What’s happening to the Cornerhouse? PLUS Town Hall unwrapped for Christmas
Hello,
Little has changed since the Grade-II listed Oxford Road station was last revamped back in 1960.
It still sits atop the hill like some great Art Deco fortress, it still smells the same and you still need your big coat on the wind tunnel platforms – even in summer. But at some point soon, it will all look very different.
The powers that be have grand plans to transform the station as well as the former Cornerhouse and Screen One buildings – all of which sit on a prominent corner of Oxford Road and Whitworth Street West.
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The station is due for a major overhaul, which could see a tower crane plonked on the site of the former Screen One aka The Tatler Cinema.
The Cornerhouse and Screen One as they look today(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
The fate of the Cornerhouse building which housed the bar, art gallery and shop is as yet unknown. But Manchester Council, which owns it, says it wants to create “an entryway to Manchester city centre that we can all feel proud of”.
What currently stands in that very prominent space is a shabby building covered in graffiti; a large area of scaffolding and a dilapidated cinema block.
As one councillor told me: “It’s a bad advert for Manchester.”
Over the summer, efforts were made to spruce up the walls of Screen One with a colourful and charming mural. HOME and Network Rail – both responsible for that flourish – say it will remain in place for two years. A good start at least.
Grafitti on the walls of the former Cornerhouse(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
But it’s been a decade since the Cornerhouse closed its doors for good and it sits there like some sad, grey ghost of the past.
That venue holds fond memories for many Mancunians. A place frequented by artists, writers and movie buffs, it was once a haunt of ex-Manchester United legend Eric Cantona.
The Manchester Modernists Society described it as “a little piece of Berlin or New York in Manchester”.
A real opportunity
The Cornerhouse certainly holds fond personal memories. I will never forget watching Rosemary’s Baby there on a sixth form trip.
Or the ferocity with which a snooty man in a silk scarf shouted at my friend as he unwrapped individual Starburst sweets during a screening of Inland Empire.
Let’s not pretend it wasn’t hugely pretentious too.
A view of the Cornerhouse Cinema in Manchester (Photo by: Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
It was certainly a favoured spot for people wearing expensive glasses to ‘umm’ and ‘arr’ about the latest Almodóvar film over a Malbec. And personally, I’ve always found HOME to be a little more welcoming and inclusive.
But the Cornerhouse was a huge part of our cultural heritage for 30 years.
With this ‘remodelling’ project, the council and Network Rail have a chance to capture the nostalgia of the Cornerhouse, the Tatler cinema and the Art Deco charm of the station and build on it.
It’s an opportunity they can’t let slip away.
Unwrapped for Christmas
(Image: Manchester city council)
The scaffold shroud hiding the roof of Manchester’s new-look town hall is slowly being removed.
Rami Mwamba donned a hard hat and watched as a crane capable of lifting 300 tonnes started to unveil the Victorian-era roof. The operation is set to last months, but the council is hopeful workers can complete one side in time for the Christmas markets.
So far more than 300 workers have replaced 100,000 roof slates, fixed 37 chimney stacks and restored 1,200 windows among many other changes.
The restoration project is said to be some £76m over budget.
Rami and Paul Britton have all the details here.
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As big as a cruise liner
Residents in Tyldesley are living in the shadow of gigantic warehouses, that are being built right next to their properties.
The looming structures towering over hundreds of homes and a primary school in Tyldesley have left neighbours in despair.
The warehouses – which are 60ft high – are said to have left residents unable to sell their homes. Meanwhile, teachers at Garrett Hall Primary School say their voices have been drowned out by the sound of work taking place.
Local democracy reporter Nick Jackson asked logistics business PLP to answer six key questions on the development – but they have remained silent.
Eco-fabulous queer maximalism
Drew Kent’s collection featured a non-conformist approach to crochet and knit(Image: Ines Bahr)
Manchester Fashion Week made a big return to the city this week with a new focus on sustainability.
After the success of Chanel’s Metiers D’Art fashion show here in 2023, panel discussions, runway shows and live performances have taken place at the newly-opened Campfield venue.
Liverpool-based designer Drew Kent unveiled their latest collection with the ADORAFLORA: Queerness in Bloom runway. Described as ‘eco-fabulous queer maximalism’ the collection utilised sustainable materials to evoke childhood memories and a ‘Polly Pocket fantasy’. Adam Maidment has all the details here.
Headlines
The plan for potential walkways is only an ‘idea’, but it shows how the Irwell could be transformed near The Lowry Hotel (right)(Image: CyanLines)
New: Brightly-coloured walkways could be built over the River Irwell in a project to build a 100-mile network of walking routes across Manchester.
Towers: Images of how two new tower blocks containing 500 flats could transform the skyline of a north Manchester district have been released. See them here.
Hopeful: Lucy Powell looks to be heading for a straight showdown with a former cabinet colleague for the role of Labour’s deputy leader.
Maybe: Licensing officers have given details of the seizure of hundreds of items and the multiple issues encountered during the recent Oasis gigs – among them, ‘dodgy’ bucket hats. Read it here.
Weather
Friday: Light showers changing to sunny intervals by late morning. 18C.
Roads: A5067 Chester Rd westbound, Old Trafford, closed for roadworks between Talbot Rd and Bridgewater Way between 9.30am and 3.30pm until October 31.
A6 Chapel St westbound, Salford, closed for long-term roadworks between Blackfriars Rd and New Bailey St until January 19.
A6104 Hollinwood Avenue, Moston, eastbound closed for roadworks between Lightbowne Road and Broadway. Until September 14.
Manc trivia: The Cornerhouse once hosted the UK premiere of which Quentin Tarantino film?
Worth a read
Blackpool towers on Scout Moor (Image: MEN)
Campaigners fear new turbines planned for Scout Moor would be larger than Blackpool Tower.
They say the planned 180m structures would dominate the skyline on the moorland between Rochdale, Edenfield, and Rawtenstall.
The plan to build 17 bigger, more powerful wind turbines has enlivened neighbours once again after several different expansion schemes have been knocked back over the years.
George Lythgoe has been speaking to the campaigners.
Trivia answer: Reservoir Dogs