Sign up to the MyTameside newsletter here to keep abreast of what's happening in your neighbourhood. We have more newsletters. Just a few tram stops away from Manchester city centre sits a town crying out for a change of fortune. What's holding it back is a dispute over an empty building. Once you step off the tram into Droylsden one of the first sights you will see is The Silly Country, a bustling bar in the shadow of the iconic Concord Suite building.
As one shopper observed, after seeing what was on offer, people might get back on the tram swiftly. The big problem is they want to invest, the front looks good when The Silly Country is lit up. Coun Barrie Holland, who represents the local area, claimed that around 70 per cent of shops in Droylsden have closed down and sit empty.
He raised the issue at the latest town hall meeting, but was reassured by council bosses that this was going to be addressed. Former council leader and fellow Droylsden West councillor Ged Cooney agrees with the local consensus that something needs to happen, and it needs to happen now.
But there is one sticking point that needs to be overcome before real change can happen. The retail units that protrude from the building, which once housed the defunct Droylsden Council, have been kept empty on purpose. This is because the owner of the shopping centre, New Era, are still battling with the council over what to do with the building.
It is understood that the council owns the inside of the Concord building - which New Era is trying to take control of - and New Era owns the units underneath it. Negotiations between New Era and Tameside Council have been ongoing for years, but it is hoped the matter will be resolved in the coming months - for the sake of the town.
