Owners of a popular Manchester restaurant in the heart of the city’s Gay Village have made the difficult decision to call it a day and will be shutting up their longstanding Canal Street venue for good.
Owners of No. 1 Canal Street Lisa Kettle and Danielle Condron, who also run a pub called The Bridge in Sale, revealed they would be closing both venues in a heartfelt message shared on social media on Tuesday night (10 January).
No. 1 Canal Street first opened as a bar and restaurant in Manchester in 2017 and, two years later, was named Manchester’s best restaurant at the 2019 British Restaurant Awards.
The pair said it was a ‘very hard decision’ and implied that it was ‘difficult times’ that had spurred them to make the call to close both businesses.
image: No. 1 Canal Street
image: No. 1 Canal Street
The full post, which has been shared on No. 1 Canal Street’s Facebook page, said: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both No 1 & The Bridge today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years. This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times.
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“We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible. Lots of love, Danni and Lisa xx”
A similar statement was also posted on The Bridge’s social media page the same evening, reading: “It is with great sadness we have had to close both The Bridge & No 1 today. We would like to thank you all for your amazing support over the last 6 years.
“This has been a very hard decision during these difficult times. We’d like to express our heartfelt thanks to our amazing customers, and the team that has made everything possible.”
Bookings are now closed on the No. 1 Canal Street restaurant website.
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The posts have been flooded with comments of love and support since going up, with one person writing: “This place has been our No 1 for years, Food and Staff were Perfect every time. We’ve been there twice in the past few weeks.
“On our last visit without getting too political the Manager did say the rail strikes had had a massive effect on footfall and turnover, with increasing costs too it’s so hard for smaller businesses. It must of been so difficult to make this call. Thank you for being such a great venue xx”
Another person wrote: “Terrible news. No1 was a welcome addition to the village and have enjoyed many meals and drinks there over the years. Best wishes for the future, but the venue will be missed.”
A third said: “Seeing all the people saying how sad it is.. and it is. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL VENUES AND NOT WETHERSPOONS”
A fourth added: “Our favourite restaurant in town. Really sorry to read this; wishing you all the best for whatever comes next. Thanks for some great, relaxed times – and tasty grub served by friendly, kind people.”
Feature image – No. 1 Canal Street
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Council calls on Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use
Emily Sergeant
Residents across Manchester are being called on to help bring hundreds of empty homes across the region back into use.
Since the beginning of this year, a major review has been underway around the city’s draft strategy for bringing empty homes back into use to help meet demand for affordable homes across the city, while also improving communities by tackling empty homes that can blight an area… but now, Manchester City Council needs your help.
Following a major public consultation, the Council is now acting on feedback to accelerate plans to bring as many long-term empty homes back into active use as possible.
Although the number of long-term empty homes in Manchester is near a historic low, with the Council having managed to reduce the number by more than half since 2013, there is still more work to be done.
“Every void property is a missed opportunity to provide a family a place to live, reduce homelessness, and lessen the burden on temporary accommodation,” the Council said in a statement.
The Council is calling on the Manchester public to help bring hundreds of empty homes back into use / Credit: Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)
So, how can residents help then? What do you need to do if you spot an empty home on a street nearby?
Well, the easiest way to report an empty home is to report the issue online here, or by emailing [email protected]. And then once that’s done, a team of dedicated empty homes officers will take up the case to find out who owns the property and work with the owner on a plan to bring the home back into use.
The vast number of empty homes are privately owned with complex histories, and there are some cases where an owner may have passed away.
While working collaboratively with housing providers, voluntary organisations and public services are also a key element of detecting potentially empty or ‘problematic’ homes to repurpose them.
Officers can also support, where required, if a communication or language poses a barrier to resolving an empty home issue.
Tailored approaches to different communities – where empty homes impact neighbourhoods in different ways – are also being considered, according to the Council.
“To think, if we could bring all empty homes back into use, then we could provide more homes for those on the housing register and take pressure off the whole housing system,” explained Cllr Gavin White, who is Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development.
“The potential of making empty homes a thing of the past is huge for Manchester families looking for a place to call home – and a significant part of tackling the housing crisis.”
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Urgent travel warning issued ahead of one of Manchester’s busiest event weekends of the year
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester is gearing up for what is set to be one of the busiest weekends of the year.
Manchester‘s biggest music festival, Parklife, returns to Heaton Park this weekend (Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June), with tens of thousands of people expected to make the journey to see headliners Calvin Harris, Sammy Virji, Skepta, and Zara Larsson, as well as many other well-known music names… but that’s not all.
Over at the Etihad Stadium, Take That are set to perform a series of shows across the weekend, while the Etihad Campus will also host the Women’s Netball Final at Co-op Live from 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
The city will also welcome Lily Allen and the B52s across three nights at the AO Arena, and the Women’s Cricket World Cup will draw thousands to Emirates Old Trafford on 21 June, when South Africa take on India.
So, as you can see, we’ve got a jam-packed couple of days coming up.
📣 This weekend is expected to be one of the busiest in Manchester, with multiple events taking place across the city.
🚗 Public transport, roads and venues are likely to be extremely busy.
🕛 If you’re travelling anywhere this weekend, please plan ahead and allow extra time… pic.twitter.com/iqtmlSpAOR
In fact, it’s estimated that more than a quarter of a million people are expected to be travelling to the various events over the weekend, and of course, this means the roads and public transport will be significantly busier than usual.
Whether you’re one of the many fans or just making a regular journey, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is advising everyone to ‘plan ahead’, allow extra time for their journey, and avoid the busiest areas and times.
To prepare for the increase in travel, TfGM has confirmed that there will be more trams serving event venues, alongside extended tram operating times, to ensure everyone gets home safely.
For travel to and from Parklife, the specific Parklife travel ticket – which will be available on the Bee Network app – is valid on trams and buses across Greater Manchester, and this includes relevant shuttle buses operating to and from the city centre.
An urgent travel warning has been issued ahead of one of Manchester’s busiest event weekends of the year / Credit: Steve Turvey (Supplied) | TfGM
Throughout the weekend, extra staff and TravelSafe Support Officers will be out and about across the transport network to help passengers, and TfGM will be working closely with police and other partners to manage roads and the transport network around the clock.
“We’re expecting it to be very busy across the network, with more than a quarter of a million fans travelling to various sports and music events,” commented Danny Vaughn, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We will have as many staff as possible on the network, running as many services as we can to ensure that the Bee Network is here to help you get where you need to go.
“So, for everyone looking to get out and about, please plan ahead, check the Bee Network app for updates and have a safe journey.”
A dedicated travel page for this weekend’s event has been set up, so you can find out everything you need to know and get live updates on the Bee Network website here.
Georgina Pellant -
11th January 2023 
xx” 
