Have you ever been downstairs in the Tesco on Market Street?
While it might not particularly strike you as somewhere of much importance, considering you probably just nipped down there to grab yourself a last-minute tin of beans or some loo roll in a hurry, but that lower ground floor level is actually a unique part of Manchester’s retail history.
Manchester Arndale and the adjacent Market Street are undoubtedly some of busiest shopping hotspots the city centre has to offer – but back in the 1970s and 80s, the underground market was the place to be.
The Market Centre was the go-to place for pretty much everything you could ever need.
In its heyday, the market – which first opened in 1972 and eventually closed for good in the early 1990s when the Arndale grew in popularity – once boasted around 100 market stalls and shops covering a wide range of needs, and had several separate entrances on Brown Street (near Tesco), Spring Gardens and Norfolk Street, which have all since been concreted over.
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Once a real independent gem of the city centre, and sadly the sort of place you don’t see that much of anymore, with perhaps the exception of Afflecks, the Market Centre was home to a collection of dedicated clothing shops selling punk gear, a couple of iconic vinyl record shops and even a Stolen from Ivor – the first place in the north of England to stock Levi’s jeans.
Back in the 1970s and 80s, the Arndale underground market was the place to be / Credit: Manchester Local Image Collection
Roxy was the place to hit up if you were in the market for a pair of classic 80s flares, stocked in every colour and pattern under the sun.
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Oasis, Justin’s and other smaller boutique stalls were also seen as treasure troves for Manchester’s fashion hipsters of the day, with leather coats and jackets being a particularly popular buy.
“I used to buy jeans from there”, Pat Karney from Manchester City Council once fondly recalled.
“It was exotic [as] it was so different to any other shopping experience in Manchester at the time [and] as teenagers, people met all their friends there
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“It was quite similar to the old Corn Exchange and was full of surprises. They were all units rather than shops and that’s what made it pretty magical [as] things would change from what they were a week earlier”.
The Market Centre once boasted around 100 market stalls and shops covering a wide range of needs / Credit: Manchester Local Image Collection
The underground market was also seen as a music goldmine, with Manchester Underground Records Import used by DJs from across the region, as well as bootlegs, tapes and vinyl in all genres still being readily available from shops and stalls including Collectors Records, Yvonne’s Record Stall, and Spinn In Records.
But after closing down for good in 1989, largely due to the increasing popularity of the Arndale, the Market Centre has since faded into memory.
Do you remember the Market Centre? Share your memories with us.
Featured Image – Manchester Local Image Collection
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A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
Emily Sergeant -
11th January 2022 
