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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Street parties and Red Arrows fly-over planned for four-day VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations
Emily Sergeant
Street parties and fly-pasts by military aircraft including the famous Red Arrows are planned for the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Victory in Europe (VE Day) – which takes place on 8 May each year, and marks the Allied victory in Europe – resulted in millions celebrating the end of the war in 1945, with street parties, dancing and singing all across the country.
And now, 80 years later, similar events and celebrations are set to take place.
The commemorations set to take place over four days at the start of May will pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front.
On 8 May the nation will come together to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day
— Department for Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) March 5, 2025
The early May bank holiday on Monday 5 May will see the beginning of the events to mark VE Day 80, with events planned including a military procession, flypast of current and historic military aircraft, and the return of the poppies to the Tower of London.
Also on bank holiday Monday is when street parties, barbecues. and community get-togethers are being encouraged to be held by communities across the country to echo the celebrations 80 years ago.
The Government has also issued a nationwide call for families to ‘delve into their lofts’ and discover their own stories from the Second World War.
On actual VE Day itself, on Thursday 8 May, a service will take place at Westminster Abbey that the Government says will be both an ‘act of shared remembrance’ and a ‘celebration’ of the end of the war.
Street parties and a Red Arrows fly-over is planned for 80th anniversary celebrations of VE Day / Credit: Vicki Burton (via Flickr)
All the planned events will conclude with a concert at the historic Horseguards Parade, with more than 10,000 members of the public expected to attend, and well-known stars of stage and screen and military musicians set to perform.
“80 years ago, the freedoms we enjoy today were defended by our remarkable Second World War generation,” commented Defence Secretary John Healey MP as the planned celebrations were announced.
“Our duty today is to safeguard the British values they sacrificed so much to uphold.
“As we mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, our grateful nation looks forward to joining our brave Armed Forces and veterans to reflect, rejoice and remember.”
Featured Image – Jason Garcia (via Flickr)
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Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has unfortunately been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’, according to a new analysis.
In recent months, Greater Manchester has been earning itself some rather impressive new titles, with wins across areas such as property prices, arts and culture, and so much more… but when you win some, it seems like you also lose some.
That’s because a data analysis of car theft statistics across the UK in 2024 has sadly seen Manchester named in the top 10 ‘hotspots’.
Although motor thefts were found to have decreased by 6% in the previous year, there was still a whopping 61,343 cars reported stolen to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in 2024, which marked the third-highest annual total in the past decade.
The number of car thefts in 2024 was actually more than twice the number recorded in 2015.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s top car theft ‘hotspots’ / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Analysis of the data from This is Money and MailOnline, as shared by the RAC, highlighted that East London was the worst affected area in the UK, but Manchester wasn’t too far behind.
Manchester took the third spot on the top 10 list, with a total of 912 cars reported stolen in 2024 alone, while some of the other northern cities on the ranking include Leeds and Sheffield.
It comes as no surprise, however, that at the top of the list is the capital of London, with a shockingly-high 8,145 cars stolen last year.
Top 10 UK car theft ‘hotspots’ 2024
London – 8,145
Birmingham – 3,220
Manchester – 912
Leeds – 901
Sheffield – 899
Coventry – 862
Wolverhampton – 616
Leicester – 533
Walsall – 521
Bristol – 506
According to the analysis, there are several ways that criminals are choosing to steal cars nationwide, with one of the most popular being key cloning, where a thief creates a copy of a car’s key fob or key to gain access to the vehicle.
This technique is particularly common with modern cars that use keyless entry and push-to-start systems, which communicate with the car through radio signals.
Georgina Pellant -
27th February 2023 
