A month of parties, kitchen takeovers, workshops and a special bar hosted by North Brewing Co.was set to come to Kampus throughout April as part of a special ‘Grub & Friends’ takeover, but now the whole thing has been cancelled leaving organisers fuming.
In a heated statement posted to social media this afternoon, Grub bosses shared a three-page diatribe that said they were ‘heartbroken’ by the venue’s decision to cancel the month-long event series after it had already been made public.
Claiming the decision to pull out of the plans has cost them and their traders around £34,000 in total, the Grub team called the move ‘a gut punch we don’t need’.
Grub also claimed that the news of the cancellation was broken just hours after they had signed their contract with Kampus.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Grub said: “The reason has been confirmed that they have an intended tenant for the space from April to September.
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“They offered us future partnerships and they offered us space in their workspace area which wasn’t suitable for any of the events but they didn’t offer any compensation, support or an apology.”
Image: Grub
Image: Grub
The post continued: “The message came from Native Residential who operate Kampus but we assume that this crushing decision was supported by Capital & Centric and Henry Boot Developments.
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“We tried to clarify this but Native refused to elaborate beyond ‘key stakeholders’. We await any further communication from anybody at Kampus.”
Grub’s post has also emphasised the knock-on effect on traders and other businesses down to take part, breaking down how the last-minute change would lead to a £34,000 loss of revenue.
According to bosses, around £6,000 has been lost by promoters and workshops in ticketing revenue, food traders have lost around £10,000 in food income, Grub itself has lost around £15,000 in bar income (money that would have gone to support local breweries), and its staff will be paid 460 hours less than expected leaving some struggling to pay their bills in April.
Bosses also added they had already spent around £3,000 on advertising and resources for the event, money which they could not get back.
Image: Grub
Image: Grub
Ending on a positive note, the post then went on to outline how their followers could help those affected – encouraging them to buy tickets for Cultureplex shows and comedy screenings, book on to workshops from affected traders and seek out the food traders at other sites.
They added: “We’re going to do everything in our power to re-organise these events and suppport this bunch of absolute smashers any way we can. These are the people that make Manchester special, we all need to look after them.”
The Manc approached Kampus for a comment and was told by a representative that the venue felt that the event had been announced prematurely and had not yet signed any contracts from its side prior to cancelling.
The spokesperson added that the use of the space had been offered to Grub for free and that the team was looking for ways to offer another event space up free of charge so that the event can be hosted at another date.
Adam Higgins, co-founder of Capital&Centric, said: “We’ve hosted loads of pop-ups and one-off events. For the last three years, as owners of Kampus, we’ve sought out creatives, small businesses, artists and community groups … giving our time and space for free to help them showcase what they do. It’s been amazing but what Kampus needs in 2023 is something slightly different.
“Unfortunately, Grub’s plans were announced prematurely when decisions were still being made about the spring and summer season inside the Bungalow. We understand the disappointment but, in fairness, we reached out and offered alternative spaces to Grub free-of-charge at Kampus.
“A community of independent businesses have now made the neighbourhood their permanent home, with Barkside and Great North Pie having just opened and Madre and Red Light arriving soon. Reflecting this, we need the Bungalow and garden to have sustained attractions throughout the spring and summer to cement Kampus as a place that’s always on … where you’re guaranteed something’s happening no matter when you head down.”
Feature image – Grub
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Plans to bring Greater Manchester’s rail services onto the Bee Network unveiled
Emily Sergeant
Ambitious plans to bring all rail services in Greater Manchester onto the Bee Network have been unveiled this week.
After the success of all the region’s buses returning to local control at the start of the year, Mayor Andy Burnham has set out Greater Manchester’s step-by-step plan to bring rail into the Bee Network by 2028, working alongside the rail industry to do this as the next part of his joined-up ‘London-style’ public transport system, which is intended to boost passenger numbers, and drive growth across the region.
Developed in partnership with the rail industry, Department for Transport (DfT) and Shadow Great British Rail, Mr Burnham says his plan is aimed at not only improving transport but unlocking major regeneration and housing opportunities on land around the region’s stations too.
Greater Manchester’s proposition is for eight commuter rail lines, covering 64 stations, to be brought into the Bee Network in three phases over the next five years.
Under the plan, the first two lines – which will work to connect Manchester to Glossop and Stalybridge, in Tameside – will join the Bee Network by December 2026, and then a further 32 stations, and all lines within Greater Manchester, would join by 2030.
Not only that, but Greater Manchester leaders have also committed to working with the Government and the rail industry to “improve reliability” and “implement service changes” to help drive growth too.
If all goes to plan, the first branded Bee Network train will be running by the end of 2026.
Bus, tram and train will finally be united in a tap-in, tap-out payment system with a daily cap offering much better value for money than existing rail fares.
Another major change is that TfGM has said it will work with the rail industry to accelerate the delivery of accessibility improvements – with more than 60% of stations on the eight lines set to have step-free access by 2028, compared to 43% at the end of 2024.
“Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham, as he unveiled his plans this week.
“We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep.
“Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network.”
If everything goes according to plan, it’s expected to boost the number of trips by train by 1.3 million each year.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
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Manchester United reinstate season ticket of fan with dementia after fury over cancellation
Danny Jones
Manchester United have quickly reinstated the season ticket of a lifelong fan suffering from dementia after it was cancelled following confusion over his attendance.
The Premier League was met with huge backlash this week after a fan account on social media posted a message from a fellow supporter explaining how their grandfather had been stripped of his season ticket for supposedly failing to attend the last five games – only that wasn’t the case at all.
As detailed in the lengthy text shared countless times on X, the elderly fan who not only struggles with the neurological condition but also doesn’t own a mobile phone, has been using a paper ticket with a QR code printed on it ever since the majority of stadiums transitioned to largely digital ticketing systems.
Not only were many quick to point out that e-ticketing can be excluding for fans of a certain age and/or accessibility needs but the result in this instance could have been avoided had they taken into account an issue no doubt many other supporters face week in and week out.
@MUSTChair@MU_ST can you guys investigate this? I am not surprised but this is disgusting behaviour. Granted it's no doubt an automated IT system but the club need to make arrangements for the older/non IT fan
As the message goes on to explain, the QR code itself “hasn’t worked all season” and the stewards have simply been making an exception and letting him in on good faith and discretion, along with the presumption that there may have just been an error during the printing of the ticket.
However, since had and could not be scanned on each of these occasions, there was no real record of his entry on their database whatsoever, meaning that he unknowingly hit the limit of games supporters are allowed to miss before a season ticket can be removed.
As a result, not only was his season ticket of more than 45 years cancelled but his seat was immediately relisted for the ballot and quickly sold to someone else ahead of the Brighton game on Sunday, 21 January – at a now inflated price, no less.
Understandably, United supporters and various other clubs were left shocked by the error of the club, damning the decision as “shameful” and disgusting”, with many claiming that they are once again turning their back on so-called ‘legacy fans’.
One person replied: “Man United failing in their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act / Equality Act 2010, with regard to reasonable adjustments, and the club is now vulnerable to legal action […] Scandalous that clubs cannot just do the right thing anymore and only see fans as cash cows to exploit and (effectively) abuse as they see fit.”
What’s even more alarming is the worry that this has already or will happen again to other fans in similar situations, as a fellow Red responding to a response from the club reinforced the same concerns, claiming that they were unwilling to make reasonable adjustments for a family member with Alzheimer’s.
I'm the same. My mum has alzheimer's and I can't always go, especially to night matches but it maybe short notice so can't sell ticket. I asked if this could be taken into consideration at the end of the season and they said no. If you miss games then sell your ticket.
Thankfully, as per multiple outlets, the club has now at the very least rectified this particular mistake and although the club’s Director of Supporter Services had been “unhelpful” up until that point, the right steps have finally been taken.
On the other hand, as the original poster wrote following the update, “Good to hear this has now been resolved, but it should never have happened in the first place.”
Moreover, it’s clear that better measures and safeguarding practices need to be put into place when it comes to contingencies like this because although the Premier League has stated a full switch to digital e-tickets must be complete by the end of 2027 at the latest, there will always need to be exceptions.
As for ticket prices themselves, another banner up at Old Trafford after the club adjusted ticket prices and removed concessions across all categories for the remainder of the season – it read: £66 of your debt, not ours”. It’s not the first time fans have already protested since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s tenure began.
“£66 you’re taking the p*ss” sing those protesting behind the banner. There are also chants of “you’re forcing us out.” pic.twitter.com/L34l36uvXk
Georgina Pellant -
27th February 2023 
