Some of Manchester’s trendiest and most well-known independent businesses are railing against a plan to pedestrianise a city centre square — because it doesn’t go far enough.
The council has announced that three-quarters of Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter will be pedestrianised permanently. The entire area has been closed off to motor traffic since 2020.
Since then, Stevenson Square has become an oasis of café culture, with multiple bars and restaurants making use of outside space with new tables and chairs. Now, however, some of those firms will be losing their access to outside seating and the area’s longest-running business is also going to suffer.
