By Monk
The owners of Manchester’s under threat Retro have met with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to discuss the venue’s pending closure.
The Sackville Street premises is due to be demolished in August as part of a redevelopment plan in the area. The venue will cease trading at the end of July.
In a statement following the meeting with Mayor Burnham, Retro’s owners said:
This was a fantastic opportunity to be heard and to echo your (sic) feelings on this matter.
[We are] hopeful that this will mark an invaluable turning point in our story. It could well become a catalyst for change in the level of protections offered to grassroots music venues when they are left in a position of severe hardship due to absolutely no fault of their own.
Whilst there are no guarantees at this stage as the development scheme is a private entity, we greatly appreciate this respectful gesture of opening meaningful discussion which is now being looked at carefully by the Greater Manchester Combined Authorities.
As ever, we will keep you updated on developments in this ongoing story.
#SaveTheRetro