Stalybridge is just about recognisable as a little cotton town and it
still retains some of its character. Unfortunately, the town possesses no
public urinals now or banks, which have all been closed. It does however, have
many charity shops and betting shops. The town is referred to in Benjamin
Disraeli's novel 'Coningsby', as being a place of "high pressure" due to its industries.
I remember when they filmed Yanks in Stalybridge. All they had to do was put a few sand bags outside some of the buildings and you felt like you were back in the 1940s. I don't know who coined the name Staly-Vegas but I'm glad to see the back of it.
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I do agree with you with regards to the elevated costs of drinking in many establishments in SB. However, it's my view that the town has actually come alive in a number of ways. I can go back to the 1970's/1980's and the only eating option was a pie and a bag of chips. Whereas now we have 4 thriving restaurants and two currie houses. We have three micro bars, a music centre and an arts centre. All of which I see as positive developments.
I'm not a particular fan of W, as for me it feeds into the profile of the working class subculture. Cheap, unhealthy, poor quality meals, drinks that are cheaper, but at what costs? The promotion of higher consumption and associated health issues. For me, W, fits perfectly the neo-liberal perception of the working classes, pay them as little as possible, second class quality is all that they deserve. If W didn't exist, and therefore many could not afford to go out to drink, it might provoke a greater backlash against the system and focus more attention onto the issue of inequality. W is serving a purpose other than the one that you are projecting.
No Banks
No Building Societies
No Butchers
No Police Station
No Swimming Baths
No Furniture Shops
No Electric shops
No Cinema
Hardly any pubs
Third most deprived area in greater Manchester
I give you 40 years of unbroken Labour control
Staly vegas to faily Vegas in one fell swoop..
Many of the shops I once used in Stalybridge closed down permanently following the Councils last regenerative destruction. The various second-hand shops I used to visit went, the alternative greeting card shop closed, the health food shops closed.
Bank-wise we now have the Banking Hub in the Summers Quay, a building that was built by Jigsaw Homes for private tenants with the intention of letting the bottom part out to business for profit. There were no takers. It remained derelict for years. And now years later the derelict bottom half of the Summers Quay, half of it anyway, has become a Banking Hub run by the Post Office. I've had no call to use it myself, but time will tell.
And now we are to be subject to more regenerative devastation at the hands of Tameside Council who've managed to get their mits on 'loads a money', no doubt in part because Tameside has 2 Labour MP's in the Cabinet.
There's little room for mercy. Ashton is almost a no go area for me these days apart from the banks and soon it will become a no-go building site as shops are forced to close or move. What will survive? Nationwide told me that their building will not be knocked-down. We shall have to wait and see.
I prefer to shop in Hyde these days apart from buying grub in various supermarkets. I rarely visit Stalybridge these days either. But now Tameside Council plan to destroy Hyde too. One might wonder why I say this? Well, Tameside Council do not have a good track record. Look at Vision Tameside for example. They should've gone to Specsavers. Even now they still don't have enough dosh to fix-finish the old Ashton Town Hall due to their poor business acumen when engaging Carillion. They're rebuilding the outside Ashton Market yet again even though they never finished the last refurbishment!
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