As another SK6 resident I’m very disappointed to hear you think Marple is in decline, Mark. It’s not perfect, and certainly there are a few empty shops, but your perception of the last 3 years is completely at odds with mine. You seem to be suggesting that when you arrived in the town all the shops were occupied and it’s been steadily down hill ever since. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you’d visited Market Street 3 years ago you would have found the top end, near the Pineapple, was virtually derelict. Nearly every shop beyond Howard’s Men’s Wear was closed and boarded up. In less than 3 years this end of the street has been totally revitalised and now every premises has a business of some kind occupying it. Derby Way has also recovered in similar fashion following the failure of several shops in the last few years.
In the same period on Stockport Road near the Post Office there was a shop that was a total disgrace. It was a real eyesore and featured regularly in the letters page of local papers. Today it is a thriving tanning shop, not everyone’s cup of tea, but a major improvement nonetheless.
I accept that the closure of Hanbury’s is a bit of a set back, but if the rumours I hear are true, this will not be a problem for long and could be an improvement. That area of course has had a major face-lift since you moved here with the new paved area on the Hollins. It is also true that there are a number of empty premises near the cinema (how many towns the size of Marple have their own cinema?) but these have been empty for more than three years.
Now, as far as your comments about nightlife and entertainment are concerned, well it’s not Manchester, but to state that The Edge (a new restaurant opened within the last year, so hardly a demonstration of decline! ) Murillo’s and the Crown are the only places to go is ridiculous. It's also interesting to note that it was the retirement of a solicitor which freed up the premises now occupied by The Edge, one of your favorite places! We have many other good places to eat out. The Kineray is as good as any curry house in Rusholme and the Marple House just a few doors away is an excellent Chinese Restaurant. We have a fine Italian in La Romantica and many of our local pubs do very good value food. If you’re a meat eater, give the Lane Ends a try and you won’t be able to fault value for money. The Ringer’s, the George at Compstall, the Hare and Hounds (Dooley Lane and Mill Brow) and the Romper, to name just a few, all do very acceptable food and good beer too.
Incidentally, I would hazard a guess that you wouldn’t have used the Jolly or the Bowler in the last three years, even if you’d been able to. If they had been thriving businesses competing with the places you find acceptable, they wouldn’t have closed.
If you’re pining for some real late nightlife, then Kelly’s nightclub is just on your doorstep. If it keeps my two sprogs  (18 and 20) happy, then it must be pretty good, although I’d prefer a night in Mellor cemetery myself!
Maybe I have simple tastes, but I find I don’t need to go out of Marple for anything except work and I’d do something about that if I could!
