Here's an interesting article from the Manchester Evening News:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/fears-booze-fuelled-revellers-manchester-could-2500172

Time could be called on Manchester’s Gay Village within five years, bars have been warned – as bad behaviour drives trade away.

Bosses are now so worried about crime in the area that a special taskforce has been founded to make it safer.

More CCTV, stricter door policies and tougher licensing restrictions are all being considered as a solution to a surge in late-night drug dealing, disorder and drunken violence. And the town hall’s city centre boss has warned the area must clean up its act soon – or face disappearing for ever.

Coun Pat Karney said: “Late-night drinking has ruined the Village.

“I pioneered the 24-hour city but if the Village doesn’t get its act together it’s got five more years.

“There’s problems with community safety and crime and it’s attracting people it was never intended to.

“It should be quality restaurants, cafes and bars.

“If we just have drinking dens the people with money and the right attitude will stay away and gravitate towards the Northern Quarter. Businesses are cutting their own throats.” A new Village Action Group is now meeting every few weeks to discuss community safety.

Founder and city centre councillor Kev Peel said: “I don’t want to talk the Village down because it’s still a unique space.But it’s important we recognise the problem and what we can do by bringing residents, businesses, the police and council together.

“Enough is enough – we don’t want venues open until eight or nine in the morning and have people stumbling out as everyone else is going to work.

“So we need to get tougher on that, but you also need proper door policies as well, so people aren’t being let in blind drunk.”

Tony Cooper, vice chair of the Village Business Network and part of the new taskforce, said bars were working closely with the council and police.

He added: “Ultimately, any area that’s got licensed premises has got issues.

“Over the last few years, the economy’s tightened and I think there’s been an increase in certain venues doing the lower-end drinks prices.

“But some issues have been highlighted more because we have been spearheading campaigns – a lot of it is an increase in reporting than an increase in crime,” he said.

In the past, many gay people saw the village as a kind of "safe haven" where they could go and be theirselves without fear of homophobes. Recently the whole atmosphere has changed and now it is no longer seen as an exclusively gay area. As the councillor states in the article "it’s attracting people it was never intended to."

What are people's thought's on Canal Street? Do you still visit regularly? It would be interesting to hear what people think about this