SleuthSleuth is a sideways glance at the city every week, it's the truth, but Sleuth's truth. He's several people all at once. We give £25 for every story/rumour and piece of absurdity you find for us to publish. Sleuth sometimes even gets serious. We ask for the money back if any legal action follows. Follow Sleuth on twitter @mcrsleuth
New Hotel For The Northern Quarter
Sleuth learns that planning permission for a new hotel from local brewery Hydes has been approved. This will be located between Union Street, Red Lion Street and Turner Street, opposite Solita restaurant.
There will be fourteen bedrooms, a restaurant, a bar and a secure cycle store for six bikes. Six whole bikes. Big issue that last one now.
The site was used as the set of Cutting It with Sarah Parrish and Amanda Holden, tagged 'Hairdressers at War'. Maybe rather than a saloon bar the new place can have a salon bar thinks Sleuth, with cocktails such as the Blue Rinse for Mabel in the corner and maybe a A Pornstar Blowdry for racier younger types.
Cutting It - the brewery representative is on the left and a complaining resident on the right
There have been fifteen complaints from locals to the plans, mainly revolving around noise, drunkenness, urination, vomiting and all that carry on. Although bizarrely somebody also mentioned a suicide off The Light Building round the corner which Sleuth thought a little off-topic and a little desperate. Bats were mentioned too.
It's pretty showbiz round here. When guests on Red Lion Street open their curtains in the morning they'll also have an unrestricted view of that lovely 1970s beige car park as featured in TV show Life on Mars.
Aside from all of this Sleuth reckons a cute hotel in the Northern Quarter is a fine idea, add to the area. Good local operator behind it too, all good with Sleuth. The site has been a hotel before anyway. Look on the old maps and it housed The Original Barley Mow pub. History comes full circle and all that.
Proposed hotel
Sleuth's Small Holiness
Sleuth hears a Confidential reader was in a nearby city buying jewellery over Christmas when the flustered Saturday temp shouted across the shop for assistance. "We've run out over here, it's for a christening. Have you got any of those crosses with the little man on them?" Sleuth is a Godless humanist but even he thinks this was going a little far.
Sleuth And The Beer Festival On Bikes
Sleuth loves the fact that next week's Manchester beer festival (22-25 January) at the National Cycling Centre close to the Etihad won't interfere with business as usual. As Neil Sowerby wrote: 'The track will remain operational throughout with GB Cycling or Team Sky team riding in practice sessions'. Sleuth just hopes none of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) drinkers at the Festival get too drunk and decide to 'borrow' a track bike to get home. Sleuth isn't worried about the single gear - Manchester is a flat city. But he is worried about the fact there are no brakes on these machines. A large CAMRA member flattened against the front of a bus could cause considerable disruption across the city. And quite a mess.
Barry, chair of the 'We're Not ALL Round and Hairy' branch of CAMRA, fails to convince again
Sleuth And Owning A Bit Of Manchester History
Sleuth always likes to buy lovely links to his city's story. Thus for £2,640 each he can now invest in original shelving units from the 1930s Manchester Central Library - due to re-open in spring this year. Apparently the shelves are 'antique' and 'adjustable'. Here's the link should you wish to purchase. Sleuth does wonder why the Library doesn't need them anymore. Have they lost some of the books? As a cost-cutting measure are books being now used to prop up desks?
Shelf Life
United We Park, United We Pay
Sleuth remembers David Blake's story on Confidential about zombie car parks and their blighting of the city centre. As described by Blake these are 'long-term ‘temporary’ car parks, thrown up on the sites of demolished buildings or patches of undeveloped and desolate plots in order to make developers a quick few quid while they decide what to actually do with the space.'
Thus the owners of the site of United Buildings on Oldham Street, firestormed last year, have applied for retrospective planning permission for 42 bays. Retrospective, naughty eh? They've been raking it in for months. Complainants including Friends of the Earth and Parkstarter have asked for the land to be used for green space instead. Or even, Sleuth hears, a pen for flying pigs. However, word on the street would have it that the council are minded to finally take a stand against this particular zombie car park. Sleuth waits in the wings, ready for our final stand against the zombie invasion.
Sleuth and some busts
Every seven days or so Sleuth is stopped in the street by policemen, concierges, Sarah Parrish, Amanda Holden, Mabel, bats, red lions, Barry from CAMRA, that little man on crucifixes and zombie car parks, and asked: "Where can I find the largest array of busts in the city centre?"
"Why," says Sleuth, "that would be at the fantastic Sculpture Hall in the Town Hall. It's got more bust than a Playboy Playmate party at the Playboy Mansion."
And to prove this he showed the policemen, concierges, Sarah Parrish, Amanda Holden, Mabel, bats, red lions, Barry from CAMRA, that little man on crucifixes and zombie car parks this photo and pointed them in the direction of this review.
'To be honest John I'm sick of looking at you now.'
