Weeds shoot up between cracks in crooked paving stones strewn with broken glass. Beneath the afternoon sun, rusting signs hang forlornly above shops long since abandoned.
Just a stone's throw from the thriving city centre, Eastford Square in Collyhurst is a place time has forgotten. Viewed from Rochdale Road, the derelict shopping parade is little more than an eyesore. But it hasn't always been this way. For decades it was the hub of a thriving community.
From the Post Office and the butchers to later the hairdressers and the chippy, the shops on Eastford Square offered locals everything they needed on their doorstep. Now, the square's days are numbered as plans to bulldoze it take a major step forward.
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Manchester council now owns the site after acquiring the final shop unit following several years of negotiations with its owner. Eastford Square has been 'identified for development' as part of an ambitious plan to transform north Manchester forever.
Under the Victoria North scheme, a joint venture between Manchester council and Far East Consortium (FEC), 15,000 new homes will be built along the River Irk valley. While it is not yet clear what will replace the shopping parade, the majority of locals have welcomed its demolition.
Yet there are still those who look back with fond memories. Susan Lever, 65, has lived in her flat in the nearby Roach Court tower block since 1968.
Collyhurst-born and bred, she remembers the area when it was throbbing with life. "It was thriving round here," she said.
"It had everything you wanted. You had all the shops and then three pubs within walking distance.
"The chippy was one of the best ones going about 25 years ago. The queue used to go right past the shops.
"Even the post office was full. The community was fantastic. You could talk to anyone.
"The people who worked at those places were more friends than shopkeepers. It'd take two hours to go for a bottle of milk because you'd be talking to everybody.
"Kids used to play football and be on their bikes out here. There's nothing now because they split the community up by moving them all out."
Today, the maisonettes above the shops all stand empty, boarded or bricked up, with many of the windows smashed. For Susan, Eastford Square's demise mirrors that of the place she has always called home.
"It's a ghost town," she said. "I've lived around here all my life and it's changed a hell of a lot.
"It started emptying about 14 years ago. There were still a few shops open but then it closed down altogether. It's sad to see. They've just left it to rot. It's a dump and it's brought the area down."
As Susan speaks, a rumbling tram passes through a tunnel under the square on its way into the city centre. She believes a Metrolink stop would be a 'brilliant' replacement for the neglected parade, and would help to breathe new life into Collyhurst.
Norman Stack lives on the tenth floor of another nearby tower block and was also there during Eastford Square's heyday.
"There was a Chinese chippy, a cafe, a hairdressers and a paper shop," he recalled. "Everybody used to use them, it was the heart of the community.
"When all the maisonettes were up, it was very busy. When they knocked them down, not as many people used the shop.
"It's sad to say it, but it's got to go. It's been an eyesore for a long time."
Plans to transform this part of Collyhurst have been in the pipeline since as far back as 2006, when the council first decided to ask the then Labour government for funding for regeneration work. The area was earmarked for a landmark Private Finance Initiative (PFI) - one of the biggest in the country - that would have seen 1,300 new homes built as part of a £250m scheme.
But when the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government took power following the General Election in 2010, that plan was torn up, with austerity policies following the financial crash. Since then, housing in the area has been demolished or upgraded - but plans for the future go much further.
As well as thousands of new homes, the Victoria Scheme scheme is expected to bring new public squares, schools, health centres and shops to north Manchester. The post-war maisonettes that surrounded Eastford Square were bulldozed several years ago in preparation for the regeneration.
While the shopping parade and the council-owned 1960s tower blocks off Hamerton Road remained, the loss of a large part of the Collyhurst community was felt sharply. As the years passed by, the shops emptied.
The rot had long since set in when the Lalley Centre - the last occupier of a shop unit at Eastford Square, using the space for its weekly foodbank - moved out in early 2019. Since then, the area has fallen into further disrepair.
Ann Bowker lived in one of the maisonettes opposite before she was forced out about a decade ago.
"I loved being there," she said. "There was nothing wrong with them. Everything was there on your doorstep. We had the convenience store, a hairdressers, a cafe, a chippy, a chemist and the post office.
"It was a good community. Everybody knew each other and all got on lovely. When they knocked the maisonettes down, everybody got scattered everywhere."
Despite her fond memories, Ann now feels ashamed by the 'eyesore' shopping parade that remains. "When I get off the bus, I feel embarrassed to live here," she said. "You wonder what people think.
"There's all sorts going on. There are drug dealers at the back. You see them pulling out and think 'where has that posh car been?' It's either that or ladies of the night."
For some, this is the only Eastford Square they have known. In recent years, flytippers have dumped mounds of rubbish on the secluded road directly behind the dilapidated precinct.
Stevie Burrows moved into a flat in the Christabel tower block - a stone's throw from the precinct - last year. "It's always been like this for me," the 25-year-old said. "It's never seen anyone in it although doors are sometimes open.
"It would be nice if they did it up and reopened it. It would be nice to have a convenience store and a cafe right there, but it's a bit of a mess the way it is."
Ed Chesworth moved into the same block five years ago. "The food bank was there but that was it," he recalled. "It's pretty run down but we've only seen it like this. There were massive issues at the back with fly-tipping at the start of lockdown.
"You would look out of the window at 10am and people would be throwing all this stuff out. They didn't even try to hide it. It's not nice to look at so if it's going to be redeveloped, that's great.
"It's be good if they put a tram stop in because we have to go all the way to Victoria at the moment."
Coun Sandra Collins, who represents Harpurhey ward on Manchester City Council, has welcomed the plans to demolish the shopping parade.
She said: "Residents have put up with this eyesore for years which has brought down their neighbourhood. It's good riddance and we look forward to a speedy demolition."
A Manchester City Council spokesperson added: "Some years ago the council relocated the occupants of the maisonette block, however there remained one long-term empty commercial unit in third party ownership that prevented the council progressing demolition.
"Negotiations with the owner of the last shop unit have now concluded and purchase completed. This means arrangements to begin the process of demolition can get underway.
"The site has been identified for development as part of the wider Victoria North programme of regeneration, with a mix of new homes and commercial space. However, detailed masterplanning has not yet taken place and will be subject to public consultation."
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