Welcome to Manchester’s most Instagrammable street: Influencers and directors flock to be pictured and filmed on street lined with Victorian council homes
- Anita Street in Ancoats, Manchester, has been called the ‘most Instagrammable street’ in the city
- Residents of the nostalgic 19th century homes say the droves of influencers take getting used to
- Tucked away in the city centre, selfie-hunters, tours and film crews regularly make use of the street
Tucked between high rises, new apartment blocks and trendy bars, a quiet and unchanged street full of Victorian houses in Manchester greets a stream of influencers on a daily basis, who pose outside the homes to take photos for their social media.
Anita Street, in Ancoats, is Manchester’s answer to London’s Notting Hill, attracting selfie-hunters from miles away who want to snap the ‘most Instagrammable street’ in the city.
The houses were built in 1897 on what was then named Sanitary Street, though the ‘s’ and the ‘ry’ were dropped, eventually becoming Anita Street.
The street was originally named ‘Sanitary’ because the homes were first council-owned housing in Manchester to have indoor plumbing and a sewage system.
Nearby George Leigh Street also looks like a ‘Lowry painting’ according to one resident. Both streets host rows of terraced housing in their original condition.
The oasis of nostalgia is apparent for anyone passing, though people who live there can’t get their head around the influx of influencers, walking tours and film crews.
Residents have revealed they feel lucky to live on such a beautiful road but say the attention can be ‘so annoying’.
Recently the homes, which were some of the first council-owned housing in Manchester to have indoor plumbing, were used as a setting to film an advert for Seabrook crisps.
The road has also featured in a cough syrup advert, while the likes of Jeremy Paxman and Victoria Wood have filmed there.
Residents on Manchester’s ‘most Instagrammable street’ (pictured) revealed they can’t get their head around spotting their homes on television all the time
Anita Street is full of picturesque houses from the late 19th century, often drawing lots of attention
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4uobhu1cyQo%3Frel%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26hl%3Den-US
The roads remains a popular area for people to visit to take photos for their Instagram
People who live along the road say the attention the road receives can be ‘annoying’ (pictured: an Instagram post of the street)
Residents say there are often people taking photos and walking tours along the road
On George Leigh Street, 10 of the 18 homes are still council-owned, while half of the 36 properties on Anita Street are run by the local authority.
Teacher Sam Bishop, of George Leigh Street, said: ‘It’s kind of strange, especially when you’re just watching TV.
‘We’ve been here for two years and there are walking tours that go up and down this road which is really surreal. It’s a beautiful place to live. We’ve loved living here for two years.
‘We were lucky to find this, it was on the market for two days and someone took it. The new people move in next month, it’s very hard to find this house. We actually upped our offer when we applied originally just to get it.
‘It’s very special and unique. A lot of people posing for Instagram photos at either end of the street, especially when the blossom is out.
‘I’ve never seen anything too stupid, but people just hang around this street, especially at night time. It’s so annoying.’
Sam, who is set to move out of the street, said the area is plagued by speeding motorists who ‘drive like absolute idiots’.
Sam Bishop, who lives on George Leigh Street said it is a beautiful place to live but that people ‘hang around’ the street
The houses on Anita Street in Ancoats, Manchester, date back to the 1890s
Susan Taylor, who lives on George Leigh Street says the buildings are beautiful but ‘badly maintained’
The houses on the street and nearby George Leigh Street were a significant improvement from the living conditions in the area at the time, each with their own toilet and sink
A few doors down, Susan Taylor reiterated the issues of traffic on the picturesque street and said the houses are ‘badly neglected’.
She said: ‘These are the oldest buildings on the council’s list and they’re badly maintained. The last thing we had done was new windows and doors 14 years ago.
‘The beauty of it was that we were on top of the city centre, but now we’re in it. I wouldn’t walk out at night.
‘It’s a unique street and beautiful, but actually living here is different.
‘Parking and traffic is a big issue. The street is very beautiful and attracts people and filming but from the council, I’d say it’s badly neglected.’
Stepping into Anita Street, you could be walking through history, except for the satellite dishes.
Wayne Jones, a teacher and landscape photographer, stopped on Anita Street to take photos of the street, and explained that he found it to have a sense of nostalgia.
Wayne said: ‘It’s like a folk memory almost, of something that used to be here. When people lived here and worked in the mills.
‘There’s no cars here, this looks like it would have looked like in the 1890s. There’s nostalgia here.
‘It looks like a Lowry painting, I could see kids coming out rolling their hoops.’
Dozens of photos of the houses on the streets can be found on Instagram (pictured)
Warren Donnelly is a contractor working on a house on Anita Street. The entry to the tenements still boasts the original tiling from the late 1800s, and while the entrance would have been a ginnel, the back is now sealed off with a backdoor.
This particular flat was rented out for nearly 10 years before being renovated. Originally, it created a bidding war when put on the market for around £800 a month.
Instead of renting it out, the owner now plans to open it up to be a weekend B&B.
Warren said since working at the property, he’s seen a whole range of people stop by and use the street for entertainment.
Warren said: ‘It was funny, there was a guy with a lad here who had a drone to show the old and the new. It’s a great little area.
‘Everyone’s been good, the guys with the drone, they had a letter explaining. People like it because it’s the last one left.
‘There were people out here on a Sunday morning doing dances and giving it all that. We have tours coming around, little groups of people, there were people giving out gin at the Ancoats Seat.
Anita street attracts lots of people because it is like ‘walking through history’, says one resident
A Manchester City Council spokesperson said: ‘It is unfortunate that some drivers fail to take into account the clearly marked signage around this street and fail to comply with the one-way system. However, extra signage and markings have been added to reinforce the rules of the road.’
In response to the maintenance of homes on George Leigh Street, a council spokesperson said: ‘We have received two requests for maintenance from the resident on George Leigh Street in the last two years that were subsequently completed.
‘We also haven’t received a significant number of maintenance requests from other residents on the street – but we will follow up the complaint from the resident to understand more fully the concerns they have about their property.
‘These homes received scheduled investment in 2016/17, which included roof repair works, some chimney and dormer repairs, and maintenance to soffits, fascias, guttering and rainwater pipes.
‘Some windows and doors were also replaced where required with timber to meet the original specifications of the properties in order to comply with planning regulations.’
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