Rochdale’s the place to be for business

Phil Ewbank, chairman of Commercial Contract Engineers and RDA chair who attended the event

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Rochdale is a great place to do business was the key message at an economic forum seminar attended by over 70 of the borough’s business and public sector leaders.

Panellists included John Hudson, Rochdale Development Agency Chief Executive, and representatives from some of the borough’s most successful businesses including Hanson-Springs, Vindon Group and Dunphy Combustion Ltd.

Phil Ewbank, chairman of Commercial Contract Engineers in Rochdale and chair of the Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), commented: “This event showcased the diversity of the successful businesses we have, from internet providers to pharmaceutical testing and high quality engineering firms. It was really encouraging to hear them all say how committed they were to the borough as a good location for their growing businesses.

“Everybody that spoke was enthusiastic about the quality of the local workforce and the great transport links we have as well as the supportive environment provided by the Council and partners such as the RDA.”

Some of the successes shared at the event included the fact that in the past two years over 3m square feet of commercial property transactions have taken place; the borough has been awarded the highest number of Regional Growth Fund grants in the North West to date, with grants totalling almost £9m to support business growth; and some of the largest recent property deals in the region have been in the borough, including the 600,000 sq ft ASDA development and JD Sports’ 830,000sq ft warehouse on Kingsway Business Park.

Mr Ewbank added: “It was great to hear other business people sharing their success stories and speaking about their future in Rochdale with such optimism. Events such as this give confidence to other investors and help ensure that the borough can continue this successful record of new investment and development.”