Our Street Pastors team has been patrolling in Manchester’s Piccadilly area since mid-2011, listening, caring and helping. An estimated 100,000 visit the city centre every weekend. Most do so safely, but there are incidents and accidents, which are often preventable. Street Pastors, together with teams of Street Angels and Village Angels, have been recognised as making a significant contribution to ensuring the welfare of people on the streets of Manchester at night.
Where we work
Our patrols operate in part of the city centre of Manchester, in an area taking in…
- Piccadilly Gardens, and the streets around it, including London Road down to Piccadilly Railway Station.
- The Northern Quarter, including Oldham Street, Stevenson Square, Withy Grove and the Printworks.
Piccadilly Gardens is a place where people come and go, many passing through, though some linger and, sad to say, some live here. It is a known meeting place for grooming of vulnerable young people, and a location for dealing in drugs such as spice. Street Pastors are known and respected in this space and can enter into a crowd talking to passers-by or engaging with people in the gardens, at the bus and tram stops, and chatting with door supervisors who have become friends. Conversations here can often include directions to buses and stops, hotels and shops, night life and late night bars. The Printworks area has lots of clubs and other venues and is often a hive of activity which can sometimes become a hotspot. Street Pastors are here to help people in need which is particularly helpful at the end of the night from 2:30am onwards.
