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
News
This Manchester suburb has just been named one of the UK’s ‘happiest’ places to live in 2024
Thomas Melia
An annual poll has named the Manchester suburb of Didsbury spot among 70 locations said to be the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.
Greater Manchester has got lots to say for itself, especially with its diverse and unique cultural landscapes, as well as various vibrant communities, so it comes as no surprise that one of our beautiful suburbs has been voted in a list of the UK’s happiest places to live for this year.
The survey included submissions from 5,000 people and there’s a lot of love being shown to the neighbouring areas of Yorkshire like Doncaster, Bingley, and Harrogate – the lattermost placed in second in the entire country.
But, ranking 62nd out of a possible 70 places, the distinct and vibrant area of Didsbury has been noticed by Furniturebox as one of the ‘happiest’ places to live in the UK.
Credit: The Manc Group
The results took into consideration good state schools, affordable housing, as well as accessibility to pubs, bars, restaurants, independent shops, retailers and more.
With multiple parks, walking destinations, and top-notch travel links with Bee Network trams and buses easily taking you back into the city centre and out to other boroughs, East, West and Didsbury Village all remain some of the most sought-after areas in the region.
There’s a whole host of indie retailers to enjoy, especially on the likes of the main high street and Burton Road, which effectively serves as its own cultural district, home to vintage clothing shops like Steranko, tailored styling opticians Fox Brothers and much more.
Burton Rd also boasts countless fantastic food and drink spots like The Great Kathmandu, SANTÉ, Volta and Proove Pizza, just to name a few; we’ve spent plenty of time just on this stretch of Didsbury alone.
If you’ve spent even a little time in Dids, you’ll know there’s plenty going on and it’s certainly one our happiest places in all of Greater Manchester and therefore the UK.
You can also enjoy the famous ‘Didsbury Dozen’ right on your doorstep.
Elsewhere, and somewhat unsurprisingly, Shakespeare’s ever-romanticised hometown of Stratford-Upon-Avon once again reigned supreme at the top of this list.
That being said, it’s refreshing to see that these locations weren’t entirely related to wealth and similar factors, the survey took affordability into careful consideration.
Cheshire was destined for success with its cracking views and grand properties, as the North West county made waves for the region managing to place in fifth position, holding up against Falmouth in Cornwall which placed in sixth.
Although not nabbing that all-important top spot, Didsbury is carrying the flag for 0161 and showing what all know to be true: Northerners do it best.
A Greater Manchester town could be set to get a train station for the first time in 60 years
Emily Sergeant
It’s been a whopping six decades, but the residents of one local town could soon be able to hop on a train out of there.
That’s because a planning application for a brand-new £32 million station in Golborne – which would connect the Greater Manchester town, in the Wigan borough, to the rail network for the first time in more than 60 years – has been submitted to Wigan Council, meaning connectivity is finally one step closer to becoming reality.
In case you didn’t know, Golborne currently has no direct bus, train, or tram services to Manchester, and Leigh is the biggest town in England without a rail station, while the wider area is the largest and most-populous area in Greater Manchester not connected to the rail network.
The milestone aims to boost access to jobs and opportunities for people in the town and the wider Wigan borough.
NEWS: Greater Manchester on track with plan for first new rail station in over 20 years. 🚉
✅ 90%+ public consultation support for Golborne station in Wigan ✅ Planning application in to @WiganCouncil ✅ Local area improvements and walking and cycling links
According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the Golborne station scheme forms part of a wider ambition to bring eight commuter lines into the Bee Network by 2028 – of which “significant investment” has been put into.
The application includes plans for a new accessible two-platform rail station, including step-free access throughout with a footbridge across the tracks and lifts to both platforms, a new hourly service between Wigan and Manchester Victoria, and onwards to Stalybridge, an improved town centre car park, and also new walking and cycling links to the town centre.
The submitting of the proposals comes after nearly 3,000 people had their say on the station earlier this year, with more than 90% of respondents supporting the plans.
A CGI of what the proposed new Golborne station could look like, if plans are approved / Credit: TfGM
If the plans are approved by Wigan Council, work on the site should begin in 2026, according to TfGM, with the new station scheduled to open in 2027.
Mayor Andy Burnham called the submitting of the proposals a “transformative step” for the region.
“It has taken a huge effort to get us to this point,” he explained. “But we have finally reached a major milestone on the journey to reconnect Golborne to the rail network for the first time in over 60 years.
“The proposal is based on extremely sound evidence and huge progress has been made with a planning application being submitted and overwhelming support from local residents.”
Georgina Pellant -
27th February 2023 
