BOSSES at Manchester nightclub Sankeys have withdrawn plans to build a new 16,000 capacity standing-only music venue.

Proposals for the £5m hotspot - in a disused Trafford warehouse owned by Manchester United - were pulled, at least temporarily, after a public backlash.

Developers said the project, called Stadium Point, would create around 250 jobs.

But local councillors and residents demanded more information considering the sheer scale of the plans.

David Vincent, director of Stadium Point Ltd and boss at Sankeys club, has withdrawn the licence application and said he now wanted to hold a full public consultation to address concerns.

It emerged last week that plans had been submitted to the council's licensing committee for the live music venue in Trafford Park, near the Imperial War Museum, that could open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The company hoped to fill the venue by bringing in huge acts like Madonna, The Chemical Brothers, and Britney Spears.

The scale of the plans provoked a backlash from residents and councillors in Gorse Hill.

Unacceptable

Councillor David Acton called it 'absolutely unacceptable', and said residents in the area have enough to put up with with match days and events at Manchester United and Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Now Stadium Point Ltd will carry out further consultation with the residents in Gorse Hill and Salford Quays who would have been affected by the development. 

A spokeswoman from Trafford council said: "We can confirm that the application to licence Sankey's Trafford Wharf has been withdrawn so that they can consult further."

Kate Green, Labour parliamentary candidate for Stretford and Urmston, who has led the campaign against the scheme, said: "We are very pleased. I think it is great that they have bgun to realise the strength of feeling on this issue.

"What the residents were asking for all along was more information, so they will need to put a lot more detailed information on the table to reassure people locally."

A pamphlet posted to residents by Stadium Point states that it wants to create a live music venue to rival the MEN Arena 'in the same vein as the London 02'.

Congested

But residents voiced fears about the impact of 16,000 people descending on the area. Sarah Hatton, who lives in Gorse Hill, said: "It is already very congested around there, particularly on match days.

"Myself and my neighbours are also worried about the type of people it could attract into the area, and possibility of noise and anti-social behaviour.

“With this and the Tesco plan at the cricket club, we just feel like we've got things coming at us from all sides."

David Vincent, director of Stadium Point Ltd, said: “"Despite there being only 20 valid objections, we will now be looking at all the objections raised with local residents and find solutions for both the local community and Stadium Point. There will be an extended public consultation to hear concerns raised by local people and their representatives. We want to ensure that all views are heard."