Wetherspoons hits Didsbury

It’s official: Wetherspoons is finally coming to Didsbury. After years of trying to muscle its way into the village, the largest pub chain in the UK will take up residence on the Pitcher and Piano site on School Lane.

Its arrival will create a South Manchester triangle of Wetherspoons that includes Chorlton's Sedge Lynn and the Lloyds No.1 Bar in Fallowfield. It will also mark the end of a debate between the pub giant and Didsbury residents that has been going on for years. When Wetherspoons previously showed an interest in the former Clocktower site, local people vented their less-than-kind views on the ‘disastrous effects’ that it would have on their community. Fast-forward to this week, and the response could be described as tepid, even a little warm.

The official mouthpiece of the villagers, Didsbury Civic Society, said nonchalantly, “At the moment, we’re not concerned. Wetherspoons usually run good pubs, so there aren’t any real problems.” None whatsoever? “Well, that could change, we shall see when it arrives.”

A more enthused resident, Richard Nash, said, “I’ll definitely go and have a beer when it opens, they tend to have a good selection of real ales. The only trouble is, being a Wetherspoons, it’ll attract the riff-raff.”

The ‘riff-raff’ element seems to stem from the cheap prices. With lager from £1.80 and cask ales from £1.60, the pub chain has become synonymous with a certain ‘type’ of clientèle, namely the ones who want to get tanked at a fraction of the cost.

But Didsbury has been attracting a certain ‘type’ at weekends for several years now, with fights and sirens a normal state of affairs. One local pub landlord stated, “Wetherspoons will attract what it attracts, but I don’t think there'll be an increase in trouble. More likely, the trouble will just move round the corner, rather than it all being on Wilmslow Road.”

Most people agree that Wetherspoons does tend to run good pubs, unlike other pub chains in the village, which regularly turn a blind-eye to ASBO-worthy behaviour. “It’s about how comfortable a customer feels and it all depends on how strong the management is,” said the landlord.

So, what can Didsbury expect from the arrival of Spoonies? Apart from ‘groovy loos’ – they’ve won at every national 'Loo of the Year' awards event – the pub chain spends on average £1.4m on each pub conversion.

The PR man for Wetherspoons said, “The Didsbury site is most likely to be a Wetherspoons pub and not a Lloyds No.1 Bar.” Which means no music or plasma screens (that'll surely thwart some unsavoury dance moves from the ‘tired and emotional’ drinkers). Either way, he continues, “Pitcher and Piano is definitely becoming a Wetherspoons.”

There we have it; Didsbury is set to become the home of the 753rd JD Wetherspoon free house. While many pubs in Manchester, and nationally, are on their knees, the rapid expansion of Wetherspoons is bucking the trend. The company has seen takings grow by 1.2 per cent in the last year.

With an extra £250m set to be invested in the opening of 250 pubs nationwide in the next five years, it was only a matter of time before Didsbury housed its very own Spoonies, and it's surely only a matter of time before one opens near you.