THING OF THE WEEK
COUNCILLOR COUNSEL… Derek Antrobus, Salford City Council’s former member for planning, retired in 2021 but is still keeping a close eye on what is going on in the city. Antrobus was quick to voice his approval for plans to create a 60-acre park in the flood threatened Cambridge area of the city.
Commenting on the news he said: “The park was an ambition of mine and it’s great to see it enshrined in a clear plan. Hope the wonderful buildings around Strangeways can be restored and repurposed for more vibrant uses as the area’s activities, people and markets change.” Plans for the comprehensive overhaul of Strangeways – fleshed out this week – will also have been welcomed by another former councillor. Sir Richard Leese, Manchester City Council’s erstwhile leader – declared back in that he would “flatten it”, given the chance.
The original plan was for three courts. Credit: via Inform Comms
COURT OUT… Bad news for padel enthusiasts at Stockport Exchange. Plans for three courts were lodged last year but now the scheme has been scaled back significantly. A single court will now be delivered. Could this be the beginning of the end of the padel boom?
aberdeen counts One First Street among its assets. Credit: via marketing materials
VOWEL PLAY… Investor Abrdn has reintroduced the vowels to its name after a widely derided rebrand in 2021. The mocking that ensued when the business dropped its vowels amounted to “corporate bullying”, the company’s chief investment officer said last year. Abrdn will now be known as aberdeen group, with no capital letters, which is arguably even more annoying.
The building has been vacant since 2020. Credit: Place North West
WATCHES THIS SPACE… As first revealed by Place North West last year, posh watch brand Audemars Piguet has taken over the former Jack Wills store on Manchester’s King Street. AP’s watches can set you back tens of thousands of pounds, which aligns with the street’s reputation as a high-end retail destination. The company has signed a 15-year lease on the building, one of King Street’s largest, which has been without a long-term tenant for years. The store promises a “truly unique and immersive experience” for shoppers. But what does that actually mean in a horology sense? Is anyone else imagining a trippy interior inspired by Salvador Dali’s Persistence of Memory?
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COMEBACK… The race is on for Ma Nolans Irish bar in Cannes to be open in time for MIPIM. Those who have made a trip to the watering hole for the midweek Champions League game over the years would have been dismayed to hear about the fire that destroyed Ma Nolans late last year. However, the team has been working hard behind the scenes – an Instagram post earlier this week showed fit-out work is well under way – to ensure the bar is open in time for Liverpool’s return leg against PSG next week.
There are striking similarities between Porto’s Casa de Musica and Manchester’s Factory. Credit: PNW
ALL SHAPES AND SIZES… THING has been on tour recently, taking in the sights and sounds of Porto. Portugal’s second city is home to Casa da Musica, commissioned to mark Porto’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2001. The relevance here is that it was designed by Rem Koolhaas’ Office for Metropolitan Architecture, which more recently designed Manchester’s much-delayed and hideously over-budget Factory venue. The Porto venue also opened late, in 2005, but to be fair aiming for a 2001 finish when they only started work in 1999 feels mightily optimistic. So there are similarities. Which is easier on the eye?
