Cine City

Nice to see the Cine City redevelopment is proceeding so well

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Nice to see the Cine City redevelopment is proceeding so well, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

It’s been four or five years since they tore down Cine City with the promise of posh flats and shops. And the site is still empty.

I know the cinema was a loss maker and the building decrepit, but it’s frustrating when older buildings are pulled down in she name of “progress” and the land left fallow because the developers lost interest or were too incompetent to secure enough funding.

Cine City

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Cine City, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

There’s not much of the building left, just some bits of wall at the rear.
The local free paper tells me that planning permission hasn’t been granted for its intended new use- apartments, naturally- so it’ll probably stay like this for a while.

Cine City time lapse part one

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I’m going to try to get at least one photo a week as they take the old cinema down.

Cine City to be demolished

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Cine City, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

Cine City is finally to be demolished and replaced with…….. Luxury apartments. There’s a surprise.

It would explain the workmen taking down the hoarding from the front. It would be neat if they could keep the steps, but I doubt it’ll happen. And where are the drunks going to congregate during the day now?

Future Squats of Manchester

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Future Squats of Manchester, originally uploaded by spinneyhead.

Pasted on the corner of the abandoned Cine City in Withington. The text, as best as I can make out, reads-

“The rapid urban regeneration of Manchester has resulted in dozens of ne ‘luxury’ apartment buildings. These new homes for the rich are part of a planned attack on local working class and poor residents. Gentrification projects like these lead to rising rents and the homogenisation of our communities. Local residents and families will gradually be forced out of their homes as young, single profesionals are welcomed.

Often, these expensive flats are built next to some of the most economically deprived areas in the city. Planners, architects and eventually residents turn a blind eye to the conditions of many of the city’s sitting tenants, the like[s of which?] these homes were never designed for. Worthwhile regeneration projects aim[ed at improving?] standards in the very worst areas of Manchester lose out to grand displa[ys desig?]ned to attract the interests of more [?] investors. Newly gentrified are[as?……] incoming residents by the state [install?]ing strict surveillance, greater po[lice presence and harsh?] penaties.”

Deadline magazine

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In the ongoing, if sporadic, effort to get rid of as much of my clutter as possible I just dug out an almost complete collection of Deadline magazines, which shall soon be heading to one of the local charity shops. Deadline ran from 1988 to 1995 (or ’96 depending upon which site’s history you read) and I remember picking up the first issue in the Gateshead Metro centre, after which I was hooked. It was the “lifestyle magazine for slackers” and the only publication I’d ever buy which used the word lifestyle about itself. The short, nasty, brilliant and surreal comic strips were the draw for me, but I stayed for the indie music and politics. There were a number of striking characters introduced over the seven year run, but the one everyone remembers is Tank Girl. The movie was disappointing, but I had a private showing at Withington’s now defunct Cine City (well, I was the only person to turn up, if truth be told).

Why am I mentioning all this? Just because I’ve flicked through a few issues (if I’m not careful, I’m going to lose the rest of the night to them) and I really think there should be some sort of Deadline for the noughties. It won’t happen, it’s too hard a concept to frame in terms of target demographic etc., but I can hope.

Deadline in wikipedia.

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