We should build on festival success

ROCHDALE council are committed to the building of a £100m retail complex.

The town has two existing shopping centres one of which is partially empty.

With the success of the Literary and Feelgood festivals shouldn’t the council look to build on this advatage and promote the town as a music and arts destination?

Maybe music and cultural events do not attract the investment that is required for such an ambitious retail project as Riverside but is there a place for a new shopping centre with its vast car parking requirements in a small town that has attempted to build on its architectural and historical connections?

Salford and Liverpool have exploited their ●●Reader Phil Lawrence says the council should take advantage of events like the Rochdale Feel Good Festival to revive the town heritage without destroying it.

Glossop has a new retail park with a branch of Next.

It hasn’t become a shopper’s magnet.

Rochdale’s festivals have been an outright success and this town has much more to offer.

Fresh thinking and new ideas could incorporate the town’s assets before this administration turns it into another faceless suburb of Manchester with empty retail space. Phil Lawrence

SEARCHING FOR WAR MEMORIES

TESTIMONY Films, an award-winning TV documentary company are keen to speak to men and women in Britain who have memories of the First World War for a new BBC4 documentary series, ‘Britain’s Great War: The People’s Story’.

The series will feature the childhood stories of centenarians who still vividly remember family life at the time, alongside archive footage and testimonies from those who fought.

We are especially interested in talking to those who may have lost a loved one at the front or who remember the air raids, the food shortages and the patriotic spirit of the time.

If you -or someone you know- have childhood stories of the Great War, we’d love to hear from you.

Please email, call or write to Emily Sivyer, mail@testimonyfilms. com, 0117 925 8589, Testimony Films, 12 Great George Street, Bristol, BS1 5RH Emily Sivyer