Westmorland and Furness Council said Portland Walk car park will close from the start of July.
In a statement the council revealed the rooftop car park will permanently close from July 1 following a review which found said it had ‘very low usage’.
Built and operated by Shrewsbury Empires Ltd, the Granada Theatre opened on 14th November 1934 with Jack Hulbert in The Camels Are Coming.
It closed as a cinema on 31st March 1973 with Charles Bronson in The Valachi Papers and Anatomy of a Pin-Up.
The Granada circuit was famous for its lavishly decorated interiors created by a Russian émigré called Theodore Komisarjevsky, the most famous examples of which are at Woolwich and Tooting – both now operate as bingo halls. The Shrewsbury Granada was by far the best cinema in the area, and in addition to Komisjarevsky, the scheme was designed by Cecil Massey, with some work being carried out by a local architect called Arthur Williams. The architecture of the Shrewsbury hall is often referred to as being a “standard” Granada, and the interior was very similar to the Granadas at Bedford now demolished and Maidstone which wasdestroyed by sub-division. There were less than 20 theatres built for the circuit, of which Shrewsbury was number five, although many existing cinemas were taken over and renamed, making the Granada Theatres an important group, although in numbers they were far behind Odeon and ABC.
On 17th November 1995, the Granada Theatre was designated a Grade II Listed building by English Heritage.
Many thanks to the staff of Buzz Bingo for allowing us access.
Next up is a Marks & Spencers store very much a shop of two halves – marrying post-war Brutalism with interwar Classicism, unified by a glazed ground floor.
Across the way, a 60s corner site development, with a dual-entry Greggs.
Formerly the site of the Post Office – demolished in 1959, and next to the Barclays bank the long gone Crown Hotel.
On the adjacent corner a curvaceous Barclays Bank, built in the post war Ministry of Works manner.
Next door is Crown House – refurbished but with it’s architectural type intact.
One of Marshall Structures’ biggest projects to date was the conversion of Crown House from a tired office block to a complex featuring 14 luxury apartments, providing a much-needed improvement to the site. The work involved in this project included large amounts of steel work and timber design.
The biggest challenge faced during the completion of this project was trying to fit an additional storey without loading quite an old existing structure. To do this, the new storey was designed out of a lightweight timber frame. By doing this, the client’s brief could be met while also ensuring that the existing 1950s building wasn’t overloaded in the process.
The foundation stone for the new building was laid by Sir Offley Wakeman, a former chairman of the county council, on 25 July 1964. It was designed by Ralph Crowe, the County Architect, in the Modernist style, built at a cost of £1.8 million and was completed in April 1966.
Pevsner described the building as – the major monument to post-war modernism in the county.
The Market Hall, which includes the town’s 240ft clock tower, an indoor market and a ground-floor shopping centre, was hailed the most modern building in Shropshire when it opened in September 1965.
Developed by the Second Covent Garden Property Company Ltd to replace an ailing Victorian market hall, it cost £1 million to build and was designed by award-winning architect David du Roi Aberdeen who also famously designed the Trade Union Congress headquarters, Congress House, in London, and the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square.
Today the Market Hall’s 1960’s architecture might not be to everyone’s taste, but its indoor market is thriving with over 70 small businesses ranging from popular contemporary cafes and gift retailers to artisan producers and traditional market stalls selling fresh produce.
Bobbing toward the centre – a striking Lloyds Bank.
A conscious effort to reflect the nearby Tudor architecture of Ireland’s Mansion and Pride Hill. Lloyds Bank is considered a good example of Brutalist architecture, and proof that bold modern buildings can be successfully slotted into traditional historic streets.
Possibly Shrewsbury’s finest post-war building, but of course it has its detractors. It was well received by critics of the period including the assessors for the Civic Trust who bestowed an award in 1968. They noted the quandary that the architects faced of building in such a historic setting and terminating the vista along one of the town centre’s main streets. In their opinion the architects ‘faced the problem squarely and their building, brave in its conception and immaculate in its detail’ and that it was ‘uncompromisingly of today but beautifully sympathetic to the great buildings it rests with’. Pevsner’s original assessment of it being the ‘boldest modern response to the town’s half-timbering’ was not shared by the authors who revised the Shropshire edition and viewed it as an ‘aggressive display of exposed and textured concrete’.
It was also shortlisted for the European Cement Association awards, one of only two British buildings to make the grade. Opting to draw on the Tudor traditions of the town, partner W Marsden, working with project architect W Allan Clark and assistants Malcolm Lovibond and Keith Maplestone, used cantilevered floors, vertical structural and sub-structural members, oriel windows and a black and white tonal palette deploying anodized aluminium window frames against finely ribbed concrete panels. The standing seam zinc roof adopted the town’s norm of pitched roofs without gables in order to blend with the street scene. Concrete Quarterly referred to it as ‘a skilful bridging of the centuries in a way that would not offend a purist’ . The main contractor was Henry Willcock and Company Limited.
Work began in the interwar years, and continued following the hiatus of 1939-45. The shopping centre named the Civic Centre was open in 1963, the actual Civic Centre containing a swimming pool, theatre, public hall and library in 1971.
Here I am again four years later, taking a look at how it looks today.
ASDA remains the anchor store, Wilko having left a Wilko sized hole in the precinct. On an overcast Friday morning there was sufficient footfall to sustain the wide variety of smaller shops and larger retail chains. As with many other towns within the central Manchester orbit, the easy proximity fills those busy trams and buses, which are leaving the area.
There are plans in place to regenerate the area, in the form of a Masterplan – which can be downloaded here.
Between 1991-2002 there have been some architectural changes, including new stores and office developments. Some of the interventions included significant adaptions which further increased retail into the existing buildings high street.
The interventions included significant adjustments to the multi-storey car park with the aim of reducing parking numbers whilst providing additional lettable space. Further Transport Hub Arrival commercial development was created to the north of the site with the construction of Etrop Court, despite there being significant commercial vacancy across other parts of the estate.
Whilst there has been significant incremental intervention, the character of the area has not fundamentally changed from its founding concept. However the cumulative impact of the various changes have had a negative impact on the functionality and suitability of place, so much so that the centre is in many ways no longer fit- for purpose.
The site today is surrounded by surface car parks, with a total of around 2,500 car parking spaces, 1,700 of which are contained within the multi-storey car park. Many of the retail units, the upper floor office spaces along the Birtles and Hale Top, and buildings to the east are vacant.
Typically, the levels of vacancy are consistent with the changing demands of the high street, where typically modern and successful retail centres are now more diversified and focussed on creating a visitor or destination-based experience. In this sense, we anticipate a need to diversify the high street and to promote a smaller more concentrated retail core, whilst supplementing the offer with more meanwhile and permanent uses and activities based on culture, food and creative workplace.
The gateway to the Civic Centre on arrival from the Transport Interchange is very poor. Access to the high street isn’t obvious and the route through to the high street isn’t clear. Much of the site is surrounded by fencing, barrier and gates and whilst they are open during the day, they are locked at night to prevent vandalism. This barricaded aesthetic does nothing to promote an easily accessible and family friendly environment as well as preventing any opportunity to promote a much needed night- time economy.
Currently, the Civic Centre appears to only cater for those with a need to visit for a particular purpose, rather than capitalising on an opportunity to create a place to visit and dwell.
Multi Storey Car Park Rowlandsway Manchester M22 5RG
I’ve lost count of the countless times I have visited countless car parks.
I do have a fondness for ramps – particularly helical ramps, one of my most memorable early modernist encounters, was with Lubetkin’s penguin pool.
The cast concrete taking on a truly sculptural dimension.
There is also the Proustian recollection of a collection of geometry lessons and Helix instruments.
It has all left a lasting impression and I have subsequently taken every opportunity to waddle penguin like up and down several concrete car park ramps.
I was informed by the seriously erudite Christopher Marsden that the bus station and car park were the work of Derek C W Vane: Borough Architect 1972-1974.
Having visited and photographed the bus station in 2016 I thought that it was about time I went up in the world, to the top level of the car park.
Mixed opinions from Parkopedia reviewers – let’s take a look around.
There are plans for refurbishment outlined in 2022 in the Huddersfield Hub.
The bus station will undergo a major revamp both inside and out and the most striking feature will be a sweeping canopy with a living grass roof which will run right across the main frontage from Macaulay Square to Upperhead Row.
Also of note a project by Kate Matthews to seriously rethink the role and design of the space.
The starting point for this project was the Welcoming Water group scenario, involving the controlled flooding of areas of the town.
The new interchange includes facilities for cycling, walking, and public transit. The basin and marina on the new lake allow for an increased focus on water-based transport, including a new bus-boat. The main Transport Hub sits below an undulating roof and contains not only the bus bays and ticketing facilities, but also co-working and relaxation spaces. The curves of the roof, trying to confuse the binary of floor and ceiling, are just one example of the ambiguity throughout the scheme.
This project was nominated for the Architects for Health Student Design Award in 2021.
Shropshire Council Raven Meadows Shrewsbury SY1 1PL
Built by Truscon Ltd. – 1969
I am a disabled driver and found a lot of the direction signs worn away. When I came to leave I wanted to use the machine on the ground floor. This was out of order, as a lot of other people found. The office was empty as the staff were outside smoking. I then had to negotiate stars back to the 7th floor where the next machine was located. There was no sign on the ground floor machine telling it was out of use and where the next machine was located.
If staff want to have a smoke they should at least leave someone in the office.
Most of the parking spaces are very tight and I would not recommend the use of this car park unless you have a small car and a crystal ball to find the disabled parking and the payment meters.
The rudest man at the kiosk, that I have ever had an encounter with, over a ticket that was blurred. He had a go at me for not going to him straight away – I went when I went to leave and it wouldn’t work. He also had a go at me because I pressed the buzzer on the intercom. Very strange unhelpful man. Made an issue for no reason! Awful to deal with I never write reviews, but I hope this gets back to him and with hope he will gain some manners.
Being a pedestrian, I entered through the bus station on foot.
The station is considered to be dated due to its 1980s architecture partially under a 1960s multi-storey car park. There have been plans for the station to be modernised and rebuilt, or even demolished completely, as part of the town’s Big Town Plan. The demolition of the station would mean the town would not have a central bus terminus and would instead use smaller sites on the town’s Park and Ride routes.
Shrewsbury Bus Station is a disgrace. I am embarrassed to use it. I don’t feel comfortable with using it. Yet, it is the bus hub for our county. It is one of the main gateways into Shrewsbury and Shropshire for those travelling by public transport.
New bus hubs and interchanges have been developed around the country. Shropshire Council meanwhile ignores Shrewsbury Bus Station. It promises a new bus interchange, but that is in Phase 4 of its plans to redevelop Shrewsbury town centre between Pride Hill and the riverfront. In the current financial climate and with the council stretched to the limit on existing funding, Phase 4 is probably more than a decade away.
Last day of the holidays and we’re off to Balmoral!
No not that Balmoral the other Balmoral, the car park attached to the Balmoral Centre, built in 1974 – with little or no reference to the Highland baronial.
Though the old Balmoral Hotel had to be removed in 1973.
Scarborough is a beloved seaside resort and we’re pleased to have secured these well-known, popular parades, bringing them into our in-house portfolio.
We are committed to focusing our efforts on regional retail centres and neighbourhood parades where we can see there is incredible potential. The Balmoral Centre and Bar House provide us with significant opportunities to add significant value and we are already looking to identify how we can revitalise these centres further. We hope to make announcements on how we can achieve this over the next few months.
The staff at this car park are always friendly and really helpful.
You can tell they take pride in their car park.
We stay in this car park every time we come to Scarborough and stay in Britannia hotels, we find it safe and secure to park your car, the staff are very helpful and polite and keep the car park in tip top condition.
We will always park here great opening and closing times also five minute walk to Royal and Grand Hotel and shops.
St. Anns Road North in Heald Green is in the North West region of England. The postcode is within the Heald Green ward/electoral division, which is in the constituency of Cheadle.
This area was once described to me as built by Cowboys for Indians – though statistically there are more Pakistani residents.
This is a dormitory suburb of Manchester and nearby Stockport and is oh so close to the airport, polite and professional well presented and aspirational.
Once this was a Modern paradigm.
Subsequently the plaything of the upwardly mobile – extending in all directions, adding period details way out of period, or embracing the current vogue for the refined and smoothly rendered grey-ification of their homes.
Welcome to the land of the performance vehicle, impressive impressed drive, carriage lamp and bay window, overlooking a well clipped lawn.
Walking along Rochdale Road yesterday, I was suddenly arrested by the Pleasant Street street sign.
Having already been suddenly arrested last week, by the Bland Close street sign.
With my expectations defined by the above definition, I ventured along the street in search of happy satisfaction.
Coincidentally – The 18th century entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood pioneered many of the marketing strategies used today, including the satisfaction or you money back guarantee, on the entire range of his pottery products. The money-back guarantee was also a major tool of early US mail order sales pioneers in the United States such as Richard Sears and Powel Crosley Jr. to win the confidence of consumers.
However at someone between 1968 and 2024 the housing had been cleared away – also missing in action is the Golden Lion pub adjoining Pleasant Street on Rochdale Road.
The Golden Lion was a proper old pub on the very busy rochdale road in the Harpurhey area of Manchester. Once inside there was a decent lounge and a basic bar i had a drink in the lounge and this was quite a comfy room.
This pub was a Whitbread tied house and there were two real ales on the bar I had a drink of Chesters bitter and this was a nice drink the other beer was Chesters mild. I thought this was quite a nice pub but sadly this pub has now been pulled down in the name of progress.
So here we are here today – yesterday has long gone and tomorrow never knows no how.
What’s left to see?
Manchester Hand Car Wash
Manchester Tyres
Pleasant Street Allotments
The allotments have had issues with fly tipping back in 2021.
There is now a lockable barrier in place on the cobbled cul-de-sac.
Photo – Howard Bristol
It is understood that the heaps of rubbish, including bin bags full of waste and unwanted wood and cardboard, have been growing in recent weeks.
Howard Bristol, the Secretary of the Pleasant Street allotments committee, said the situation has been ongoing for some time but has worsened since the removal of nearby CCTV cameras.
He told the Evening News that the road has been – piling high with rubbish, and that the area also had issues with the woodland behind the allotments being used for drug dealing during summer.
Pat Karney, councillor for Harpurhey tweeted about the flytipping on Sunday, calling it – unbelievable and disgraceful.
He added that those responsible should be – locked up in Strangeways for a long time, before adding that the council will – get it cleared.
On a February morning the streets were well behaved and consisted of a typical mix of nineteenth century terraces and postwar semis, the residents chatty and welcoming, whilst they went about their business.
There are different causes that can make a street name controversial:
A person, organisation or event who or which was once honoured with a street name is subsequently thought to not or no longer deserve one, for example because that person later turned out to be a criminal.
A group of street names – for example in a residential area, is deemed to be unrepresentative for the population of that place, region or country because some demographics are overrepresented and others underrepresented, for example, because a disproportionate number of streets are named after men, and few after women.
Research has found that if you live on Pear Tree Lane your property is more likely to attract potential buyers and a higher price, than those living in a similar property on Crotch Lane.
What are the guidelines for street naming?
The exclusion or inclusion of certain numbers for cultural or religious reasons
The use of building names without numbers
New building or street names should not begin with The
The use of street names which include numbers that can confuse, for example – 20 Seven Foot Lane sounds the same as 27 Foot Lane
The use of the names of deceased people in the adoption of any street names. The reason for choosing a person’s name should be established in the council’s policy
The use of the name of a living person – it’s not recommended
The adoption of historic connotations by developers – guidance on this should be provided by the council to all developers through close liaison with local historic societies.
The use of national or local historic figures or events
The use of a name with Royal connotations – the Lord Chamberlain’s office must be contacted if a name has any reference to the Royal family or if the word ‘Royal’ is suggested.
The use of names and their combination with numbers that could be considered rude, obscene, and racist or contravene any aspect of the council’s equal opportunities policies
The use of names and their combination with numbers that could be easily vandalised or changed into any of the above, for example – Canal Turn
The use of names that can cause spelling or pronunciation problems
The use of names that can be construed to be used for advertising or commercial gain
The use of names would lead to variations in the use of punctuation as these can confuse or result in early demands for a change of address from occupiers.
So in summary the name Bland does not in my opinion represent the close’s appearance and may in fact detract from the value of the property and possibly the perception of the area.
The A5103 is a major thoroughfare running south from Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre to the M56 in Northenden. The road is two-lane dual carriageway with a few grade-separated junctions. It is used by many as a link to the airport and to the motorway network south.
The road starts at Piccadilly Gardens where it meets the A6. It heads along Portland Street – at one time it ran along the parallel Mosley Street, past fast-food outlets and off-licences and then meets the A34 Oxford Street. It multiplexes with that road north for 200 yards into St Peter’s Square and then turns left into Lower Mosley Street, initially alongside the tramlines and then past the former Manchester Central station, now a conference centre with the same name. The road becomes Albion Street and goes over the Bridgewater Canal and under the railway line east of Deansgate station. The road then meets the A57(M) Mancunian Way at a roundabout interchange. This is where most of the traffic joins and leaves.
The road is now 2×2 dual carriageway with the name Princess Road. It passes under the Hulme Arch, a grade-separated junction with the A5067, with an unusually large central reservation. This is presumably because of the proposed plans from the 1960s of a motorway. However, after passing under the junction, there are innumerate sets of traffic lights, with the B5219, the A6010 and the A5145, as well as many other unsigned roads. There are also many speed cameras set at 30 mph.
The road picks up pace as we exit the sprawl of South Manchester and the road becomes Princess Parkway, with a 50 mph speed limit. We cross the River Mersey and almost immediately hit the M60 at J5.
Except for the Manchester City Centre section – which was numbered A5068, this road did not exist on classification in 1922. Princess Road was built in 1932 to serve the new southwestern suburbs; initially it ran between the B5219 and A560 and was numbered B5290, with the road later extended north into the A5068 on the southern edge of the city centre and renumbered A5103.
The northern extension through Hulme initially followed previously existing roads, so followed a zigzag route. As part of the road’s upgrade and the reconstruction of Hulme in the 1970s the road was straightened and the original route can no longer be seen. The A5068 was severed around this time with the construction of the A57(M) and the A5103 took on its city-centre section, taking it to the A6.
The A34 is a major route from the ports on the South Coast of England to the Midlands and the North West, with the standard varying from rural dual carriageway sections in the south to urban single carriageway in the north, and everything else in between.
Slade Lane junction, Rushford Park to Parr’s Wood, East Didsbury – to connect to Manchester Road to Cheadle. It continued on to Laneside Road as a residential road. Opened on 11 April 1923 by Mary Cundiff, Lady Mayoress, and Margaret Turnbull, daughter of Alderman Turnbull, Chairman of Manchester Town Planning Committee. Width was 100 feet and it was designed for tram tracks in the central reservation. The dual road carriageways were 20 feet wide. Manchester’s tram system was closed in 1949. The carriageways were widened and central reservation grassed over. Originally opened as A5079.
Laneside Road, East Didsbury to Schools Hill/ Wilmslow Road junction, Cheadle. Opened on 12 October 1959. The official opening was on 15 October 1959. Planning for the bypass had been halted by the war. In December 1949 Manchester Corporation stated that it was not a priority since the Corporation was only responsible for the 200 yards to the proposed bridge over the River Mersey and Cheshire County Council had not asked for a joint approach to Ministry of Transport to build it. Work was finally authorised in January 1957 and started in the June. Width was 90 feet with dual 24 foot carriageways. Expected cost was £600,000 to £700,000.
The A6 is Britain’s fourth longest road. Its route varies greatly from the lower lands of the South East, though the Peak District, right though the heart of Manchester city centre, then onwards towards Preston. It then goes though the historic city of Lancaster before skirting the Eastern fringe of the Lake District before ending in Carlisle, bang on the start of the A7.
North from Stockport towards Manchester, the A6 was a wide, four lane road, but still 30 mph, which usually flowed pretty well. According to Mudge, it looks like it has now been massacred by bus lanes and red paint. Shame. We meet the A57 from the east, just south of the city centre, and multiplex until we reach Mancunian Way, the A57 heading off as a short urban motorway, the A6 heading into the city centre via London Road/Piccadily, where it loses its number and vanishes. It would have gone straight down Piccadily/Market Street to meet Deansgate, and then across the River Irwell into Salford, and up Chapel Street, where the number reappears. Market Street has been pedestrianised for years, so the A6 has long ceased to be a through route.
The A57 was nearly a coast to coast route. It passes through three major city centres (Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield – with elevated sections in each) and several smaller ones, multiplexes with the A6 and the A1, follows the banks of two canals and negotiates the remotest part of the Peak District. In one city it part of it is a tram route, whilst in another its former route is also a tram route. After all these adventures, it sadly gives up just 40 miles short of the east coast, Lincoln apparently proving too big an obstacle.
The A57 crosses the River Irwell at Regent Bridge before entering its moment of motorway glory as the A57(M) Mancunian Way skirting the south of Manchester’s city centre on an elevated section and crossing the A56 and A34. This includes a half-completed exit that goes the wrong way up Brook Street – a one way street. The original A57 ran further north through the city centre along Liverpool Road (now the A6143) and Whitworth Street – B6469 as far as the A6 London Road which marked the start of a multiplex.
At the end of Mancunian Way, we reach a TOTSO, straight on being the short unsigned A635(M) and thence the A635 – for Saddleworth Moor, Barnsley and Doncaster whilst the A57 turns south, briefly multiplexing with the A6, and then branching off along Hyde Road. This section of road was extensively cleared for the westward extension for the M67, and consequently has seen a lot of redevelopment.