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<\/p>\nSPECIAL REPORT: As Manchester city centre’s development shows no signs of slowing down, town is busier than ever with more visitors and 100,000 residents. But a tension between the old and new establishment and populations of Manchester exists – neatly summed up with a ‘Sankeys, not sourdough’ advert. Ethan Davies spoke to dozens of lifelong Mancs, new arrivals, and tourists to see what they think of the city centre ‘brimming with confidence’<\/p>\n
17:23, 18 Oct 2025Updated 04:12, 19 Oct 2025<\/p>\n
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Darcy is fast asleep in her pram, without a care in the world, in the heart of the city centre \u2018brimming with confidence\u2019.<\/p>\n
The two-year-old is growing up in town with her dad Lucas Dawson. As Darcy snoozes, Lucas catches up with old pal Jack Iddon over a latte on Stevenson Square.<\/p>\n
Conversation has turned to the city centre.<\/p>\n
Join the Manchester Evening News <\/strong>WhatsApp<\/strong> group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an advert on Oldham<\/a> Road that says \u2018we were here when Ancoats was known for Sankeys and not sourdough\u2019. I think a lot of people see that as a change for the negative, and the advert is for them, but I like it,\u201d Lucas says.<\/p>\n Sankeys was a legendary nightclub in Ancoats\u2019 Beehive Mill, founded by Sacha Lord in 2000. 16 years later, it closed and was converted into offices and a coffee shop.<\/p>\n The closure came as Ancoats went from derelict warehouses to trendy neighbourhoods, notorious for its inhabitants\u2019 supposed predilection for artisan bread.<\/p>\n Like the rest of the city centre, redevelopment was spear-headed by successive pragmatic Labour-run councils, willing to work with the private sector to attract investment, starting in the late 90s.<\/p>\n By the 2010s, billions flowed into the city as property developers moved in.<\/p>\n Out went surface-level car parks. In came skyscrapers and mill conversions into apartments, fully occupied by urban young professionals, complete with new bars, restaurants, and shops.<\/p>\n They brought disposable income and an enthusiasm for fancy everyday luxuries like craft beer, sourdough, and artisan coffee.<\/p>\n A stereotype of latte-sipping, yoga-classing, sourdough-eating \u2018new Mancs\u2019 followed shortly after.<\/p>\n You were either Sankeys or sourdough. Dry Bar or Diecast. Madchester or Manchattan.<\/p>\n \u2018Balancing\u2019 the needs and wants of old and new Mancs is a tension council leaders are \u2018well aware of\u2019.<\/p>\n This tension is only growing, because town\u2019s become busier-than-ever since the pandemic ended.<\/p>\n Footfall in July 2025 was 3pc higher than July 2024, and July 2024 was 6pc busier than July 2023.<\/p>\n That was driven by significant new development like Aviva Studios in 2023, Co-op Live (eventually) last year, and City adding thousands more seats to The Etihad.<\/p>\n Alongside more visitors, more people live here now. In the last two years, 5,110 new homes have been constructed across the city centre.<\/p>\n Fans of the \u2018new\u2019 city centre love its buzz, the job opportunities, and \u2018confidence\u2019..<\/p>\n But others, usually lifelong Mancs who grew up within a couple of miles of the skyscrapers, feel left out.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s horrible, the only time I go is if I’m cutting through it,\u201d said Julia, collecting a chippy in Miles Platting. Asked why, she gave a five-word answer: \u201cIt’s as rough as anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Undoubtedly, someone\u2019s opinion of the city centre will change depending on which part of it they interact with. Heading for a \u00a3130, 12-course dinner at Michelin-starred Skof? You\u2019re more likely to be a fan.<\/p>\n Need to change buses at Piccadilly Gardens<\/a> and battle its well-documented social issues? You\u2019d be more likely to avoid the city centre next time.<\/p>\n As city centre development shows no signs of slowing, it doesn\u2019t appear this tension is going away anytime soon. So the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to dozens in town to see what they make of it.<\/p>\n Manchester\u2019s buzz is a big draw. Big enough to tempt Elisabetta Nicoli to leave Italy twice.<\/p>\n Initially, the 38-year-old left her hometown, where they make the amaretto liqueur Disaronno. After Covid she swapped the sun-kissed Tuscan Renaissance city Florence for Mancunian rain-soaked cobbles and concrete.<\/p>\n \u201cI moved here for work in 2013 and I loved it,\u201d she explained while clutching her pooch Rudy, near her home on Chapel Street on the Salford<\/a> side of the city centre.<\/p>\n \u201cManchester is exciting. A lot of things are happening. My friends are here, there\u2019s gigs, there\u2019s music, there\u2019s bands and the people are very nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Amy, munching on a Subway sandwich on the central library steps in some late-summer sunshine, agreed \u2018there\u2019s so much to do\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were travelling in Australia and came back to Britain, choosing between London and Manchester,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe loved it here. Everyone in London is moving up, because everyone works remotely. In general we love it, there\u2019s so much to do, the people are friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n Like Elisabetta and Amy, old friends Jack Iddon and Lucas Dawson call town home. Sipping lattes in the Northern Quarter<\/a>, buzz keeps the pair here \u2014 and means Darcy\u2019s growing up in Ancoats.<\/p>\n Originally from Oldham, Lucas explained: \u201c2018 was when I moved here first. I think it\u2019s a nice vibe, I love it.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people say it\u2019s a blanket negative, the way town has changed. I think there are more positives, like the way Stevenson Square is now.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, marketing manager Lucas thinks Mancs don\u2019t realise how good they have it: \u201cWe went out to Australia and we were moaning about the nightlife, but I think we are spoiled here.\u201d<\/p>\n Stuart Rumble knows a bit about buzz: He sells craft beer to pubs.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s boss,\u201d Stuart, 34, smiled through his Scottish accent on Motor Square weeks later. \u201cIt\u2019s going with the times, it\u2019s still got a good buzz.<\/p>\n \u201cMore people are coming to Manchester. It\u2019s a city people want to come to.\u201d<\/p>\n That buzz is drawing people for jobs in the city. One new arrival is Conor McMahon, 23, from Bristol.<\/p>\n An Oxford graduate, he had \u2018a few options\u2019: \u201cLondon was expensive and Cambridge was a bit small for me, so I thought Manchester would be fun.<\/p>\n \u201cMy friend told me about the Northern Quarter, but Red Bank is nearer the office and Northern Quarter rents are ridiculous\u2026 so I would rather live in Redbank because it\u2019s nice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a shame it does not have that much green space.\u201d<\/p>\n Bratham Sawant, sat in Angel Meadow park, moved to study here \u2014 trying MMU before getting into Salford uni. He\u2019s made the move from Mumbai to get a job in data science, eventually: \u201cThe technical industries are good in Manchester, it\u2019s an industrial area.<\/p>\n \u201cBut in other industrial areas like Scotland it\u2019s not that great. I can learn [and get] a job here in the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n Buzz is also attracting holiday-makers, as is its walkability. Tourist Michael Nehrmann is part of a growing trend of visitors to Manchester not coming for a football match or a gig.<\/p>\n After unnecessarily apologising for his excellent English skills, the Berliner explained why he flew to England\u2019s second, not capital, city.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually if I was to go to England, I would go to London, but you have to walk everywhere and it\u2019s big,\u201d he explained over a cigarette on St Peter\u2019s Square. \u201cHere everything is close so I prefer Manchester. It\u2019s easy.<\/p>\n He\u2019ll come back, probably: \u201cI would like to see other cities, but easyJet does not fly there that often compared to Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n Gloucestershire husband-and-wife Victoria and Lee Davis were asking for directions on Cross Street during their daughter\u2019s 16th birthday shopping trip. Again, they chose visiting Manchester over London.<\/p>\n \u201cWe mainly go to London, but the shopping here is better,\u201d said Vickie, 45. \u201cWe were only here for two days and we did the Trafford<\/a> Centre yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been doing seven viewings every week\u2026 it\u2019s getting harder and harder to find a place to live\u201d<\/p>\n Buzz creates demand. And demand for housing in town is still sky-high, as Liz Gordon knows only too well.<\/p>\n Liz, a 23-year-old actress selling flowers on Stevenson Square to make rent, wants to live centrally to be near work and because she \u2018really likes the social side of Manchester and the hustle\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are doing their own businesses and making their own stuff,\u201d Liz, originally from Wolverhampton, explained. \u201cThat\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n But \u2018it\u2019s got harder and harder to find a place to live\u2019, she added: \u201cA lot of people are coming up from London for work.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year I was in an apartment and I was looking to move to Ancoats or Salford. I wanted to pay about \u00a3750 per month in a share. But estate agents were asking for me to have a guarantor who earned I think \u00a383,000.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been looking for the last month. I’m on a lease coming to an end in two weeks. I\u2019ve been doing seven viewings every week \u2014 I want to live with a friend, so we are doing five viewings each a week at least.\u201d<\/p>\n Over on Exchange Square, Atif Hussain, a 40-year-old student in town living in Rochdale<\/a>, feels the same way: \u201cMy concern is that the cost of living means prices and rent just go up and up for local residents.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are pushing citizens out to the periphery of Greater Manchester, so the towers are benefiting people on higher incomes rather than traditional Mancunians.\u201d<\/p>\n Grace King studied in Manchester and would like to move back. But she can\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n Visiting for the day from York with mates Maddie Bricklebank and Mya Moyser, the trio were waiting for Maddie to get a tattoo on Bexley Square. She found the parlour on TikTok.<\/p>\n \u201cI like Manchester,\u201d Grace said. \u201cI would move back if it was cheaper, although my friends and family are in York. \u201cI want to spend more time with family and friends, but there is the money. I would rather have a job to move here first.\u201d<\/p>\n Should Grace move, she\u2019ll add to the influx of non-Mancunians putting roots down here.<\/p>\n Years ago town used to be full of people Carly knew. It\u2019s not anymore, she said as she served Julia in the Miles Platting chippy: \u201cNo one interacts with you.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is scurrying about. You used to go there and you would see people you knew and let on to them. It’s not like that now.\u201d<\/p>\n Carly usually visits Piccadilly Gardens, the Arndale, and Market Street<\/a>, areas she called \u2018scary\u2019. She\u2019s not alone in feeling uncomfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s got a bit dangerous with the stabbings, and the youth that stand around smoking drugs,\u201d said Kirsty Fletcher, a 41-year-old stay-at-home mum in Ardwick. The former support worker \u2018now does a lot of shopping online because of the way town is\u2019.<\/p>\n Tony Mineo, 38, also \u2018does not think it’s safe\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not think it’s as clean as it used to be,\u201d he added. \u201cYou see homeless people gather together. There’s nothing wrong with them but they leave empty cans and throw up on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n A 63-year-old pensioner in Ancoats, who gives her name as \u2018Mrs Cook\u2019, now goes to great lengths to avoid Market Street.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a far cry from when she worked as a \u2018barrow girl\u2019 on Church Street, on a market stall next to current Lord Mayor Carmine Grimshaw.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not touch Market Street, or Piccadilly Gardens,\u201d she said. \u201cI go on the tram from New Islington straight to St Peter’s Square, down to Deansgate<\/a> then up to Marks\u2019, and go back the same way for my shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n GMP\u2019s Commander for the City of Manchester, said the force is \u2018aware of the concerns being raised around Piccadilly Gardens and we\u2019re listening\u2019.<\/p>\n Chief Superintendent David Meeney told the LDRS: \u201cWe\u2019re working closely with Manchester City Council and other partners to make meaningful improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that everyone who visits, works, or lives in Manchester feels safe.<\/p>\n \u201cOur neighbourhood officers are out every day engaging with the public, and we\u2019re running regular, dedicated operations to tackle criminality and key issues being reported around antisocial behaviour, and the use of illegally modified bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n Council leader Bev Craig is also \u2018well aware\u2019 of the square\u2019s shortcomings, and is promising action: \u201cWe [have] significant plans – developed working closely with Greater Manchester Police<\/a> and other agencies – to improve both the appearance of Piccadilly Gardens and people’s experience of the place.”<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Generic-shot-of-Sankeys-Beehive-Mill-Manchester.jpg\")
Sankeys was infamous in the 2000s – now it’s a ‘co-working space'(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_013JPG.jpg\")
Footfall is up year-on-year in town, driven by new openings like Co-op Live(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_007JPG.jpg\")
Development is so fast-paced that the last time the M.E.N. undertook a similar ‘state of the city’ story in 2023, these buildings didn’t exist(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)\u201cManchester is exciting. A lot of things are happening\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_016JPG.jpg\")
Elisbetta Nicoli chose Mancunian cloud over Italian sunshine TWICE – and now she has a dog who shares a name with the city’s most famous Italian restaurant – Rudy(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Manchester-state-off-the-city-Vox-pop-2025.jpg\")
Jack Iddon (left) and Lucas Dawson both live in town – with Lucas choosing to raise his daughter in Ancoats(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_014JPG.jpg\")
Stuart, craft beer salesman, thinks the Mancunian buzz is ‘boss’ – he also thinks Manchester’s miles ahead of Liverpool when it comes to cycling(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_029JPG.jpg\")
Conor McMahon, 23, chose to start his career in Manchester over London and Cambridge(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_027JPG.jpg\")
Bratham Savant moved halfway around the world to study at Salford uni, hoping to work in data science in Manchester one day(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)\u201cUsually if I was to go to England, I would go to London\u2026 now I prefer Manchester\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760846964_242_0_Manchester-state-off-the-city-Vox-pop-2025.jpg\")
Lee Davis, 52, and wife Vickie Davis, 45, on a shopping trip(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1760846965_24_0_Manchester-state-off-the-city-Vox-pop-2025.jpg\")
Atif Hussain, 40, is worried about lifelong Mancs being pushed out(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JRP_MEN_030925_city2025_019JPG.jpg\")
From left: Maddie Bricklebank, Mya Moser and Grace King, waiting at a Bexley Square tattoo parlour for Maddie to get inked(Image: Jason Roberts \/Manchester Evening News)\u201cEveryone is scurrying about\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_190525piccgardens19.jpg\")
Police are a common sight in Piccadilly Gardens(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_Manchester-state-of-the-city.jpg\")
Tony, 38, likes to go into town with his wife – but doesn’t always feel safe there(Image: Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_190525piccgardens15.jpg\")
GMP has initiated Operation Vulcan in Piccadilly Gardens. Cops say over the past six months, they have seen 249 arrests resulting in 183 charges, 27 knives seized and large amounts of Class A and Class B drugs seized(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n
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Bev Craig said it’s her job to \u2018balance the old and the new\u2019 so \u2018everyone can be as proud of Manchester\u2019 as she is(Image: ABNM Photography)<\/p>\n