With new apartment blocks springing up all over Greater Manchester, it’s rare to find one with community spirit built-in – but we’ve found just the place.
Just across the river from Manchester city centre, this canalside neighbourhood offers more than just its beautifully designed apartments and generous green spaces. New Maker Yards creates a community that values lifestyle, wellbeing and connection as much as the living spaces themselves.
That means free events for residents, plenty of communal spaces, a gorgeous setting, and so much more.
Here, you’ll find one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes available for rent, with pet-friendly pads, an on-site cafe, parking, and green spaces all available. It’s in a pretty enviable location, too.
Here are five reasons to make New Maker Yards your next home.
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Community
At New Maker Yards, you’re not just renting an apartment, you’re joining a neighbourhood with real community spirit.
Large-scale free community events bring residents and locals together, like this summer’s Middlewood Locks Fest, which featured live music, food, rowing boats and a market right on the canals.
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The recent Sofar Sounds event saw the community curl up on beanbags to enjoy a completely free gig from up-and-coming local artists.
Come winter, there’ll be a Christmas party, and all year round you’ll find monthly quiz nights, workshops, a book club, yoga, football, a run club, and pop-up events like sushi making and plant pot painting.
Location
Aviva Studios is a short walk from New Maker YardsNew Maker Yards is just outside Manchester city centre
Technically in Salford, but a stone’s throw away from Manchester city centre, New Maker Yards blends convenience with character. You can even see Aviva Studios from here.
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Built around canals and just beside the River Irwell, it’s a gorgeous part of the city centre.
From your door, it’s just a four minute walk to the Regent Retail Park (hello, big Sainsburys and JD Gyms); seven-minutes to all the restaurants and cafes on Chapel Street; and less than 10 minutes from St John’s and onwards to Spinningfields.
You can also get your green space fix with a 15 minute walk to Castlefield, with Peel Park a little further on.
And with each apartment block designed around its own communal gardens, you’ll feel tucked away from the city centre, while still being amongst the action.
Communal spaces
Co-working hub at New Maker YardsCo-working hub at New Maker YardsA resident lounge
You’ll never get cabin fever at New Maker Yards, which has loads of communal spaces to enjoy.
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Residents have access to The Lock, a co-working hub with window seats, booths and a huge co-working desk.
Residents can also access the Club Room, where you’ll find a mini library, a kitchen for hosting events, a huge TV and more.
Outside, landscaped gardens include flower beds, loungey garden furniture, ping pong tables and more for residents to enjoy.
Add in a 92 Degrees coffee shop and an on-site Co-op shop, and you have everything you need right on your doorstep.
Interiors
Inside a New Maker Yards apartmentA living space opening onto an outdoor terraceModern, fully equipped kitchensStylish living spaces
Apartments at New Maker Yards come with top-spec, state-of-the-art interiors, designed for modern living.
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Each home has huge windows that flood with natural light, integrated kitchen appliances including a fridge, microwave and dishwasher, and loads of storage space.
Furniture packages mean you can move straight into a home kitted out with dressers, drawers, beds, sofas, mirrors, and more.
Many of the apartments also feature private outdoor space – balconies for the upper floors, and terraces opening onto the communal gardens for the ground floors.
They’re also pet friendly, so you can bring your four-legged friend with you.
Services and amenities
The Club RoomNew Maker Yards
You’ll have proper peace of mind at New Maker Yards, both for your own personal safety and the safety of your ASOS parcels.
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There’s 24-hour on-site security, an on-site maintenance team, a parcel room and a friendly resident team in the welcome office, ready to help with whatever you need.
Storage pods, car parking and bike storage are all available too.
To find out more about New Maker Yards, head HERE.
Free pints and live craft experiences coming to a Manchester pub for one night only
Daisy Jackson
A pop-up pub takeover is opening its doors in Manchester, where you can get your hands on a free pint as well as some amazing craft experiences.
The Uncommon Inn is being operated by premium Italian lager brand Poretti, who want to help us Brits break out of our daily routines.
Matt & Phreds on Tib Street will welcome The Uncommon Inn on Thursday 22 October, from 4pm to 8pm, giving visitors the chance to discover unusual creative skills and watch artisans at work, with a free pint in hand.
It comes after research commissioned by Poretti found that 61% of UK adults feel they are living on autopilot, while a quarter have not tried a new creative pursuit in five years or more.
Free pints and live craft experiences are coming to a Manchester pub for one night only / Credit: Supplied
The study also found that adults have an average of just 90 minutes of genuine personal time each day, with 58% spending that time watching television and 35% scrolling through social media.
Exhaustion and financial constraints came out as the main barriers preventing people from trying new things.
The Uncommon Inn has been designed to offer an alternative, bringing together a collective of specialist makers to showcase their skills in a familiar pub setting.
Visitors to the Manchester event can watch Giulio Miglietta embroidering personalised beer mats, using a vintage Singer sewing machine dating back to the early 1900s, alongside live hand-engraving and bespoke jewellery-style crafting using recycled silver.
The Uncommon Inn is being operated by premium Italian lager brand Poretti / Credit: Supplied
Other demonstrations include 3D body-casting by sculptor Ami of Angelcasts and personalised, hand-engraved glassware from Leigh Calligraphy. Sabira of Sken Studios will also demonstrate how recycled silver can be turned into bespoke bottle openers.
Guests will be able to enjoy complimentary pints of Poretti while watching the makers at work.
Caitlin Maley, Senior Brand Manager at Poretti, said: “Modern life moves at an overwhelming pace, and it’s all too easy to fall into autopilot mode where routine replaces curiosity.
“We believe in celebrating intentional craft, rare skills, and authentic human connection – values that are at the core of our brewing heritage.
“We created The Uncommon Inn to turn an ordinary pub visit into an inspiring journey. By bringing together our Masters of Crafts, from chainstitch embroiderers to live engravers and musicians, we’re inviting pubgoers to slow down, pick up a new skill, and enjoy a pint crafted with genuine passion.”
The Uncommon Inn is at Matt & Phreds in Manchester on Thursday 22 October, from 4pm until 8pm.
Featured Image – Supplied
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Festive food village announced at magical Manchester light trail
Lydia Mastrolonardo
There’s just one month to go until Manchester’s most spectacular festive light trail returns – and they’ve just announced details of the Christmas Village and six new food traders.
Heaton Park will soon light up forNorthern Lights Manchester, and the list of foodies making up this year’s Christmas Village has just been revealed.
With everything from chargrilled souvlaki to handmade pies and hot fruit crumble on the menu, there’s bound to be something for everyone.
Brand new for 2026 is Chicken Hut, serving up the crispiest chicken tenders you’ve ever had, plus Greek Traditional Souvlaki bringing all of those delicious mediterranean flavours, The Lids & Co supplying mouthwatering customisable pies, and The Otley Burger Company, which was recently crowned the UK’s best food truck.
The above savoury offerings will be joined by the returning well-known and loved, The Sausage Factory, serving festive bratwurst, currywurst, and proper local Bury Black Pudding sausage.
If you’re after a sweet treat, they have enlisted Crumble & Custard to supply a range of warming fruit crumbles with creamy custard, while Crepes & Coffee will be providing all of the desserts you could desire, along with gorgeous hot chocolates providing the final nail in the food coma coffin.
If after all that you need a sit down, a pint or a mulled wine, the Bees Knees Tavern is the place to go.
Emma St. Croix, Senior Marketing Manager at From The Fields, said: “There’s something very festive about finishing a trip through Christmases past with a hot crumble and custard.
The linup for Northern Lights’ festive food village has been announcedThe Bees Knees pub will returnYou can warm up here after your walk around the Heaton Park light trail
“Food is a big part of the night out at Northern Lights, and we’re excited to welcome six new traders plus The Sausage Factory and the Bees Knees Tavern from last year.With the Ferris wheel in the Christmas Village and a whole new trail across Heaton Park, there’s plenty to explore this year. We’re just over a month from opening and can’t wait to see everyone back.”
As for the trail itself – Heaton Park is to be transformed into a toy box of memories, with 15 brand-new installations, inspired by the toys and traditions that would have topped Christmas wish lists in the past.
Whether you fancy a trip down memory lane or you just fancy a wintery trip out, one thing is for certain, this is one Christmas experience you don’t want to miss out on.
First, visitors will have the opportunity to wander along the colourful path, as part of the Walkway of Wonder, where bright stained-glass panels glow like windows in an old fairytale. Then back to the sixties you go, down Lava Lamp Lane, where glowing blobs of colour mesmerisingly float across the ground and into the trees – which may even be enough to inspire you to dig out that old lava lamp you once had collecting dust on your shelf.
If you once considered yourself a pro at Scalextric, the Retro Racers installation may bring back some memories, where visitors will be able to send lights shooting around a giant racetrack.
Northern Lights Manchester will return next monthNorthern Lights Manchester is taking over Heaton Park
By this point you may need a bit of warming up – head on past the giant nutcrackers and get cosy by the fire pits beneath the festoon lights, for some marshmallow toasting.
Don’t be alarmed if you see giant candy canes marching along Candy Cane Crossing, like Manchester’s biggest peppermint dream, before you reach O Christmas Tree which would make the perfect spot for a photo.
I’m sure we all remember THE Christmas catalogue – the one many of us spent hours flicking thorough and circling our desired gifts? Well, this year pupils from a local primary school have filled its pages with their own fantastic drawings of classic toys.
Finally, you will find that the Lakehouse winds itself into cuckoo-clock as the trail comes to a close.
It is important to note the route is fully accessible, with dedicated neuro-inclusive evenings when visitor numbers are reduced by 75% and audio levels are lowered throughout.
Event information
Dates: 19 November – 31 December 2026
Location: Heaton Park, Manchester
Opening times:
4:30pm – 8:15pm (19–26 November)
4:15pm – 8:15pm (27 November – 31 December)
Northern Lights Manchester tickets
Unsurprisingly, tickets are selling quickly, with over 100,000 of you expected to attend this year – don’t hang about.
Under 2s go free
Child tickets (3-16 years) from £13.50
Adult tickets from £19.50
Family tickets from £60
Click HERE to book your tickets. Use the code LIGHTS20 for 20% off until 31 October 2026
Daisy Jackson -
11th September 2025 
