After just two years spent serving inventive British plates to the good people of Stockport, popular restaurant The Moor has announced it can no longer afford to continue to operate.
In a shock closure announcement posted to the restaurant’s website, owners said The Moor would not be reopening its doors again and reflected on the challenging events of the past two years, writing: ‘this is not the time to be running a small independent business.’
In the now-deleted statement, chef James Hulme wrote: “This is tough to write, we have taken the decision to close our doors. The last two years have been crazy, we set out with the intention to offer some of the North West’s best produce at a reasonable price.
Image: The Moor Image: The Moor
“We did everything to make this happen but ultimately, for a restaurant that wanted to be as sustainable as possible – from making charcoal, utilising every piece of the animal or fish, having close to zero waste and working with small independents – we believe that moving forward, as a business, this simply isn’t sustainable.”
The comments made by Hulme echo those recently made by the team at acclaimed West Yorkshire gastropub The Moorcock, which has a similar concept and has just announced it will be breakng its lease next year.
He had previously worked as a chef at the famous D&D London restaurant Quaglino’s, as well as under Aiden Byrne when he opened the group’s first Manchester restaurant 20 Stories in 2018.
Citing rising food costs as a partial factor in the decision, he continued: “We do not want to compromise on what we serve by buying in cheaper mass produced food served with horrendous mark ups.
“These aren’t the only reasons, there are some personal factors too that have led to this decision.
“We wish to thank every single customer (even the couple that left a bad review) for coming and supporting us through this journey. In February 2020 we thought Brexit was the biggest hurdle we would face, how wrong we were….but so many of you have helped either through your custom and support or even putting an apron on when we were short staffed!
“Finally to the staff, thank you so much, I dreaded telling you all the news but you were awesome and very understanding. The Moor won’t be back but please, support local, support independent and most of all appreciate the value, quality and time that indies put into what they do.”
Whilst TripAdvisor reports are not always the most reliable, a quick glance at The Moor’s page shows the eatery did not receive one negative review during the past two years with most diners rating it excellent or very good (we confess that we couldn’t find the bad review Hulme alluded to in his farewell statement).
Critics that made it over in the midst of the past two years’ lockdowns were equally ebullient, praising the restaurants’ inventive, flavour-led menu and use of quality produce.
Urgent appeal issued following serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on M60
Emily Sergeant
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision on the M60.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are appealing for information and dash-cam footage, as well as urging witnesses to come forward, after a motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries during a collision on the M60 this past Saturday (12 July).
Shortly after 1:40pm, police were called a report of a collision involving a motorbike on the anti-clockwise side of the motorway, between junctions 25 and 24.
When patrols responded and arrived on the scene, they found a man in his 50s – believed to be the motorcyclist – with life-threatening injuries, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment in an air ambulance, with his family being informed in the process.
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on the M60 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The M60 was closed in one direction, between Bredbury and Denton, following the crash from around 2:30pm onwards, and all traffic was diverted while investigations were ongoing.
GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is in the process of conducting enquiries, and at this time, it isn’t believed that any other vehicle was involved in this incident.
This is why police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage, to get in on contact.
Police have also thanked the members of the public who stopped by the roadside to give the man initial first aid before emergency services arrived.
Police issue update on Oasis arrests and fence-jumpers
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have shared an update on the arrests made at the opening two nights of Oasis Live ’25.
More than 100,000 people have flocked up to Heaton Park on Friday and Saturday evening for the first two of five Oasis reunion shows.
And largely, things have gone without a hitch, with only 15 arrests made so far.
The majority of these are arrests on suspicion of fraud, with five men and a woman in three separate incidents attempting to access the Oasis gig with fake accreditation.
Another man was arrests on suspicion of assaulting a member of security staff.
Two more men were arrested on suspicion of assault – a section 18 inside the Oasis gig at Heaton Park, and another for a section 47 outside.
Police have also said that ‘a number of people’ have attempted to access the gigs without tickets, with a perimeter gate breached on Saturday night, but ‘failed to do so’.
Five drones which breached airspace restrictions were seized on Friday.
A Section 34 Dispersal Order, which gives officers the power to direct individuals to leave a specified area and not return for 48 hours, has been in place for each night of the Oasis concerts so far.
This will be re-assessed before each concert this week, with the Gallagher brothers back at Heaton Park on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
GMP around Manchester ahead of the Oasis reunion shows. Credit: GMP
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said: “We have been planning for these events for several months, working with partners and the organisers to make sure everyone can enjoy the concerts safely. To that end, I’m pleased to say that the first two Oasis homecoming events have been a success.
“What has been especially pleasing is how more than 100,000 people have enjoyed these iconic events safely and without trouble.
“We will have a highly visible presence in and around Heaton Park, and across the city, to ensure the next three events continue to pass safely.
“A number of people without tickets attempted to gain entry through a perimeter gate on Saturday night but failed to do so.
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: Tiktok benwalkerofficialPolice say ‘just 15’ arrests made at Oasis so far
“We continue to support the event organisers and the local authority with their plans preventing any unauthorised access to the arena site.
“While arrests have thankfully been minimal, we have had to take some suspects to custody, including one after an alleged assault on a steward on Saturday night. We will not tolerate any abuse of anyone doing their job.
“On Friday night we also dealt with a number of breaches of airspace restrictions involving drones where our officers seized five drones and spoke to two other pilots.
“We continue to have airspace restrictions in place on the nights of the concerts and anyone found breaching the one-and-a-half-mile restriction zone could face prosecution.”
Georgina Pellant -
6th April 2022 
