End of the road for Seven Miles Out?
AMUCH-LOVED community arts hub is due to close next year as organisers say keeping it going is no longer sustainable.
Seven Miles Out, on Market Place in Stockport town centre, was opened by the Barratt family four years ago as part of their ongoing efforts to breathe new life into the area.
John and Rosemary Barratt and their son Joe run a number of community events, including the Teenage Market, Foodie Friday, Screen Stockport film festival, and the Stockport Old Town Folk Festival.
Joe and his brother Tom were key players in the town’s successful bid for a grant from the Portas Pilot, and Seven Miles Out has become a focal point for creative locals, hosting gigs, comedy nights, art exhibitions and much more.
The Barratts had bid to take over the Produce Hall on Market Place, with the idea of making Foodie Friday – which currently runs once a month and sees hundreds of people descending on the market – a permanent offer in partnership with five Stockport independent food and drink businesses.
The plan had been to tie in the activities that take place at Seven Miles Out and bring it all together under one roof, but their bid was rejected by the council in favour of one from restaurateur Steve Pilling.
John says they are now facing a rent increase from the landlord of the Seven Miles Out building, meaning that it is ‘no longer sustainable to continue on the road that we are on’.
“We are sorry that the situation is how it is,” he said.
“We invested in the Old Town and we have been doing events there since 2011.
“We are still hoping to do Foodie Friday, but not being at Seven Miles Out means a lot of the projects we do and the community groups that use the space will struggle.
“We would like to stay involved in the area and work in partnership with the council delivering events for the community, but we don’t know if that will be possible.”
An announcement was made on the Seven Miles Out Facebook page that it will close its doors in April 2018, which was met with dismay from residents.
Mark Rawsthorne from Stockport Ukelele Group, said: “The closing of Seven Miles Out will leave a huge hole in the heart of Stockport.
“The benefits that you all bring to the area will never show up on a balance sheet, but are hugely important and will be missed by so many.”
‘We are sorry that the situation is how it is’