Manchester, Stockport and Hazel Grove.

A visit to Manchester for a day to attend the Coöperative Group Annual General Meeting led to a day out with Mike and Tony to look at the coöps in and around Stockport, by bus.

Stockport is dominated by its viaduct and the Coöperative Bank pyramid call centre building. There is also a hat works museum (!) and as you can see from the picture it has air raid shelters. Does Stockport council know something that we don’t? Are they expecting an air raid? Shouldn’t they share their intelligence with the rest of us?


Stockport takes air raids seriously 

Stockport also has a very fine coöp department store, formerly United Norwest Society’s Central Premises and now owned by Anglia Regional. Unfortunately I can’t show you any pictures of the store as the loss prevention officer told us not to take any pictures of the store from the street (and I will never take pictures inside a store). I wasn’t sure though if the person was the loss prevention officer as he did not have any form of identification.

Hazel Grove suggests images of a rural idyll amongst the hazel trees. The reality is somewhat different. The rural idyll has gone brickily industrial, a long, busy and dirty street and a very uncared for air. The Coöperative superstore there looked somewhat dated and the Coöperative Bank ‘tardis’ kiosk had been vandalised to death, the screen on the ATM had been booted in (still working though), all the lights had been put out rather unpleasant graffiti had altered the sign ‘Telephone Banking’. A rather dismal place all told.