Walter Menzies:
On the sixth day

"AND ON THE SIXTH DAY GOD CREATED MANchester" the mosaic on the side of Affleck's Palace reminds us. Afflecks is where Vampire Bunnies, Harpoon Louies, Skinvasion Body Piecing and Vintage 2 Fetish share common ground. Where 40 or so traders, indie stalls, alternative boutiques, purveyors of street fashion, records and all kinds of exotic stuff rub along. Unsuitable for grannies except the more adventurous and those reliving their Madchester youth: Afflecks was established in 1982.

Where? It's a typical five story converted warehouse in Manchester's boho Northern Quarter where Church Street / Dale Street / Oldham Street / Tib Street meet. It's hard to miss its cheery murals and crowds of youths enjoying a smoke outside.

What's so special about the Northern Quarter? If the great urbanist Jane Jacobs were alive today she'd love the Northern Quarter...lively mixture of uses...independent businesses...cafes...bars clubs...music...the ghosts of Madchester flitting down dark back streets... everything that gives Manchester its edge. The Palace is at its heart.

So what's the problem? The lease expired last June. The long-running saga of the negotiations between Bruntwood and proprietor Elaine Walsh has been playing out in public, in the press and media. The cast of characters includes Tom Bloxham, founder of Urban Splash, who started in business selling posters in Affleck's Palace, vociferous city centre councillor Pat Karney and the stallholders.

Not another case of tweedy civic society whingers standing in the way of progress then? Not this time. It's not about the building itself. It's no jewel. Nobody has mentioned bulldozers. It could be converted to flats or offices or retail or a mix with very little visual impact on the townscape. It's about what has become an institution. It's about youth culture. It's all there on the blogs and the online petition with 8,000 signatures and endless plaintive eeeeeeeeeks! Catherine: "without Affleck's Manchester will be just another clone city". Julie: "You can't take Afflecks...I wanted to be thin and work in Topshop before I went to Afflecks...one of the few last places which has a soul in the Northern Quarter". Philip: "It's been part of every teenager's life at one point or another". Liam wails: "Noooooooooooo! Please don't close it! OMG!"

Beauty and the beast? David and Goliath? No. Bruntwood does not fit the stereotypical dark forces of rootless property development trashing cities and quickly moving on to the next atrocity...MEN business of the year in 07...innovative customer service...feted for their contribution to the arts...Chairman Michael Oglesby High Sheriff of Greater Manchester...actively involved in the city and the region...

What's the answer? Nobody knows yet. Negotiations continue. We'll see soon enough whether Affleck's stays as it is, closes or moves upmarket with different types of trader able to pay higher rents.

Does it matter? Yes. It does matter. An important Manchester USP is being cool. There are big questions here: can anything be done to help boho areas on the edge of successful city centres with low rents, independent businesses and edge, cool, chutzpah? Or is clone town Britain unstoppable? A Starbucks on every corner? Everywhere the same? McWorld?

And history tells us...that cities rise and fall. And so do their quarters. Covent Garden was low rent seedy a generation ago. Wealthy Liverpool gentlemen use to live in L8. Ancoats was a suburb. Piccadilly Basin was an entrepot for cotton. The Northern Quarter has not always been a mecca for Goths, students and mac-toting creatives.

Resistance? Prettification and tarting up the public realm with bollards and seats must be resisted. But Bruntwood can't be directed to have left-field tenants. And hang-outs for tomorrow's teen Goths can't be created by the planning system. This is not North Korea. This is Manchester.