News the buildings of Manchester's infamous 'counterfeit street' - once dubbed the knock-off capital of the country - are to be closed then bulldozed is dividing opinion.
The Manchester Evening News revealed today that in a radical move designed to smash what police described as a national magnet for criminality, buildings on Bury New Road opposite Strangeways prison are to be compulsory purchased then torn down.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed the force would be 'going for' closure orders together with Manchester city council followed by compulsory purchase orders, revealing investigations have established 33 organised crime gangs from across the UK have links to the area. The decision to move, it's been said, came directly from the Chief Constable.
For years a go-to area for counterfeit clothes, shoes and other items, huge crowds of shoppers can regularly be seen lining the street and its warren of stores - happy to return again despite repeated police raids that often net millions of pounds worth of fake and potentially dangerous gear.
The move, said police, was part of an operation to erase for good dozens of shops in the area which sell knock-off clothing, perfume, tobacco and toys, but are also believed to be a front for serious crime.
Readers on the Manchester Evening News Facebook page have been commenting in their hundreds, with views so far mixed.
Some say the development would only serve to drive the issue of counterfeiting to another area of Greater Manchester - that traders would simply pack up and find other buildings to ply their illegal businesses from.
But others - the majority in fact - have welcomed the move, describing it as long overdue and the area itself as dirty, litter-strewn and dangerous.
Writing on our Facebook page Kevin Rigby asked: "Do you think knocking those buildings down will actually stop them? All they'll do is set up somewhere else or maybe that's the plan. Move them to a different area and they're somebody else's problem."
Replying to him, Jayne Wilma Dawson said: "It's a good excuse for building new apartments...but for once at least it will clean up the dump of an area!"
Ahsim Rashid posted: "Ever since apartments and towers have been popping up everywhere, space close to city centre has become valuable. Is it a coincidence that all of a sudden now this street and its criminality has become an issue? These shops have been operating for decades yet no one did anything about it.
"This move has nothing to do with criminality, its about selling the land to developers so they can build more tower blocks."
Riki Hall questioned what the exact plan would involve. He said: "I said they should have done this years ago but what are the council & GMP's plans for after they have done this? The sellers will simply move to the warehouses and mills surrounding Strangeways prison. There are already many of these shops in these buildings."
Martyn H Morgan wrote: "They will just move elsewhere. To stop it, people need to stop buying it, but because it's so much cheaper than the 'real thing', then that's not exactly going to happen."
Dougie Lord claimed in his post: "Nothing but a land grab by the police for the council. This isn't going to stop the problem. All it will do is move it to another area in the city. Good work giving the OCGs [organised crime groups] plenty of advanced warning too. They'll be scouting new premises already."
Denny Gill said: "Surely this will drive their operations underground and spread it to different areas at least the authorities know where to go to clamp down on it at the moment."
But Darren Morrell welcomed the plan and said change in the area was long overdue. He posted on our website: "To be fair the area is a disgrace in terms of the state of the buildings and the amount of rubbish everywhere. Long overdue a rethink."
Joan Holland agreed, posting: "Best news I've heard in a long time. Needed doing years ago. Has been allowed to grow."
Tom Simeone added: "People know what they're getting when they buy this stuff. Instead of compulsory buying, shouldn't the money be used to help people?" And Eva Stretton posted: "Make the real stuff cheaper and then there be no need for counterfeit."
Brazen selling of prescription drugs on the streets near the shops is a daily occurrence, and illegal immigration; modern-day slavery; women, being forced to work as sex workers, and the use of empty buildings for cannabis farms are rife in the district, said police. Women walking through the area have also reported being sexually harassed by men.
After decades of repeat raids on the shops to seize tonnes of counterfeit clothing and goods - which are quickly replenished - GMP said it would now work with the council, and other organisations to deliver a permanent solution.
The opening of a new £93m campus for Manchester College on the site of the old Boddington's Brewery within 200 yards of the stores selling counterfeit goods, plus a Travelodge hotel, which is even closer, have also been a catalyst for action, the M.E.N. understands.
Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood said: "This comes directly from our Chief Constable. He has described Cheetham Hill as a place that is criminally hostile and he is not prepared to have that in his force area. Counterfeiting has been around for a very long time but the criminality has shifted into prescription drugs; people being exploited sexually and for their labour, and illegal immigration - a microcosm of criminality."
Asked if plans ultimately included demolition of the buildings used as warrens for counterfeit sales, he said: "Yes. We are going for closure orders, with Manchester City Council, then compulsory purchase orders.
"We are probably in the position of clear, hold, build. Clear it, and hold, so no one comes back, and then its Manchester City Council's gift to give in terms of rebuilding. Most of those buildings will end up at the end of a bulldozer. Most unrecoverable, because they have been chopped and changed around.
"There has been a lack of consistency - we are there one day not the next, and that is where our chief has recognised that is a problem. So, we will be there everyday."
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