Toys Were Us – Milton Keynes

Posted on by modernmoocher

As seen on my list in 2018.

While originally considered a category killer, the rise of mass merchants and online retailers cost Toys “R” Us its share of the toy market. The company was further hampered by a significant debt load, the result of a leveraged buyout organized by private equity firms.

The toy retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and in March 2018 announced it would be closing all its UK stores.

There were more than 100 Toys ‘R’ Us stores in the UK at the time.

Wikipedia

A nipper, named only as Andrew penned a heartfelt 3-point letter to the judge handling the company’s bankruptcy case, and pleaded with him not to allow his fave shop to close down.

Andrew’s hand-written note to Judge Keith Phillips – which was put in the official court file – laid out exactly why he didn’t want the shops to shut.

In April 1948, Charles P Lazarus founded a baby-furniture retailer, Children’s Bargain Town in Washington DC, during the postwar baby boom. It was acquired in 1966 by Interstate Department Stores Inc.

The focus of the store changed in June 1957, and the first Toys “R” Us, dedicated exclusively to toys rather than furniture, was opened by Lazarus in Rockville Maryland. Lazarus also designed and stylized the Toys “R” Us logo, which featured a backwards “R” to give the impression that a child wrote it.

Having grown up in the days of the diminutive local toy shop – noses pressed against the widow admiring those treasures never ever owned, I find the present day retailers to be soulless industrial hangars – designed to extract every ounce of fun and currency from the hapless child and guardians.

Eric Ravilious – inside the model shop.

I returned in 2024.

A large To Let sign is now visible above the store, with any interested parties invited to inquire about the large unit. The 47,500sq foot unit is available to lease – in whole or in part, and is described as being immediately available.

The news comes despite previous announcements that WHP Global, the owner of Toys R Us, had plans to re-open some UK stores during 2022. In February, the company said UK Toys R Us stores could open within months, although none have yet done so.

Here is Autistic Psycho’s tour around the deserted store,

AMC – The Point Milton Keynes

Posted on by modernmoocher

602 Midsummer Blvd Milton Keynes MK9 3NB

Famous in the history of British cinema as being the first purpose built multiplex cinema to be built in the UK. The 10-screen AMC-The Point opened on 23rd November 1985 with a Royal Premiere of the Harrison Ford film Presumed Innocent which was attended by Sarah, Duchess of York.

Built for and operated by American Multi-Cinemas, it has a foyer section, designed in the shape of a pyramid, hence the name The Point. The supporting struts were originally edged in red neon. The structure containing the auditoriums is just a plain block. Also in the complex is a Gala Bingo Club located under the cinema foyer entrance, a nightclub and cafes and restaurants.

In December 1988, it was taken over by UCI and re-named. In April 2003 it was leased to easyCinema, operated by the budget airline easyJet, when a policy of taking bookings only online and charging a minimum admission, created interest, but turned out to be a failure. In May 2006 it was taken over by Odeon Cinemas Group. Seating capacities in the screens range from 248, down to 156.

The Odeon was closed on 26th February 2015 with Kingsman, The Last Service being the final film in one its auditoriums. There had been hope that the cinema would be given a Grade II Listed status due to its historical relevance as the UK’s first multiplex cinema, but it was turned down by English Heritage. It will be demolished and replaced by new shops and leisure facilities. The Gala Bingo Club – re-named Buzz Bingo Club from June 2018, was closed on March 21, 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. It was announced on 15th July 2020 that the closure would be permanent.

Milton Keynes now has a new 16-screen Odeon Stadium + IMAX, located at the MK Dons Stadium, which has an IMAX screen and two screens equipped with Atmos sound. It opened on 27th February, 2015.

Cinema Treasures

Designed by Building Design Partnership, the Point was reputedly inspired by the work of avant grade provocateurs Archigram and became an instant Milton Keynes landmark upon its opening in 1985. As well has being one of the UK’s first multiplex cinemas, the unconventional structure housed a games arcade, bingo hall and nightclub. These individual functions are externally expressed as stacked, mirrored boxes beneath the 70ft bright red steel pyramidal frame – illuminated at night as a space-age beacon across the low-rise city centre.

c20

An application as been submitted by developers GHL – Galliard Holdings Ltd, the intention is to demolish the famous pyramid structure and replace it with 487 new flats in tower blocks of up to 21 storeys high.

MK Citizen

There is a local grassroots campaign to save the Point – with its own Facebook page.

On the day of my visit April 10th 2024 – this is what it looks like.

I’ve known about The Point for as long as I can remember. It’s always been there. When I was a lot younger and we’d drive into MK at night, we’d always look out for the glowing red beacon in the shape of a pyramid on the horizon. It’s an iconic and even historic to Milton Keynes building, and it’s a shame to see that it’s just being left to become a shadow of its former self. I mean it surely wouldn’t cost much to put some led lights on it and light it up at night time again. So much money is wasted elsewhere in the city they should think about the upkeep of the actual landmarks they have.

Bobby D – Local Guide

Collyhurst Pubs

Posted on by modernmoocher

Taking images from the Local Image Collection I have compiled a section of pubs in the Collyhurst area.

There are but a few still open – many long gone, since demolished.

Balmoral Hotel – Cornbrook Brewery

W Kaye 1958

Billy Greens – formerly the Vauxhall

S Marland

Collyhurst Inn – Manchester Brewery Company later Wilsons

W Kaye 1958

The Balloon Vaults – Walker & Homfray’s

H Whitehead 1971

The Globe Inn – Threlfall’s later Whitbread

Dawson 1971

The Grapes Tavern – Joseph Holt

W Kaye 1964

Joiners Arms – Wilsons

W Kaye 1959

Lorimers Arms

S Marland 2022

Lord Clyde – Cornbrook

1958

Mechanics Arms – Cornbrook

E Stanley 1958

Napoleon – McKenna’s later Walker & Homfray then Wilsons

L Kaye 1958

The Osborne – Wilsons later Banks’s

1976

1986

Robert Tinker – Wilsons

A Dawson 1971

Rocester Arms – Empress Brewery

Shakespeare Inn – Wilsons

1934

The Sparrow

Google 2012

The Swan – Wilsons

A Dawson 1971

Three Tuns – Manchester Brewery Company later Threlfall’s

L Kaye 1958

The Valley – now open as The Vines

S Marland

The Wellington Vaults – Wilsons now open as the Marble Arch

A Dawson 1971

White Hart – Wilsons

T Brooks 1961

1976

Swinton Square – Shopping Centre 2024

Posted on by modernmoocher

I was last here in 2022, I returned to Swinton Square on Saturday to lead a modernist walk for the Not Quite Light Festival.

So on a light bright sunny day, I took another look around.

Salford’s town centres are important to the city’s future. They provide employment for local people, retail and leisure opportunities, homes, a sense of community, and a place for local people to interact. However, it is well known that town centres are changing and that they need to adapt and reposition themselves so that they can thrive and meet the needs of the local communities.

Despite Swinton’s many strengths, it faces similar challenges to other towns. The shopping centre and other buildings in the town centre are dated and in need of investment. Demand for local housing has grown by 23% in the last five years, but there is a lack of high-quality family and affordable housing in the right locations in the area.

The city council has identified Swinton town centre – along with Eccles, as a priority area for regeneration. On that basis, the council has engaged with the community and local stakeholders to establish a clear vision for the town that will help to guide change and future investment, whilst protecting what local people consider important for Swinton. 

The vision document can be viewed here.

Swinton Square is in private ownership and therefore not something that the council has any direct control over. It is also important to acknowledge that the issues facing Swinton precinct are not unique to Swinton and those challenges are varied but linked to changing shopping habits, decline in the retail offer, competition from out-of-town centres as well as changes in the wider economy.

We do have an open dialogue with the owners of Swinton Square, the West Bromwich Building Society, who are aware of the vision and aspiration for Swinton.  

One of the aims of the council’s events and animation programme is to encourage additional footfall and dwell time within the town centre.

Salford Gov

Manchester Arterial – A662

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having photographed the arterial roads of Manchester in 2014  I have resolved to return to the task in 2024.

Some things seem to have changed, some things seem to have stayed the same on Ashton New Road.

Manchester Arterial 2024 – A664

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having photographed the arterial roads of Manchester in 2014, I have resolved to return to the task in 2024.

Some things seem to have changed, some things seem to have stayed the same.

Pleasant Street Harpurhey – Manchester

Posted on by modernmoocher

Pleasant Street  Harpurhey M9 5XZ 

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.

It is also a top tune by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes!

In 1958 the street looked just like this:

Photo – L Kaye

Whilst ten tears later it looked just like this:

Photos – LH Price

Manchester Local Image Collection

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.

Alan Winfield – 1992

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.

Manchester Evening News

How pleasant is/was Pleasant Street?

Google says wait until there are trees are in leaf and the sun shines in the bright blue sky.

Eastford Square Collyhurst – William Mitchell

Posted on by modernmoocher

It was 2016 when I first stopped to snap and blog – the shops, homes and William Mitchell concrete sculpture.

By then the missing housing block was already missing.

Returning in 2018 the shops are now shut and the homes stand empty.

In 2019 there’s still nobody home, but the totem is in place.

In 2020 the undergrowth has grown over the square.

It’s 2021 and stasis is the order of the day.

Fast forward to 2023 and the shops and homes are finally demolished – the totem still still in place.

The base has been dug out and the sculpture awaits removal to the adjacent flats.

I was told that one estimate for the job was £120,000 – given its weight and location over railway tunnels.

So as of today today 26th February 2024 – ain’t nothing shaking but the weeds twixt the flags.

Oldham Road Pubs – Manchester

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This is Oldham Road Manchester – this also Memory Lane.

Walking from the city centre to Failsworth I noted the absence of public houses, some long since demolished, some now serving other purposes – very few open selling beer.

Many of the breweries no longer trading.

Much of this the consequence of changing economic circumstances, the decline in manufacturing and subsequent serious absence in regular drinkers.

I encountered a similar situation on Hyde Road.

Where possible I have linked back to Pubs of Manchester Blogspot and the Brewery History Society.

There may well be errors and omissions which I am happy to correct – have a look let me know.

Bee Hive Inn – Chesters Brewery

Bird In Hand – latterly Ace of Diamonds on the 2nd April 2010 the Ace of Diamonds burnt down.

Hardys’ Ales

Birmingham Tavern – Wilsons Brewery

Cheshire Cheese – John Smiths

City Arms – Groves and Whitnalls

Cloggers Arms – Wilsons

The Copenhagen – Wilsons

Crown & Kettle – Wilsons though now a free house.

I do remember the huge Winston Churchill relief in the Room and R100 Airship wooden panelling in the lounge. Also of note were the ornate plater work ceilings and pendulous lighting, much damaged as the pub awaited restoration.

Duke of York – Wilsons Free House

Foresters Arms – Wilsons

Lord Nelson – Charrington

O’Connell Arms – Whitbread

Old Pack Horse – Wilsons

The Ram – Tetley’s

Royal Oak Hotel – Wilsons

Shears Hotel

St Vincent – Cornbrook

The Swan – Wilsons

Three Crowns – Wilsons

The Victoria – Wilsons

Vulcan Hotel – Threlfalls

Wosons House?

Woodman Hotel – Wilsons

All photographs from the Manchester Local Image Collection.

Manchester Arterial 2024 – A635

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having photographed the arterial roads of Manchester in 2014, I have resolved to return to the task in 2024.

Some things seem to have changed, some things seem to have stayed the same.

Manchester Arterial 2024 – A57

Posted on by modernmoocher

Having photographed the arterial roads of Manchester in 2014, I have resolved to return to the task in 2024.

Some things seem to have changed, some things seem to have stayed the same.

Manchester Arterial – A5103

Posted on by modernmoocher

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.

Sabre Roads

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Oldham Road and Ashton New Road and Ashton Old Road and Hyde Road and Stockport Road and Kingsway.

Manchester Arterial – A6

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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.

Sabre Roads

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.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Oldham Road and Ashton New Road and Ashton Old Road and Hyde Road.

Manchester Arterial – A57

Posted on by modernmoocher

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.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Oldham Road and Ashton New Road and Ashton Old Road.

Manchester Arterial – A635

Posted on by modernmoocher

The road now begins slightly further south than it used to. Instead of starting on Fairfield Street in Manchester city centre, it begins immediately as the Mancunian Way ends, which at this point is the unsigned A635(M). The motorway flows directly into our route. There’s a TOTSO right at a set of lights, and we pick up the old alignment, which now starts as the B6469.

We can see the new City of Manchester Stadium on the left, site of the 2002 Commonwealth Games and now home to Manchester City FC. The road switches between S2 and S4 as it passes through the rather run-down urban areas of Ardwick and Gorton. A short one-way system at a triangular-shaped junction with the A662 leads onto a wider stretch as we near the M60 junction. This area is set to see significant industrial growth, with whole swathes of land either side of the now D3 road cleared and ready for development.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Oldham Road and Ashton New Road

Manchester Arterial – A662

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Starting at traffic lights on the A665 the road heads northeastwards, initially with the Metrolink on the left and a factory building on the right. The road then bears right at traffic lights marking the first section of on-street running for the trams, which lasts until just before a bridge over the River Medlock, after which the road passes to the south of the Sportcity complex whilst the tram line runs through the middle.

The A6010 is crossed at traffic lights, after which we see the tram lines on the left once more. We go over the Ashton Canal, then the tram lines at grade before bearing to the right to pass Clayton Park before another section of on-street running for the Metrolink begins, which continues for some distance. Just after crossing the Manchester city limit there is a set of traffic lights, after which the road becomes D2 for a short distance to allow a tram stop – Edge Lane, to be located in the central reservation. The tram leaves the road to the right for the next stop – Cemetery Road, and the stop in Droylsden town centre is once again in the central reservation. In all three cases the street running recommences after the stop.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Oldham Road.

Manchester Arterial – A62

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The A62, which runs from Manchester to Leeds, via Oldham and Huddersfield, was once the main route across the Pennines, connecting the largest city in Lancashire with Yorkshire’s largest city. However with the completion of the M62 towards Leeds in the early 1970s it lost much of its importance and traffic to the motorway, which runs a few miles to the north. These days, the A62 serves as a busy primary route between Manchester and Oldham, an extremely very quiet route over the Pennines, and then a fairly busy local road linking Huddersfield with Leeds.

Most maps show that the A62 starts its journey in the middle of Manchester by leaving the A6 Piccadilly and running along Lever Street – the original route was the parallel Oldham Street. However, owing to a bus gate Lever Street is not generally accessible from Piccadilly. We head out easterly on a busy street – non–primary, until we meet the Ring Road where we pick up primary status that we retain until Oldham. We turn left at this point and then immediately right to start the A62 proper.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

This whole undertaking was prompted in part by Charlie Meecham’s 1980’s Oldham Road project .

The work questions whether a sense of local identity can be maintained in an area of constant redevelopment and community displacement.

This area was first developed in the 19th century for cotton manufacture, coal extraction and later electrical and heavy engineering. The road was lined with shops and there was a vibrant community.

When I first started working on the project, most of the early industry had ceased operating and the mills were either abandoned or being dismantled. However, some had been refurbished either for new industrial use or later, made into apartments. Some run down areas were cleared making way for new housing. Clearance also provided opportunity to build new schools, trading estates and create green space. Most of the older community centres such as theatres and cinemas along the road were also abandoned and later cleared.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road and Rochdale Road and Ashton New Road and Ashton Old Road and Hyde Road and Stockport Road and Kingsway and Princess Parkway.

Manchester Arterial – A664

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The obvious place for the A664 to start is on the A665 Manchester & Salford Inner Relief Route, which at this point is actually two parallel one-way streets. However, many maps show the road continuing a short distance into the city centre to end at traffic lights by the Shudehill Interchange – this is presumably for historic reasons: the road originally continued along the High Street to its terminus on the A6 Market Street.

The road heads northeastwards through the suburbs, the street name Rochdale Road, already emphasising its destination. Initially dual, the road narrows just before crossing the bridge over the railway line east of Victoria station. It continues through Collyhurst and widens again just before crossing the A6010 Intermediate Ring Road, which here is made up of two parallel one-way streets, requiring two separate sets of traffic lights to cross.

Now non-primary – but still dual for a short distance more, the road runs in a more northerly direction through Blackley, where it becomes wooded for a short distance as it passes the Boggart Hole Clough park. Slightly further on the road has been straightened, after which it bears right to widen considerably and cross the A6104 at traffic lights just before M60 J20, which only has west-facing sliproads. The road narrows again on the far side of the motorway and leaves Manchester for Rochdale at the same point.

Sabre Roads

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road and Cheetham Hill Road.

Manchester Arterial – A 665

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Cheetham Hill Road is part of the designated A665. Cheetham Hill Road starts at the junction of the A6042 Corporation Street and the A665 Miller Street. It crosses the culverted River Irk to the east of Victoria Station. At its junction with New Bridge Street, it turns north-northeast and is straight for 1 km, to the A6010 Queen’s Road . This stretch was called York Street until about 1900. Cheetham Hill Road leads from here to the community of Cheetham Hill, where at Bourget Street and Crescent Road – formerly Sandy Lane, Cheetham Hill Road becomes Bury Old Road.

Wikipedia

In 2014, having taken early retirement from teaching photography, I embarked on a series of walks along the arterial roads of Manchester.

See also Bury New Road.

Northern Quarter Car Park – Manchester

Posted on by modernmoocher

Northern Quarter Church Street M4 1LX

Underused and seemingly unloved.

On the day of my visit building surveyors were measuring up the upper tier for resurfacing – the stairwells were unclean, and an air of dank neglect permeated my hesitant ascent.

Immerse yourself in the eclectic vibe of the Northern Quarter, the heartbeat of art, culture, and urban lifestyle. Whether you’re heading to its vintage shops, art studios, or chic cafes, finding the cheapest, best parking is paramount.

Stairs smell of stale urine and cannabis.

The pedestrian in the car park carries on regardless!

The sculpture is called Big Boys Toys – the work of artist Peter Freeman.