A city centre venue which played a part in shaping Manchester’s music scene for decades could be demolished within months.
The Retro Bar, which closed earlier this year, gave a stage to many young bands trying to make it in the city’s music scene, including The Chemical Brothers and Everything Everything.
The building along with the Charles Street multi-storey car park is earmarked for demolition for a multi-billion-pound regeneration project called Sister, which will bring in 10,000 jobs, new businesses, and more than 1,500 new homes between Oxford Road and Piccadilly railway station.
Retro – which opened 35 years ago – is hoping to open at a new site next year.
A spokesperson for Sister said: “We can confirm a planning application has been submitted to Manchester City Council seeking permission to demolish the Charles Street car park and associated vacant commercial units.
“The demolition works will allow us to prepare the site for future development as part of the transformation of Sister into a world-class destination for research, collaboration and enterprise in the heart of Manchester.
“While a series of technical assessments have already been carried out to consider potential impacts of the demolition on local residents and businesses – including noise, air quality and traffic – if the application is approved, a more detailed demolition management plan will be implemented and distributed locally to ensure these works are carefully managed and any disruption is minimised.”
The spokesperson added “the application does not include any proposals for new buildings at this stage”.
Managers at Retro told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last month: “We have been very proactive in exploring options where we could relocate.
“We have identified a couple of sites that have potential to grow back into thriving grassroots live music venues. These options require time to be prepared, further discussions with landlords and support from local authorities.”
