An application has been submitted by the owners of Sankeys to transform an empty warehouse in Trafford Park into a huge club and live music venue. The site, which sits around three miles from the centre of Manchester, is in an industrial area surrounded by offices and with the Imperial War Museum across the road, just across the water from Salford Quays, The Lowry Centre and the new Media City. The new venue, provisionally called ‘Stadium Point’, is being designed to rival the likes of the MEN Arena and The Apollo, focussing on the ‘stand up and dance’ crowd, rather than the ‘sit down and tap feet’ crowd.

In a proposal document released by the developers for a meeting with local residents, the team behind the project, headed by Dave Vincent, owner of Sankeys, state that, “Our market is not old bands like Elton John, Paul McCartney etc. It is more Elbow, Madonna, Eminem, Ian Brown, Dizzy Rascal, Calvin Harris, Moby, Basement Jaxx etc.” They claim that their capacity to be flexible with their floor plan, able to accommodate shows for between 3,500 to 16,000 punters, will set them apart from the competition. Their shows will attract a public who “want to dance (a [sic] indoor festival vibe), instead of being seated, and artistes want to perform in a more edgy venue,” according to the brochure. Their aim is to create a venue that “Trafford can be proud of in the same vein as the London O2.”

The venue plans include significant internal renovations to the building as well as substantial sound proofing, in order to reduce the impact on local residents, the closest being those living in apartments on Salford Quays 250 metres away. The renovations, planned to take place in stages over a two year period, total £5 million and the project expects to create around 250 jobs locally. Here’s what the site looks like in its current state:









Securing the license isn’t going to be easy, however, and the plans have already received some criticism from local residents, who are concerned about the potential for 16,000 revellers being released into the community in the early hours of the morning. Commenting on Labour’s website for the Gorse Hill Ward, local representative Kate Green said, “There are serious questions to be answered about adequate transport and crowd control as well as concerns about noise nuisance and public order offences.” The proposals request alcohol sale to be permitted between midnight and 10am and 2pm to midnight.

The issue of transport will certainly be a contentious one as the area is not currently blessed with good public transport links – at least, not for a 16,000 venue. The nearest tram stop is a 15 minute walk away – a walk that takes you past precisely one pub (Sam Platts, that looks like it might be shut anyway). Other than that you’ve got a choice of either driving (they will be providing a large car park), walking or getting a cab. Presumably some sort of bus service will be put in place if plans proceed to the point of the venue opening.

Rumour has it that a leafleting campaign has been put in action by local residents, those in Gorse Hill especially opposed to the idea of what is being touted as a ’24 hour rave club’ appearing nearby. We’ve seen the building – it’s big, very big, and the plans are bold so we’ll wait with bated breath to see what happens next.