Chain store planned in ‘independent’ neighbourhood
ONE of Manchester’s most independent neighbourhoods is about to welcome its first chain convenience store – and not everyone is happy.
Ancoats has boomed in the last 12 months with an influx of indie food and drink businesses catering to the growing residential population. Now they’re set to be joined by a food store – understood to be a Co-op – on Blossom Street.
Some of the area’s existing businesses fear it will undercut them and threaten the identity of the community – and residents’ reaction is mixed.
One of the local businesses most under threat by the arrival of another convenience store is Ancoats General Store.
Owner Mital Morar said: “This sort of thing happens, it’s a fact of life that competition will follow you, but we’re preparing for it and just hoping we don’t lose so much business that we have to reduce staff numbers.
“We’ve worked hard over the last two or three years to become an instrumental part of the community here. I’m pretty sure that Ancoats was earmarked and designed to be an area for independents, and show what’s possible and what a neighbourhood could be. There are a lot of us and it’s a good group around here, so it does feel like a shame to drop a corporate name in.”
Manchester Life, the property development company behind much of the regeneration of Ancoats, have been integral in finding suitable tenants for the commercial units along Blossom Street.
A source has confirmed that Co-op is preparing to take up three vacant commercial units on this newly redeveloped street.
A spokesman for Hanging Ditch, the team behind Blossom Street Social, a wine bar and shop due to open next door to the rumoured Co-op site later this year, said: “Manchester Life have done a really great job of finding independent businesses for the area and created a lovely thing. It just feels like a missed opportunity for creating a complete community.
“The concept of having Blossom Street – the heart of Ancoats – full of quality independent operators will be seriously watered down if a large chunk is occupied by a Co-op which will have the effect of making all the independents’ jobs much harder. Why not fill those units with an independent deli, greengrocers and butchers?”
A spokesman for Manchester Life said: “With Ancoats as the fastest-growing neighbourhood within the city centre we can confirm that we are in discussions with an operator to establish a food store on Blossom Street to serve the local community.
“We’re hoping to be in a position to confirm the operator soon as many of the neighbourhood’s residents have asked for a store to save on longer journeys for life’s essentials.
“As one of the largest residential and commercial landlords in the area, we are confident that food retail demand will grow significantly as we delivered 690 homes last year and have a further 700 under development, with other developers delivering hundreds more this year.
“We’re incredibly proud of the independent business that opened up within our Ancoats developments last year, and with the number of new homes coming, particularly ones suitable for families and sharers, it is our responsibility to ensure we’re best addressing the neighbourhood’s retail mix.” In 2018 the neighbourhood welcomed openings including fine dining restaurant Mana, Sugo Pasta Kitchen, Hip Hop Chip Shop and Trove cafe. Although businesses might be apprehensive, a Co-op opening could be good news for residents.
Danielle Heap, who rents a twobedroom flat on Henry Street, said: “I love living in Ancoats due to its abundance of local independent businesses, it makes the place feel more like a small village community rather than the hustle and bustle of the city centre.
“The constant increase of residents in Ancoats brings a demand for more shops, but if large corporate companies start opening up it could completely change the feel of the area and affect some of the much loved local businesses.”
The Co-op declined to comment.