Heaton Moor watch

Ever since mountainear commented that she visits this blog as a link with her old life in the Heatons, I have been meaning to start a regular post on what's going on in the area. After all, there's only so much of me blabbing on and on and on about how wonderful my kids are that most people can stand. (You bear it well folks. Really.)

So let's start with where we are: Heaton Moor.

Heaton Moor is basically split into two halves, each with groups of shops and separated by no more than about half a mile. The northern half saw much regeneration in the 90s, especially on and around Shaw Road. Our favourite Indian restaurant, the Heatons Tandoori, still prospers there. There is also a Polish deli, Pokusevskis, where I buy local honey produced in Heaton Moor and have occasionally taken Oliver on the bike for an afternoon snack in their little paved garden at the rear. There are also several other pubs, bars and cafes within about a minutes walk.

The southern half, where we live, hasn't yet prospered so much, but the northern end is pretty much saturated, so I expect our area will start to flourish similarly in the next year or two. The Orangerie cafe up in the northern half now has a sister establishment, Room 311, which we mention often here and frequent even more. The arrival of a Tesco Express saw the demise of the little Late Shop, which has stood empty ever since. There were rumours of Marks and Spencer moving in, but nothing has happened yet.

One of the hairdressers moved across the road a couple of years ago and in his place on the corner next to the Post Office is now an Italian restaurant, Avanti. Valentinos has flourished for many years just a few paces away and I heard a rumour that Avanti arose from a rift in the team owning/running Valentinos. Sibling rivalry I heard, though I have absolutely no hard evidence for this, so it's probably best to ignore me.

Somerfield survived the arrival of Tesco, in fact it retaliated by going upmarket with a new deli counter. But after a few months they ditched it. So apparently we aren't up-market enough to warrant one! And also on the down side, the Victoria Wine shop that shut down several years ago is still empty, which baffles me as it is a prime location.

However, the lovely Blue Corn organic shop is doing well and we drop in from time to time to have a cup of tea and a snack with the kids. The owners are friendly and Oliver has charmed them as well as some of the regulars.

The biggest talking point around here was whether the much-loved (but not so well visted) Savoy cinema would be bought and redeveloped as a 300-seater Wetherspoons pub. To the relief of most, this application was rejected by the local council.

We seem to have a wealth of hairdressers around here. Not sure why. The little women's clothing outlet on the corner of Grosvenor Road has closed down and been replaced by another very swish looking salon. Maybe I should be pleased. "Heaton Moor: hairdressing centre of the universe". Then again...

So there it is. I'm pretty sure I've painted a bizarre picture of our little area, but that's what springs to mind. Regardless of how it may sound, it is a great little place to live for a whole bunch of reasons I haven't mentioned, mostly to do with the parks, playgroups, churches, etc. that we visit with the kids. A year after moving here, we are very happy with our decision.

There is more about Heaton Moor at HeatonMoor.com.