Manchester institution Afflecks Palace appears to be under threat as the city’s redevelopment frenzy continues.
In a story I wrote for today’s Manchester Evening News, traders tell how the building’s landlord, Bruntwood, has so far failed to give them any information about what will happen when the lease expires on June 14.
Afflecks Palace is a vibrant, if slightly down-at-heel, shopping emporium – the kind of place you go to buy anything from fancy dress to chunky jewellery and pieces by local clothing designers.
It’s also the place where the Fat City record shop first began, and where Red or Dead founder Wayne Hemingway and Urban Splash supremo Tom Bloxham started their careers.
It’s one of the only independently owned, creative retail spaces left in the city and is central to the boho vibe of the Northern Quarter, the up-and-coming area of the centre it is in.
No one knows whether the building will be hived off for redevelopment, or if the lease will be renewed but at a much higher rate – one which small traders will struggle to afford.
Some stall-holders seem to privately believe the situation may be linked to the forthcoming project to knock down and build on a neighbouring site, currently home to a multi-storey car park.
What is certain, is that if Afflecks is allowed to disappear, efforts to promote the Northern Quarter as a quirky, trendy place to be will look hollow to say the least.
In a letter sent out to traders, Afflecks Palace the company (which lets stalls out and deals with the admin), warned: “We may find ourselves priced out of our own market. The rent you pay for your stall would at the very least double, which would make it unviable for most of you to continue and no longer viable for us as operators to continue to run.
“We have to face the fact that property in Manchester is now at a premium, due to development fever.”