Vegetarian Society picks permanent Manchester home 

Having sold its Altrincham HQ last year, the charity is planning to relocate to Jackson’s Warehouse off Great Ancoats Street in a move that takes the organisation closer to its Salford roots. 

The Vegetarian Society, which formed in 1847, plans to covert part of the ground floor of the listed Manchester building into a cooking school and offices. 

In addition, the Tariff Street scheme would feature a prep kitchen, board room, reception, and dining area. 

The Vegetarian Society currently employs 23 members of staff, including three full-time members of the cookery school, plus additional flexible contract and freelance staff, according to a covering later prepared by Savills. 

At 2,800 sq ft, the Vegetarian Society’s new home is significantly smaller than its old one. Parkdale in Altrincham exceeded 10,000 sq ft and was sold to a private buyer for £2.65m last year, Land Registry states. 

As well as advising on plans for the new head office for the Vegetarian Society, Savills marketed the charity’s former site for sale. 

“Our old home in Bowden was no longer fit for purpose,” said Richard McIlwain, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.

“We’re thrilled to be moving back into central Manchester – with its thriving veggie and vegan scene. After all, the Vegetarian Society was formed in Salford and based in Manchester for much of its 175-year history. We are of course still awaiting the necessary planning consents – but we very much hope to be opening our new teaching kitchen and welcoming people to our new HQ in mid-2024.”

The vegetarian movement in the UK is thought to have originated at the Beefsteak Chapel in Salford, where Reverand William Cowherd extolled the virtues of a meat-free diet.

After Cowherd’s death, leadership of the church was taken on by Joseph Brotherton, who later became Salford’s first-ever MP.