Popular indie gift shop Utility is opening up its second Manchester site over in Altrincham where it will take up the old Paperchase space in the Stamford Quarter.
Since opening up on the University Green complex along Oxford Road back in 2018, the independent lifestyle, homeware and gift shop has become a bit of a cult favourite, especially among the students who walk past it most days — and now they’re expanding even further into Greater Manchester.
While Utility only has three locations in the UK (the two others being in Liverpool) their knack for all things quirky, unique and fun, as well as personalised when it comes to gifts, has seen their reputation continue to grow across the North West and now Alty locals will be able to enjoy it too.
Set to fill the unit which once housed Paperchase over on George Street which has been vacant since April, the fourth Utility store is due to open sometime in August although a firm date is still unknown.
Paperchase (via Facebook)Utility on University Green (via Facebook)The Trafford market town’s old stationery staple is soon to be the fourth Utility store in the UK.
As confirmed in an exclusive with Altrincham Today, this will be the first-ever town centre Utility shop since the company began in 1999, with the three others all situated within city centres.
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Explaining why they chose the Trafford market town of all places to roll out their new site, co-founder and director Dick Mawdsley said Altrincham has “one of the best high streets in the UK” and since they already have “a big customer base here… it just made a lot of sense”.
Insisting that Utility will not only fit in with some of the best parts this beautiful part of the borough has to offer but also provide something different, he explained how they are “a design-led gift store, and everything has to have either a purpose or be amusing or well designed.”
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Still the only independent shop in the Liverpool One shopping centre, he detailed how “around 40% of [their] greeting cards and art prints are our own in-house design products”, and you know much we love a good indie success story.
Speaking on the opening, Bruntwood’s Head of Retail James Tootle said: “Utility will be a fantastic addition to our Stamford Quarter community and it’s wonderful to see the brand expanding with its second store in Greater Manchester here in Altrincham.
“As we continue to see shoppers enjoying everything the town’s high street has to offer, it’s great to be adding exciting, independent brands like this and we’re looking forward to welcoming the Utility team.”
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The old Paperchase site they will be taking over sadly shut down earlier this year as the stationery chain announced it was going into administration, seeing the Manchester city centre location close and replaced with a branch of END. Clothing.
The closure also saw the brand selling off its stock for 50% off on the final day of brick-and-mortar trading before it was fully taken over by Tesco, who will continue to sell items online.
In other Alty news, the bustling Greater Manchester suburb is also set to once again play host to this year’s Tour of Britain — a huge coup for the area.
Derelict Manchester office block to become ‘vital’ accommodation for homeless families
Emily Sergeant
A derelict former office block in Manchester is set to become vital accommodation for homeless families in the region.
Manchester City Council has announced that, subject to planning approval, new temporary accommodation for dozens of homeless families will be created on the site of a derelict former office block in south Manchester, off Nell Lane in Chorlton.
The Council acquired the 1.1 acre site last month with the support of the Government’s Local Authority Housing Fund.
The initiative – which is part of wider plans to boost the city’s stock of quality temporary accommodation – will see self-contained two-bedroom accommodation created for around 55 homeless families built where former NHS offices, Mauldeth House, currently stand.
Mauldeth House has been empty for several years now at this point, and had become somewhat of a ‘blight’ on the neighbourhood, attracting anti-social behaviour along the way and being targeted by squatters – but with the plans for the new accommodation, this could change for the better.
The site, and therefore the new accommodation, is said to be ‘ideally located’ for families, as it’s close to shops, schools, public transport, leisure facilities, and Chorlton Park.
The new accommodation will see families supported by a specialist team based on site to help them move on as quickly as possible into permanent settled tenancies, which is, of course, the long-term goal for many.
The Mauldeth House initiative is cited as being one example of the Council’s drive to increase its temporary accommodation stock across the city to reduce the number of out-of-area placements.
Other successful examples of this initiative include Mariana House in Whalley Range, and The Poplars in Rusholme.
It also comes after it was announced last month that homeless children in Greater Manchester, particularly those who are placed in temporary accommodation out of area for their school, will now get free bus travel to and from school.
“Mauldeth House is a great example of how we can put derelict properties to good use to benefit those experiencing homelessness, as well as making our neighbourhood look better,” explained Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Joanna Midgley.
“We are tackling homelessness on many fronts, the most important one being prevention, but we also need an increased supply of good quality temporary accommodation within the city so that if people do become homeless they are not uprooted from their social support networks.
“One of the ways we are doing this is through the innovative use of existing sites whether they are council owned or we are able to acquire them, as in the case of Mauldeth House.”
Featured Image – Manchester City Council
News
Bolton woman who falsely accused 10 men of raping her has been jailed
Emily Sergeant
A woman from Bolton who falsely accused 10 different men of raping her over a six-year period has now been jailed.
Stacey Sharples, 31 from Farnworth in Bolton, pleaded guilty of 10 counts of perverting the course of justice in relation to reports against 10 separate men at Bolton Crown Court earlier last month (2 February 2026), before appearing in court again this week to be sentenced.
The investigation into Sharples was launched after the arrests and questioning of almost all these men, and following the pursuing of all relevant lines of enquiry, which consistently revealed evidence contrary to what had been disclosed by Sharples.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says investigations of this nature are ‘extremely rare’ and the decision to pursue Sharples as a suspect was ‘not one taken lightly’.
“However, it is our duty to act in the public interest and on the evidence and information we uncover and receive, which in this case demonstrated a continuous, wilful making of false allegations, knowing full well the consequences for each of the men involved,” GMP said in a statement following Sharples’ sentencing.
Of the allegations Sharples pleaded guilty to – of which were made over a six-year period between 2013 and 2019 – most of the men were arrested and spent time in custody, with some also undertaking intimate examinations, and almost all spending periods of time on police bail or released under investigation.
Statements from the men accused by Stacey Sharples / Credit: GMP
GMP says there’s ‘no doubt’ the reports and arrests have had an impact on these men, their sense of self and relationships, their wider networks, and how they move forward with their lives.
False accounts also undermine those who have genuinely experienced sexual violence.
Police say it also affects the confidence in the criminal justice system, and that the time spent investigating Sharples’ reports could have been put towards investigating ‘genuine reports of sexual offences’ instead.
Sharples has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison this week after pleading guilty to making false rape allegations.
Speaking following Sharples’ sentencing this week, Detective Sergeant Steven Gilliland, who investigated this case, said: “We took the allegations made by Stacey Sharples seriously, explored all lines of enquiry and swiftly made arrests or interviewed of all the men she accused.
“We gave her multiple opportunities to provide further explanation or information to us, after interviews with the men and subsequent evidence uncovered didn’t align with her first recollection, as we understand that trauma can impact how victims and survivors recount their experiences.
“Ultimately, as the evidence continued to demonstrate that the reports were untrue, coupled with the desire for justice from some of the men who had been falsely accused, it was right that we followed the evidence and pursued the individual who had actually committed a criminal offence.”
Danny Jones -
14th August 2023 
