Many hospitality businesses are fearing for their futures after three years of interrupted trade, forced closures, a staff exodus and rising costs.
One thing they all seem to agree on is that additional outdoor seating was hugely beneficial for bringing in trade during the pandemic, and they’d like it back A.S.A.P.
Unfortunately, the temporary Covid rules that allowed for easy street closures and licenses have now expired – leaving some (but not all) struggling businesses at the mercy of the long-winded and expensive Highways application system.
So now, as summer approaches and some Northern Quarter venues are retaining their pavement seating by other means, Manchester businesses are making a concerted push to create change around the rules to level the playing field.
Alvarium’s outdoor seating capacity in 2020 and 2021. / Image: Alvarium
Alvarium’s outdoor seating capacity in 2022. / Image: Alvarium
In a bid to support his own business and those of friends and neighbours nearby, Andy Young, the owner of the Northern Quarter dessert bar Black Milk Cereal, has launched a petition to bring back rules introduced during Covid that allow extra outdoor seating for hospitality – and hopes to have it in place by this summer.
Calling for these rules to be made permanent, he told The Manc that many of his neighbours are still struggling to recover, but that such a change would bring a huge boost in revenue and help people pay off Government loans.
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At a count, he pointed out a number of streets that have been left behind this summer – including Ancoats’ Blossom Street, Houldsworth Street, Peter Street and Tarriff Street – as well as making reference to how the street closures benefitted those in Manchester’s Gay Village.
The petition, which went live on Thursday night, explains that hospitality businesses are still ‘hugely affected’ by the lasting impact of COVID.
Black Milk still has a handful of chairs on the pavement, but is unable to use a large cul de sac next door for additional seating this year without a Traffic Regulation Order. / Image: Black Milk Cereal
It continues: “This is a revenue-neutral way to help them recover fiscally and pay off Government loans like Bounce Back, CIBLS, and Recover Loans.
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“It also has a significant impact on local communities, with friends, families and loved ones able to enjoy food and drink outside in the sun.”
Currently, businesses need to apply – at a cost – for a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) or Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO), in order to trade on the street/road.
This process (unlike the temporary scheme legislation now revoked by Parliament) also requires a full consultation and planning consent, which can take a significant amount of time. Time that many feel they don’t have.
Black Milk is not the only business to have been making noise about the need for the extension of Covid outdoor seating rules this summer.
Alvarium’s owners warned ‘the consequences could be detrimental’ if they are not granted a road closure this summer. / Image: Alvarium
Nearby bar Alvarium’s owners made headlines just last week after sharing a heartfelt plea, in which they warned ‘the consequences could be detrimental’ if they are not granted a road closure this summer.
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Speaking to The Manc about the need for more outdoor seating, Alvarium owner Braddan Quayle said: “For me, it’s an absolute no-brainer.
“It saved a lot of businesses and more importantly a lot of jobs over the pandemic and as we discussed we’re still suffering from a hangover which has been said by people like Sacha Lord could take up to five years so why are we not being given the tools to prosper?
“We would have to pay for tables and chairs licenses so the local council would recoup some of the money back that they’ve had to spend, so like I say it’s a no brainer and it’s frustrating that nothing is being done about it and shunting the blame onto Westminster is not an answer and no, unfortunately, shouldn’t be an answer either.”
The petition reads in full: “Due to Covid the Government relaxed rules for restaurants, cafes and bars to get licences for outdoor seating, and also rules for local authorities to make Traffic Orders, including closing roads to enable outdoor hospitality. We want these changes made permanent, to support hospitality businesses.
Outdoor seating is still permitted on Thomas Street, Edge Street and Stevenson Square thanks to cycle routes, whilst other businesses are suffering. / Image: The Bay Horse Tavern
“Provisions relating to outdoor table & chairs licences expire later this year, and relaxed rules for making Traffic Orders to put seating on roads have already fallen. We want both made permanent in time for this summer.
“Hospitality businesses are still hugely affected by the lasting impact of COVID.
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“This is a revenue neutral way to help them recover fiscally and pay off Government loans like Bounce Back, CIBLS, and Recover Loans.
“It also has a significant impact on local communities, with friends, families and loved ones able to enjoy food and drink outside in the sun.
“Summer is coming; please act urgently to save it for small businesses. Sign this petition.”
If you want to sign the petition, you can do so here. If it reaches 10,000 signatures it will be responded to by Parliament and if it reaches 100,000 it will be considered for debate.
Feature image – Black Milk / Alvarium
News
30 years ago, the IRA detonated a 1,500kg lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the heart of Manchester – here’s the story
Georgina Pellant
Today marks three whole decades since an explosion from the inside of a lorry parked on Corporation Street shattered windows and destroyed buildings across the city centre.
Causing an evisceration that stretched for miles, when the 1,500 kilogram IRA bomb went off in 1996, it was the biggest detonation in Great Britain since the Second World War.
Following the explosion, the city fell silent – leaving rack, rubble and ruin in its wake. Famously, one red post box was left standing – today fitted with a memorial plaque in remembrance of the tragedy.
It seems scary to think that back then, most people could only stand there, watch on and worry.
The bomb caused an estimated £700 million worth of damage to Manchester’s infrastructure and economy, and over a quarter of a century later, locals still tell the stories of where they were when it went off – and of the devastation it left behind.
Notably, one resident of the Cromford Court maisonettes on top of the Arndale – a 77-year-old RAF veteran suffering from the flu – didn’t even bother to get up when the telephone warning to evacuate hit, considering himself to have survived much worse feats during his time in military service.
Having been a rear gunner in a Lancaster in the war, he reportedly told police and authorities “he was buggered if he was going to let a small bomb affect him.”
In subsequent years, Danny O’Neill has become a part of an urban legend surrounding the bomb as his staggering story has been told time and time again.
Around 90 minutes prior to the detonation, the Provisional Irish Republican Army had telephoned in warnings – meaning that around 75,000 people were able to be evacuated from the area before the bomb went off from the back of a van.
However, the bomb squad were unable to defuse it in time, leading to over 200 injuries from people still left in the area.
Thankfully, despite those injuries, there were no fatalities, and many of those reported traumas came from the shattering of thousands of windows and other damage to buildings in which unsuspecting people were getting on with their days.
Several buildings near the explosion were damaged beyond repair and had to be demolished, while many more were closed for months for structural repairs, and this prompted the biggest regeneration of Manchester city centre ever – something that is still continuing to this day, arguably at a more rapid rate than ever.
The city lay dormant for days after the explosion, as people came to terms with what had happened and kept their distance. Many moved out of the centre for a period of time, while many more simply decided not to visit for fear of another incident.
It was a desolate place, eerily quiet, and in need of some serious TLC.
According to Home Office statistics, an estimated 400 businesses within half a mile (0.8 km) of the 1996 blast were affected, 40% of which did not recover.
Credit: Manchester Libraries
Market Street – near the explosion and at that time the second-busiest shopping street in the UK – was considered by some a “fearful” place, and one that was to be “avoided like the plague”.
The prospect of pulling Manchester’s bustling city centre out of its darkest depression was not casually approached by those in charge.
It was acknowledged as a mammoth task from the get-go, but Greater Manchester has never let anything get in its way. Despite how steep the hill is that we’re standing at the base of, we always manage to reach the peak, ready to go again.
Manchester City Council green-light new venue at Medlock Square, with Mamma Mia! The Party to open the immersive space
Danny Jones
The smash-hit ‘Mamma Mia: The Party’ is set to land in Manchester next year as the maiden event of another brand-new space set to open as part of the upcoming Medlock Square development.
Etihad Campus has seen a lot of moving pieces over the past few years, be it the building of Co-op Live, the ongoing expansion of Man City’s home ground, the soon-to-launch hotel attached to the stadium and now Medlock.
But those in control of the land are content with stopping there; this looks to be just the start of a whole new evolution for the East Manchester area, with an as yet untitled new immersive arts, experience and events venue also set to join the new slate of projects.
You see another glimpse of the purpose-built mini arena, of sorts, down below.
With plans having now been approved by the City Council, the ‘immersive’ space will be situated between the Etihad, Co-op Live and Medlock Square itself, holding up to 600 guests per performance.
Currently set to open in late 2027, following the rest of the square’s launch window being fully rolled out, we still don’t know the name of this next addition, but the structure itself will dovetail with the surrounding buildings and areas as part of seasonal activations, live shows and sports screenings, as well as pop-ups, brand collaborations and more.
Looping back, the interactive, multimedia extravaganza that is ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’ will finally be making its Manc debut as part of the 10th anniversary of the all-singing, all-dancing and even all-dining in-demand production.
As per an official press release from the Medlock Square media team, the show will combine “live music, theatre, food and storytelling” and “offer visitors an unforgettable night out.”
The original UK production at The O2 in London has now surpassed more than 1,500 performances, with a total of 700k guests attending these shows in 110 countries across the globe. Safe to say it’s rather popular.
As for Medlock Square and the surrounding Etihad Campus, Manchester City supporters have also been given another look at the soon-to-open, immersive hotel tie-in experience.
With a skywalk, rooftop bar, a new MCFC shop and various other bits set to spill out onto Medlock Square, it all feels like a period of wholesale changes over in the blue half of the city – especially with the football club bidding farewell to their manager Pep Guardiola after more than a decade.
Following the new and improved North Stand being named after him in the first of many tributes, the City Football Group (CFG) are also set to commission a statue in his honour over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Medlock Square is also due to open later this year, although an official completion date has not been confirmed.
You can stay up to date with all the latest on Mamma Mia! The Part’s Manchester shows right HERE.
Not forgetting a brand-new women’s football facility, too, there is so much stuff going on over at the Etihad that it can be hard to keep track, but here’s the latest look at some of the rooms set to feature in the hotel of the same name.
Georgina Pellant -
6th May 2022 
