A 'RESPECTED' craft beer and food company from London has retreated from plans to re-open the former Choice restaurant site in Castlefield. This follows our story here.
What is clear is that a functioning and reputable bar-restaurant in the former Choice site would have brought more people down to this part of the canal and made it more attractive.
Residents from Castle Quay - the building which hosts the former restaurant site - scuppered the plan. Their objections apparently scared off the publicity sensitive company.
The prospective operator feared that any battle to get the relevant permissions would be protracted and damaging to future trading prospects. If nothing else, the clamour from Castle Quay apartment dwellers would have meant the vital summer trading season would have been missed.
The operator is no longer looking to open in Manchester.
It's a choice that is no Choice
Meanwhile the residents of nearby City Gate endorsed the plans with letters of support.
One of the reasons for objection used by Castle Quay residents was that the developer of the building, Peel, had sold them their apartments promising a tranquil location away from the bustle of the city.
Jon Grieves, former proprietor of Choice, worked with the London company on the new venture and is disappointed.
"I've worked with the Castle Quay residents on this site for thirteen years so I thought they'd have trusted me when I assurred them the new place was good for the area. But you know how rumours grow - some people thought we were going to open a nightclub.
"That was the opposite of what we intended. The new operators were determined to create a quality environment. There would have been craft beers and a bar but also a great emphasis on the food from snacks to full suckling pigs."
The licencing hours for the new bar restaurant would have been the same as The Wharf pub close by, 1am Friday and Saturday, midnight other days.
City centre councillor Kevin Peel says, "There is tension between residents who don't want a late night licence under their bedrooms and companies who want to grow a business.
"Ultimately a compromise has to be found. This is usually possible but in this case it hasn't been. In the Northern Quarter lots of new bar and restaurant owners have been keen to engage with the community so it shows compromise can work."
Confidential thinks the summer closure of this important Castle Quay unit is a blow to the profile of the area, especially on this stretch of the Bridgewater Canal, the Deansgate/Chester Road end of the basin.
What should be a showpiece area of the city centre is becoming ugly and unsightly, not least with the Heras fencing ineffectively closing off the 'wildflower' meadow where Quay Bar (and Canteena) used to sit.
Horrible fencing blighting the area
A concerned Castlefield Forum walked Confidential through the area a month or two ago and it's not looking good.
What's clear, is that a functioning and reputable bar-restaurant in the former Choice site would have brought more people down this part of the canal and made it more attractive. At the same time it would have brought in tenants who's self-interest would have meant they worked to ensure adequate upkeep of the basin and surrounding environment. In effect the residents have lost themselves an ally.
The result of this exercise of resident muscle might be counter-productive.
As for Jon Grieves (who now runs a north west food and drink consultancy - click here) he's sad to say farewell to Castlefield.
"I've been part of this area for thirteen years promoting Castlefield, giving it a focal point and fighting its battles with many of the really great people around here. I'll be sorry to leave the area and to see Choice stay closed for the foreseeable future. In effect I've been here for a third of my life, so it's strange to become divorced from Castlefield and see Choice permanently dark."
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
