvey Bell (12/08/2005) has been sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute and was disqualified from driving for two years.
— Stockport Police (GMP) (@GMPStockport) June 4, 2025
Bell was subsequently arrested the following day and made no comment in his police interview, but then went on to plead guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, as well as possession of cannabis on 27 March 2025.
The teen appeared at Manchester Crown Court this week where he was sentenced to 31 months in a Young Offenders Institute, and was also disqualified from driving for two years – which will take effect when he is released.
“What [Bell] did to me is permanently in the back of my mind, every call I go to, I feel the apprehension, the fear that any incident, no matter how innocuous it appears, can end with being assaulted or hurt,” the officer explained in a powerful victim impact statement read in court.
“This is an unseen result of Bell’s assault on me.”
She continued: “I know that Bell’s abhorrent behaviour is an exception, and the majority of the public we serve do not wish us harm, but assaults on police need to stop. An attack on a police officer is an attack on us all.
“Bell is a danger to society and had total disregard for my life.”
Featured Image – GMP
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IKEA announces decision to close popular Greater Manchester site
Emily Sergeant
It’s the end of the road for one of IKEA’s popular Greater Manchester sites.
The Swedish furniture giant has announced its decision to close its ‘Plan and Order Point’ over in Stockport in a couple of weeks time.
The store – which is located in Stockport town centre’s Merseyway Shopping Centre – launched to huge success back in March 2023, and at the time, was the second of this ‘test and trial’ format to open in the UK, becoming a smaller space dedicated to kitchen and home planning, as well as ordering items.
IKEA says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ which plan to take this conceptual format in a direction to ‘better suit the needs of UK customers’.
IKEA is closing its close popular Stockport site this month / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
Since the opening of the Stockport Plan and Order Point, IKEA claims it has seen an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire by customers to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, and this is all something which the current location is unable to offer.
Learning from this change in consumer habits, the company says its future Plan and Order Point openings – including in those in other northern cities like Hull and York – will offer these services.
IKEA says it also remains ‘committed’ to trialling new formats, such as its upcoming small stores, one of which will open in nearby Chester later this year.
Luckily for IKEA fans, the retailer has confirmed that its major Greater Manchester store in Ashton-under-Lyne, as well as the neighbouring store in Warrington, will remain open as normal, offering all the services available at Stockport and more.
The Swedish furniture says the closure comes as a result of ‘valuable learnings’ about customer needs / Credit: Jon Super (via IKEA)
In addition to the upcoming opening of a smaller store in Chester, IKEA has revealed that the North West continues to be an area of interest for future expansion.
“After careful evaluation, we’ve made the difficult decision to close the IKEA Plan and Order Point at Merseyway Shopping Centre,” explained Salma Azad, who is one of IKEA’s Area Managers.
“In the two years since opening, we’ve taken valuable learnings, including how our customers prefer to meet IKEA, and we’ll take these insights into future openings, to serve shoppers in a more impactful way.”
Thanks to last year’s Click and Collect expansion, Stockport residents can now pick up purchases from Tesco Extra Stockport and Tesco Extra Stretford, as well as the Manchester store and the upcoming small store in Chester.
Stockport Plan and Order Point’s final day of trading will be on 16 June.
Georgina Pellant -
6th January 2022 
