Fetish shop set to open in Grade II listed city centre…

Fetish shop set to open in Grade II listed city centre building

A new fetish shop is set to open in a listed Manchester city centre building. Kink Bunker is expected to open next year in the basement of 48 Princess Street, a Grade II listed apartment building on the edge of the Gay Village.

The basement was previously occupied by a construction company, but planning permission has now been granted for the unit to become a shop. Kye Etherton, who is behind the plans, says he also wants to create a social community space in the basement which was once home to a gay nightclub.

He said: "What we're trying to do is open a new LGBT fetish shop. But we also wanted to have a community events space.

"All of the staff are going to be completely trained on everything we sell. We want to do things like rope workshops, safety for LGBT people, there'll be board games or people can just hang out and use the space.

"We want to teach people how to use things safely. We want to do everything we can to stop [accidents] happening."

Kye, who submitted the application to Manchester council in April, set up Puppy Pride - a network for people who roleplay as dogs - nine years ago. Currently living in London, he will move to Manchester to open the shop with business partner Kazuki James, who is known within the city's pup play scene.

The entrance to the basement of 48 Princess Street where Kink Bunker will be based (Google)

The pair will now have to submit a fresh application to get planning permission to use the unit as an events space and to correct errors in the previous plans. The application form describes the proposed use of the unit as 'sex shop', but drawings of the signs describe it as a 'Kink and LGBTQ+ shop and event space'.

Kye explained that the unit will not be a 'sex shop', which requires a licence, and will mostly be sell clothing – although it will have 'a small 18-plus room'. Town planners who approved the application earlier this month confirmed in a report that the use of the basement is currently restricted to shopping only.

They said: "A shop use should not create excessive noise. However, it is not clear what the proposed hours would be and, if it is proposed to be open late into the evening, this may have an impact on the adjacent residential occupiers, particularly in an old building such as this one where sound can easily carry through the structure of the building."

Drawings of the signs say opening hours will be 11am to 9pm on Mondays to Thursdays, until 11pm on Fridays and Saturday and 12pm to 8pm on Sundays. However, council officers said that opening hours would have to be agreed in writing and included this as one of the conditions of approving the application.

No works will be carried out to the shop front which is on Harter Street, but any physical work inside the listed building will require the council's consent. Kink Bunker is planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the businesss.