Chill Out Sleep Out date decided

A 'help the homeless' placard

The date for the sleep out outside the Town Hall to protest at cuts in direct access provision of emergency beds for the homeless has now been confirmed as Tuesday 29 May.

The campaign, started on Rochdale Online’s forum, has been gathering pace with lots of support coming from near and far, including councillors from all three main political parties, even members and supporters of the Labour Party, whose council cabinet approved the cuts.

Labour MP Simon Danczuk has yet to publicly back the campaign, and it is understood his right hand man, Matt Baker, in a telephone conversation to one of the Chill Out organisers, explained that Mr Danczuk could not be seen to be opposing his Labour party colleagues on the Council just before the local elections but will back the campaign after the elections.

The organisers of the campaign had hoped that representations made to Rochdale Borough Council would be heard and that emergency provision would be restored, however, to date all such pleas have fallen on deaf ears and hence the sleep out protest will now go ahead.