Levenshulme Market is set to stick around in the Manchester suburb for another four years.
The ever-popular market attraction – which has attracted thousands of visitors and hundreds more traders since launching in 2013 – has secured its immediate future after what has been described as a “challenging” year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The news of the Levenshulme Market’s future comes after it was recently crowned the winner of ‘Best Small Market’ at the Great British Market Awards 2020.
As it is only a temporary operation, Levenshulme Market is required to reapply for permission from Manchester City Council to use the car park on Stockport Road every few years.
Applications are submitted by volunteers who run the market as a Community Interest Company – and there have been numerous obstacles in recent weeks.
ADVERTISEMENT
A bid to add a monthly Sunday market (to accompany monthly Friday and weekly Saturday openings) encountered opposition, with almost 300 people signing petitions against the proposals. Concerns had been raised about the potential impact on neighbouring businesses and car parking availability near Levenshulme Station and the wider district centre.
Some objectors even suggested that the site of the market needed to be relocated.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, the final application for a further four-year tenure has now been passed – backed by 280 individual emails of support.
Levenshulme Market recently won ‘Best Small Market’ at the Great British Market Awards 2020 / Credit: Levenshulme MarketPermission has been granted for the market to trade through to its 10th birthday / Credit: Levenshulme Market
At Manchester City Council’s planning meeting last Thursday, one of the CIC’s directors Paul Bower stressed the benefits of the market to Manchester.
“We feel that we continue to provide a vital and vibrant space for traders young and old to sell their quality goods and support the growth of the local economy in south Manchester,” Mr Bower said.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We feel that small markets like our own will play a very important role in building back better when we emerge into the post-COVID economy.”
The planning meeting heard that even though the market was only operating at half capacity due to COVID-safety guidelines, it still provided more than 200 traders with stalls, 80% of whom were from Greater Manchester and over half were women.
The committee gave its unanimous support for the CIC’s application – which also had the backing of planning officers.
Permission has been granted for the market to trade through to its 10th birthday.
80% of traders at Levenshulme Market are from Greater Manchester and over half are women. / Credit: Levenshulme Market
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Bower said: “We’re very pleased and relieved to have secured our immediate future of our community market in Levenshulme following a challenging 18 months [and] we would very much like to thank everyone who took the time to write in with their support.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It is greatly appreciated and we look forward to sharing the market’s next four years with everyone.”
Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
Featured Images — David Maynard via Stockport Music Story/Stockport Council
UK News
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight FINALLY booked
Danny Jones
It seems like it’s official: Tyson Fury is finally set to fight Anthony Joshua – and it sounds like it’s happening this year.
Put it this way, it better be worth all the hype after all this time.
Arguably one of the most anticipated all-British bouts of the last few decades, the boxing match between Fury and Joshua is one that fight fans, and even those only occasionally interested in the sport, have been waiting to be booked for ages.
It got to a point where we almost started to think we’d never get to see it come to fruition whatsoever, but now promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that it’s all locked in.
As you can see, putting things in the simplest terms possible, the Matchroom Boxing boss said on social media: “Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!”
This comes after a previous post, in which he wrote: “The biggest piece of business we’ve ever done, but more importantly, the one we’ve always wanted.
“Biggest year of AJ’s career coming up, the comeback is on.”
Tagging the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing, Turki Al-Sheikh, the government official looks to have recently held a major event in which he hosted several big sporting names.
It was already heavily expected that any potential clash would take place in the Middle East, and it now looks like nailed on that it will be part of the country’s annual ‘Riyadh Season’.
Although things have been relatively tight-lipped on Fury‘s side, ‘The Gypsy King’ did share a little reaction of his own online…
Still more of a teaser on his end than full verification, we hope they’re not going to lead us down the garden path on this one; boxing heads have waited long enough for this one.
The 37-year-old Manchester-born boxer returned to the ring after yet ANOTHER ‘retirement’ earlier this month, winning comfortably against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Meanwhile, Joshua, now 36, will be making his own comeback of sorts against Kristian Prenga on July 25 – this will also be taking place in Riyadh.
Emily Sergeant -
5th July 2021 
