A DENTON man aims to bring a food hall to his home town in one of its most prominent locations.
Joshua Berry has taken on the building that runs along the side of the Civic Square.
And ‘Hatters Square’ – which would feature Hatters Food and Drink Hall – would see the current block extended with a rooftop bar put on.
The property developer, who runs Berry Projects, has purchased the area, which contains 10,000 square feet of commercial shops and a couple of vacant units.
And he has claimed: “Coming soon, it will be a 14,000 square feet food hall, rivalling Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool’s finest.”
Documents supporting the planning application also state: “The proposal will include the redevelopment of the three retail units at ground floor, the gym at first floor and the extension, firstly, of the rear flat roof element and then the flat roof area of the entire existing second floor roof footprint.
“Hatters Square hopes to begin creating lifestyle offerings that revive the town centre high street for local people and attract a new demographic to ‘Live, Work and Play.’”
Mr Berry, who says his latest purchase is ‘a big one (for me)’ detailed his aspirations for the building, which contains the Crown Point Tavern.
The 33-year-old, who is also a director at Helping Hands Houses, said: “I really think people are leaving the city centres in exodus and flocking to the suburbs.
“People use to be obsessed with money and cars, that was the dream. Now, people are obsessed with spare time, more space and less commuting.
“I think it’s the only time in history where people aspire to move to lower value areas to get more for their money.
“People just don’t want to live in mahogany boxes in the sky anymore and pay double the price for half the square footage, especially when commuting isn’t as important.
“This building will serve as a benchmark for the future of Denton, bringing city centre style dining and atmosphere to this forgotten suburb.”
Mr Berry says he is working with regeneration specialist Daniel Renoso-Urmston on the scheme.
And he said: “A real buzz around our latest project in Greater Manchester. Proper regeneration.”
Designs are still being drawn up befire a planning application I submitted to Tameside Council.