A stretch of Every Street in Ancoats, running from Great Ancoats towards the Etihad Stadium, has been closed to traffic as a safety precaution while a reported “structural failure” at the former All Souls Church is examined. The measure has also seen the 230 and 231 bus services redirected, while local businesses say the loss of passing traffic is having a significant impact.
Residents raise long-standing concerns
Built in 1840, the building is understood to have closed in the 1980s. It was later used as a joinery workshop but has since fallen into disuse. Residents living around the building say they have complained about its deteriorating condition, describing it as an “eyesore”. They also raised concerns about overgrown vegetation, vermin and the risk of parts of the building collapsing.
Anthony Watson, 49, a local pastry chef who lives on Harding Street, said: “Some years ago we complained the middle of the church roof fell in, and we reported it and they fixed it... It overgrows, so we complain, the council, the environmental health get hold of him, he cleans it up, minimal effort, and we get loads of vermin coming through.”
“Now in recent six months it’s started collapsing again and we noticed the roof had fell through, and all on our side of the wall the bricks are bulging out. So we got a fella in, we told [councillor] Chris Northwood, she got a fella in, and he told us that it’s unsafe, and that’s where the road started closing up, because on that side it’s substantially worse.”
Fear of catastrophic damage
Mr Watson said the potential consequences of a collapse were particularly frightening for those living next door. “The fella did tell us that if it falls outwards it will fall one and a half times the distance of the height, which is completely covering our house,” he said. “You can imagine we’re in a little bit of fear of it causing catastrophic damage.”
He added that residents could now see the extent of the deterioration through their windows. “As you can see, through the window you can see that it’s completely gone. It’s all starting to collapse,” he said. “The fella said that if the roof’s gone, it usually falls inwards, should it fall. However, only that part of the roof’s gone. And there is damage over that side and it really does worry us that it’s going to fall outwards, because it would cover our garden, the house, and possibly quite a bit of next door’s garden as well.”
Mr Watson also questioned how long the road closure could last, saying he feared the disruption would continue beyond the initial estimate. “They said it’s going to be a month. I really doubt it’s going to be a month, I think it’s going to be longer because they’re not going to get him to do what they need to do,” he said.
The closure, he added, was already affecting the wider community. “It’s affecting school buses, it’s affecting shop businesses, it’s dropped his business straight off the bat. And obviously, the footfall for the football,” he said. “It’s a big main road this, for people to come in and out of town. Normally it’s really busy, it’s a direct route and one road being closed causes problems, not just for that but for the arena, and for the local community it’s very difficult to get about.”
History of collapse and auction attempts
Mr Watson said the danger posed by the building remained his biggest concern. “But again the danger of this is for me the top of the list, because we’re looking at it and we’re scared every time,” he said. He recalled a previous collapse in 2017: “This was in 2017, when the roof all went in, it was an almighty noise, and then loads of dust. We thought it was on fire, mistaking it for smoke. That was just sudden.”
He said the church had previously hosted gospel choirs, but that appeared to have stopped years ago, which he believed could have been linked to concerns over the building’s safety. “It’s been there since 1845, we’ve been here since 2016. It WAS a nice building,” he said.
Mr Watson said the council had previously carried out repairs, with the cost subsequently placed against the property. “The council fixed the damage in lieu of it being paid for, now that went on the auction price, whoever bought it would have to pay the bill for that damage,” he said. “So that didn’t go anywhere. Now I feel like it’s a kid with an ant farm, I think he’s just given up on it.”
The building went up for auction in 2024 with a guide price of £450,000, when it was described as 'the holy grail of redevelopment opportunities'. At the time of the sale, Auction House North West’s marketing material said the interior of the building could not be viewed due to safety concerns. In 2023, it was added to SAVE Britain’s Heritage’s Buildings at Risk register - a national platform for raising awareness of neglected historic buildings. The property has not been sold and has reportedly been withdrawn from auction.
Residents and businesses call for action
Despite the deterioration, Mr Watson believes the building could still have a future if it were properly restored. “As apartments, that would be beautiful if you could fix it,” he said. He also raised concerns about children entering the abandoned building. “It’s been condemned for so long, it’s a dangerous thing to go into, and kids have been going in and out,” he said. “I want it made safe. If it has to come down, so be it, however it’d be nice if they could fix it up and make it safe.”
Anne Anchors, 86, who was born and raised in Ancoats, shared similar concerns about the church. “Can’t wait till the scaffolding comes down. It’s an eyesore,” she said. “In my living room, I sit there, all you can see is that. It’s a mess.” She said the road closure had transformed what is normally an extremely busy route. “It’s a very busy road usually, so it’s very quiet now, in the night, but you get used to it because my bedroom’s on this side,” she said.
“There’s two bus stops there, and it’s very, very rare you can cross the road, you’ve got to go back to that zebra near St Anne’s Church. Constantly busy no matter what day or night.” Ms Anchors said she feared the building could eventually collapse into neighbouring properties. “I just worry about it crumbling straight over,” she said. “I think it should come down. I know it’s a listed building, but what’s it doing? It’s been like this for years. It needs to come down, doesn’t it? Scaffolding has been there a while now, what are you supposed to do?”
The closure is also hitting traders on the route. Mafooz Ahmed, who runs Mo’s Mini Market opposite the church, said he had contacted several politicians about the situation. “I contacted my local MP, I live in Burnage, so it’s Hannah Spencer, and I also contacted Chris Northwood,” he said. “The road closure has slashed business down by half. People’s safety has to come first, but communities are suffering. We’re right near Co-op Live, it’s usually the busiest road around the area. I rely on the traffic to feed my family. It’s not fair for the people living around the area. Whoever’s the owner needs to come up with a solution.”
Councillor warns of ‘dangerous’ building
Councillor Chris Northwood described the abandoned church as “dangerous” in a statement to the Manchester Evening News. She said: “The All Souls church on Every Street now becoming dangerous is not a surprise to me nor the nearby residents who’ve previously contacted me about the state of the building and rats running riot into their gardens from the site.
“First the Bank of England pub a few weeks ago and now the All Souls church, it seems counterintuitive that when building sites cover lots of Ancoats, our heritage buildings are at risk of collapse. Ancoats residents are paying the price for building owners not taking care of what they own, not only when the situation becomes actively dangerous but over the years of neglect leading to that point. Land owners in Manchester need to get the basics right and look after what they own and should be forced to when they’re letting down our city. Now we’re in another situation where our heritage is at risk, and with that brings the inevitable traffic chaos that will now come with this busy route to the Etihad and Co-op Live being closed.”
In an update for the MEN, Manchester City Council told us: "The Council is attempting to find the correct responsible person for the site, with a view to pushing them to undertake a structural survey ASAP (the Council will do our own) and report back with a plan. The property is privately owned, so the Council needs to at least give the responsible person / organisation reasonable time. But if this isn't forthcoming quickly the Council will step in and commission safety works in lieu to ensure the building isn't a risk to the public - and the cost of these works will be recharged to the owner." They went onto say that "planning and building control officers are convening tomorrow to agree next steps if the building owner doesn't respond in a timely manner". The road closure also remains in place "until the building can be considered safe by Building Control".
