Manchester’s new £250m canalside neighbourhood has officially welcomed its first independent tenants – with Common & Co bringing pints and pizza slices to the complex from summer.
Owners of Northern Quarter bar Common have signed on the dotted line to open a new pub and Nell’s Pizza shop at the ‘Kampus’ development – which has been built as a joint venture between Capital & Centric and HBD.
Founded by husband and wife team Jonny and Charlotte Heyes, Common & Co is a mainstay in the Manchester hospitality scene – having served the city for over 15 years.
‘Cornerstone’ pub – the latest concept from the duo – will be a local hang-out at the heart of the Kampus community; described as “a traditional boozer reimagined for the 21st century”.
Common & Co is also bringing its legendary giant pizza slices to the city neighbourhood – with a Nell’s Pizza serving up its famous 22” New York style pizzas (which will be available as a whole pie or by the slice) next door.
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Cornerstone and Nell’s will have outdoor seating alongside the Kampus garden overlooking the canal.
Both venues are expected to open in July.
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Nell’s Pizzas are famous in ManchesterCommon’s husband and wife team Jonny and Charlotte Heyes
Adam Higgins, co-founder at Capital & Centric said: “Kampus is all about the lush green garden and having the best independent food and drink operators in amongst it. Cornerstone will be at the heart of the Kampus community, just like the local pub should be. And if you fancy a bite to eat, you can walk right through to Nell’s to grab a slice of pizza to have with your pint
“More now so than ever, we really wanted to work with independent Manchester businesses and help them recover from what’s been a pretty crap year. Common were one of the first bars in the Northern Quarter and have become a Manchester institution. They’re going to be setting the tone for what we’re creating at Kampus: independent, laid back and for everyone. And the timing couldn’t be better as people start coming back into the city and life gets back to normal.”
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Jonny Heyes, Common & Co added: “Kampus represents to me a development with a sense of purpose, it kind of knows what it’s about, what it’s for.
“Lots of developments end up being a bunch of buildings searching for a reason to be, furiously post-rationalising.
“We got the impression that the vision for Kampus would be something we, as an independent operator could get on board with. It will be a thoughtfully curated selection of independent businesses as part of a neighbourhood ecosystem, which is nice. All it was lacking was a pub (and a pizza shop).”
One and two bedroom apartments are available to view in North Block in Kampus from April.
Molly-Mae Hague revisits first Manchester flat, now on the market for £185k
Daisy Jackson
Molly-Mae Hague’s first Manchester flat is now on the market for £185k – and the star herself has paid a visit to her old digs.
Those who have been following Molly-Mae since before she shot to serious fame on Love Island will have recognised the backdrop of her recent TikTok video.
The 27-year-old reality TV star and businesswoman posed around the one-bedroom flat, dancing to Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘House Tour’.
The apartment is where she lived just before entering Love Island, and where she and now-fiance Tommy Fury lived briefly when they left the show.
And now that exact flat where she really launched her social media career has been listed for sale, at £185,000.
The corner apartment stands on the 17th floor of Islington Wharf, overlooking New Islington tram stop and right on the doorstep of Ancoats.
Her former landlord, who arranged for Molly-Mae to have one look around her old flat before it’s sold, said that she was a ‘lovely, polite and down-to-earth young woman, and an excellent tenant who looked after the apartment extremely well.’
The one bedroom apartment has double-aspect floor-to-ceiling windows which look across Manchester on one side, and out towards the Pennines on the other.
It’s listed for sale with no chain and the option to include existing furnishings (which seems to include the same couch Molly-Mae had at the time).
The flat also has a kitchen/living space, a communal garden, superfast broadband, and is within walking distance of Manchester Piccadilly.
New measures announced to tackle ‘rogue’ landlords across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
A cohort of trained enforcement officers are set to hit the streets in all 10 boroughs to help improve the lives of the region’s renters.
Forming part of Greater Manchester‘s commitment to the highest-quality housing standards alongside the Good Landlord Charter, the newly trained enforcement officers will be tasked with protecting tenants, joining Council teams in checking rental properties, bringing enforcement action against bad landlords, and cracking down on illegal practices.
The introduction of the new enforcement officers comes after what has been ‘years of sustained pressure’ on local budgets.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) says it is working with the 10 councils across the region to strengthen local teams, rebuild in-house skills and expertise, and ensure that powers can be applied with consistency in all boroughs.
As mentioned, this is happening alongside the Good Landlord Charter – which is GMCA’s ‘bold approach’ to drive up standards for renters across the region.
Landlords of more than half of rented properties in Greater Manchester have now signed up as supporters of the Charter, and as supporters, they have committed to going above and beyond legal minimums to improve the renting experience for hundreds of thousands of people.
“A safe place to call home is the cornerstone of a happy, healthy life,” explained Mayor Bev Craig. “But for years, people have felt trapped in poor-quality housing, and cash-strapped councils were unable to step in to help. I’m putting an end to that.
“We know there are plenty of good landlords in Greater Manchester, and many of them have already signed up to our Good Landlord Charter, but too many are just not good enough.
“That’s why we’re deploying a new generation of expert housing officers onto the streets of our towns and cities.”
Mayor Bev Craig declared that she ‘won’t stand by and let rogue landlords take advantage of people’.
She continued: “By empowering renters, working with responsible landlords, and using our powers to crack down on the bad ones, I will make sure everyone in Greater Manchester has the foundation for a good life.”
The Manc -
1st April 2021 
