This ghost town shopping parade is finally going - and feelings are bittersweet

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

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. READ MORE: Compulsory purchase powers approved for Collyhurst estate demolition Manchester council now owns the site after acquiring the final shop unit following several years of negotiations with its owner.