Rochdale Needs Jobs

Posted By: William Hobhouse
Date Posted: 03/06/2009

Why has the recession hit Rochdale Borough hardest in all of Greater Manchester?

Rochdale, like Oldham, Bury and Bolton are industrial towns. They’re built on the back of textiles and the industrial revolution. This is Rochdale’s history.

My working life is in manufacturing, and that’s why I’m in Rochdale. When I set up my business, I started at Fieldhouse Industrial Estate. This estate was part of Brights, a big local industrial textile company. In 1981, it was bought by Mr Whitaker (Mr Trafford Centre, Mr Wind Farm, Peel Holdings….), closed down, and the land and assets stripped. That was the end of one large local manufacturing employer.

In the late 90s, Peel sold the Industrial Estate. Rents soared. I moved my business. In fact, my business has been dogged by out-of-town landlords trying to maximise their profit for years and years, squeezing as much money as possible out of local businesses.

If my experience is shared, Rochdale has moved over a 30 year period from being an industrial town to being a town dominated by property interests. Following this trend, for the last decade the Council has produced strategic plans deploring the borough’s over-reliance on manufacturing. The Council has also sold out its strategic interests, for example Rochdale Market, to private investors.

The Council needs to think its long term strategy. Rochdale needs jobs. The Council should encourage not discourage manufacturing jobs, even low cost manufacturing. It’s the Council’s job to create the right climate for employment. Why should all these jobs go to China?