A new artisan bakery is tipped to open in Manchester’s Green Quarter later this year, bringing sweet and savoury croissants, impressive Danish pastries and flavoured focaccias to the Red Bank neighbourhood.
Called Half Dozen Other, it forms part of the Pot Kettle Black Group (PKB) and has been quietly making some of the best viennoiserie, bread and (our personal favourite) pretzel buns in Manchester for years.
Up until now, the bakery has played more of a back-of-house role with its bakers busily working away behind the scenes.
Last year it took its first step into the limelight when it moved into the Northern Quarter food hall Mackie Mayor, replacing Wolfstreet Coffee with a fresh menu of bakes, French toast and savoury croissants.
Now, the team is preparing to open its first ever customer-facing store – meaning that before long fans will be able to pick up their treats to enjoy at home.
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Half Dozen Other has been operating from inside Mackie Mayor but announced its closure two weeks ago. / Image: Half Dozen Other
A perfectly laminated croissant at Half Dozen Other. / Image: Half Dozen Other
Joining a community of independent food and drink businesses housed inside the Red Bank railway arches, Half Dozen Other will sit side by side with beloved continental pasta restaurant The Sparrows, Foundation Coffee House and Green Arches Brewery and Bar.
The bakery has signed a 10-year lease with FEC on a 4,500 sq. ft premises with the Red Bank Arches and will run both its retail and wholesale operations from the new site.
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Specialising in ‘classic bakes with modern takes’, customers will be able to watch the Half Dozen Other bakers at work in the kitchen as they pop in for loaves of freshly-baked brioche or sourdough.
Mark Flanagan at Half Dozen Other, said: “We are really excited to open our doors at Red Bank. Due to the high demand for our wholesale baked goods and our desire to open our own retail bakehouse, this site is perfect for us.
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“We’ll be serving up our standard breads, cakes and viennoiserie alongside our modern takes on classic bakes. All the while customers will be able to spectate on the mixing, rolling and shaping taking place at the Bakehouse.”
Developer FEC is working with a range of partners to create a programme of immersive events and unique experiences across 155 hectares of land that will, in due course, become known as Victoria North.
Freshly baked loaves at Half Dozen Other. / Image: Half Dozen Other
The Caprese Benedict from Half Dozen Other. / Image: Half Dozen Other
Jake Scott-Thrale, Asset Manager at FEC, said: “Half Dozen Other perfectly aligns with our approach of working with independent and entrepreneurial businesses to help people find and enjoy this emerging part of the city.
“Half Dozen Other has risen to fame on the brunch plates of Mancunians, so we’re excited to be working with them to expand their production capacity and moreover, bring their delicious bakes to local residents.
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“It also marks an exciting next step in supporting a buzzing and social community as we bring forward the first developments within Victoria North, with numerous other businesses looking at the area as a potential new home too.
“It’s genuinely exciting to imagine how things will progress in the future as more residents and businesses move in and the community really takes shape.”
Feature image – Google Maps
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Parklife pumps more than £155,000 back into Greater Manchester community projects
Danny Jones
Parklife is once again proving why it’s such an important event for Greater Manchester, not just in terms of music and culture, but through the money it pumps back into the community through grassroots projects.
The annual music festival at Heaton Park raises significant funds for local initiatives with each edition via the official Parklife Community Fund.
Partnered with the Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale councils, the finances generated through those who attend not only Parklife but also other concerts held at the outdoor venue, such as the recent Oasis shows, help local groups that make a positive, tangible difference in their neighbourhoods.
This year alone, the total includes £55,000 raised from guest list donations by festival attendees, as well as a further £100k generated from other events held in Heaton Park, making 2025 one of, if not the biggest, years for donations to date.
Distributed by the City Council and the local authorities in Bury and Rochdale throughout the respective boroughs, the aim is not only to give back but to enhance local life, through everything from important youth programmes to community wellbeing and improvement schemes.
Launched back in 2017, the festival fund is approaching nearly half a million pounds raised on behalf of local causes, strengthening its connection with the nearby communities surrounding its host site.
The region’s vast and stunning green space is a huge tourist attraction in itself, meaning literal grassroots causes like the woodland management group are vital to maintaining that beauty and status.
Other projects include an astronomy group, as well as fitness drives like ‘RockFit’ (seen above), which now meets at Heaton Park regularly to promote exercise for both physical and mental health.
It’s also worth noting that the fund covers surrounding areas like Higher Blackley and Crumpsall; Sedgley, Holyrood, St Mary’s and even South Middleton.
You can see more examples of the charitable community work in action down below.
Credit: Supplied
Sam Kandel, founder of Parklife Festival, said of the fund: “Parklife is proud to call Heaton Park home, and it’s really important to us that the festival has a lasting, positive impact on the local community.
“The Community Fund is our way of saying thank you to residents and supporting the brilliant grassroots projects that make Manchester, Bury, and Rochdale such special places to live.”
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon (Exec Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods) added: “Parklife brings people from Manchester and beyond to our wonderful Heaton Park, and it is right that the communities living close by benefit from the event through reinvestment in local initiatives that will leave a legacy for all.
“The Parklife community fund means that local communities choose what’s important to them and they have the opportunity to bid for funds to invest in projects that enhance local amenities, strengthen community connections and wellbeing for the benefit of everyone.”
Those looking to benefit from the fund can apply online now and you can find out more information by contacting the relevant councils’ neighbourhood pages.
Work finally begins on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley creating 20,000 jobs
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… work has finally begun on the first major development in Atom Valley.
If you’re not familiar with Atom Valley, this new project is set to be a unique innovation ‘cluster’ – plans of which were approved by local leaders all the way back in summer 2022 – with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs in Greater Manchester once it’s complete.
Greater Manchester wants Atom Valley to become a ‘springboard’ for new and emerging companies and researchers, giving them the support and the opportunities they need to trial and commercialise their innovations right here in our region.
The new development which ground has now been broken on is a Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) – which is set to become a thriving hub of innovation.
Today is a big day for GM.
We break ground on a new research centre at Atom Valley – our emerging world-class cluster in advanced materials and manufacturing.
Here, start-ups and emerging companies will be able to pioneer new technologies and scale up their ambitions, all while creating jobs and driving growth across the region in the process.
Located next to the Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, workshops, and design studios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups.
With the ‘right’ support, local leaders say the SMMC will also be a vital link between Atom Valley and the Oxford Road Corridor, ultimately forging a pathway for new companies and projects to expand from the city centre out into the wider city region.
Work has finally begun on Greater Manchester’s new ‘innovation hub’ in Atom Valley / Credit: DLA Architecture
Mayor Andy Burnham says this is the ‘most ambitious development’ in Atom Valley so far
“It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bringing those new innovations to the market,” he explained. “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, creating jobs and new opportunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions.
“This is integrated, well-connected development in action, and a clear sign of our mission to spread the benefits of growth right across our city region.”
Georgina Pellant -
31st January 2023 
