The Leader of Council’s weekly round-up
Date published: 15 August 2017
Councillor Richard Farnell, leader of Rochdale Borough Council
Feeling good... about Rockerdale!
The weekend’s fantastic Feel Good Festival drew in the crowds, with over 11,000 people joining in the music and food festivities. It was the best Feel Good yet.
Public events like these are important to portray a positive image for the borough and bring in much needed spend for the local economy.
You can see the extensive coverage of the event on Rochdale Online at:
Also have a look at this excellent write-up at:
Having pride in Rochdale
Talking about the importance of events – I received some excellent news last week. Rochdale is to host a Gay Pride event next year. Everyone is aware of the Pride events that are now popular up and down the country. Manchester city centre was one of the first to hold the annual parade; starting from humble beginnings to the mammoth occasion it is today.
Similar events have popped all over the place. Only Rochdale among all the ten authorities in Greater Manchester does not have an annual event. That is now being put right as we have had approaches from the organisers of other Pride events that they are very interested in staging an event in the borough - and about time too.
£15m cultural boost
The Government has announced a £15m Northern Cultural Regeneration Fund to promote creative, tech and cultural industries in the region.
It forms part of its legacy brief for the forthcoming Great Exhibition of the North. Towns and cities will be able to bid for a share of the cash, which can be used for projects such as tech start-up centres, or renovating live music venues.
Rochdale Council officers are working up ideas for schemes that could qualify for funding.
We are unequal even in death
Northerners’ risk of death before the age of 75 is 20% higher than those in the south, with economic and social factors given as the reason
Life savers
Kind-hearted Council staff are using their lunch breaks to learn how to perform life-saving Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Twenty-four took part in the first 'Roch Defibs' lunchtime learning session on Tuesday to learn how to perform CPR and defibrillation on cardiac arrest sufferers.
Well done to all who took part.
It is a cultured place
Rochdale would really benefit from a café culture in the town centre. I am convinced once the ongoing development is complete we will enjoy a night-time renaissance. A big part of that is the need for cafes, bars and other eateries where people can stop and relax.
Major high-street restaurants will be attracted to the new shopping and leisure development Riverside.
The renaissance is already under way with premises that have just opened such as Bar Cuba, Plume cafe and the extensive refurbishment of the Wellington Hotel. Others about to open are another wine bar in The Butts and a bar and restaurant in the old post office.
Add these exciting developments to the recent additions and old favourites such as The Flying Horse and San Remo and you can see that we are going in the right direction.
Give it a year or so and there will be no need to visit the French Riviera when you have got Rochdale town centre and the Roch on your doorstep
You have been warned
Council staff had to warn local retailers this week after two were caught selling alcohol to two 15-year-olds during an undercover mystery shop.
The pair helped the council's public protection service conduct the two-day exercise by attempting to buy alcohol from 21 shops across the borough.
Depressingly both the Rochdale-based shops sold the volunteers bottles of alcoholic mix without asking for photographic ID to prove their age.
We will be keeping an eye on them.
We must act now before it is too late
The number of children being treated for type two diabetes has risen sharply – up 14% nationwide.
That is why Rochdale Council's public health campaign to tackle childhood obesity is so important.
Close the taxi borders
Rochdale Council is supporting a nationwide campaign for a change in the law to prevent taxi driver licences being issued in one borough and then they work almost exclusively in another area. We have had lots of problems here with this loophole and it makes it doubly difficult to monitor and control passenger safety and safeguarding issues. I have written to the Minister of State John Hayes requesting government action.
Free up your home
Rochdale Council is encouraging parents to protect their children from the harm of second-hand smoke by making their homes smoke-free.
Second-hand smoke has been linked to around 165,000 new cases of disease among children in the UK each year It can also cause more serious long-term damage; doubling the chances of developing asthma and increasing the risk of lung cancer or heart disease by around 25%.
For advice and support to stop smoking, contact the stop smoking service on 01706 751190.
Residents prove to be a keen green team
Green-fingered residents have proven gardening is right up their alley during this year's Alleyways in Bloom competition.
This year saw double the flower power as joint winners were crowned because judges could not decide between them.
Dropped in for a cuppa
I took time out this week to visit a Kirkholt couple in their new home.
Kevin Clancy and Susan Ashcroft were happy to show me and Danny Meredith around their flat, opposite the Strand. The new complex, built by RBH, provides 11 specially adapted flats for the over 55s.
There is building work going on right across the borough. We need new homes more than ever and this is just the start.
Business is booming
More new businesses are being created in Manchester than London, according to research by UHY Hacker Young. Manchester creates 79 new businesses per 10,000 population, compared to 64 new businesses per 10,000 population in London, and easily beating the UK average of 50 new businesses per 10,000 population.
And finally... happy 70th birthday
Thanks to all those members of the public and councillors who turned up on Monday to join the Mayor, Mayoress and MP Tony Lloyd in raising the Pakistani flag to commemorate the country’s 70th Anniversary of Independence. Moreover, it was also an opportunity to celebrate the huge contribution people of Pakistani heritage make to the public, cultural, economic and religious life of our proud multi-cultural borough.
Councillor Richard Farnell
Leader of the Council
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