Blooming great volunteers show borough at its best
THE last month has seen a number of success stories, once again showcasing our borough at its very best.
I was proud that we swept the board again at this year’s North West in
Bloom awards, gaining a very impressive 25 gold awards - five more than the previous year.
It was wonderful to see Middleton, Heywood, Rochdale and Pennines townships all winning gold awards across various categories. I know how much time, effort and commitment goes into making our towns, parks and green spaces look so magnificent.
I was particularly pleased to see Middleton gain gold for ‘town centre’ and ‘small city’, with Jubilee Park taking a gold in ‘small park’ and a Royal Horticultural Society discretionary award.
It was the same across the borough, with gold award after gold award, with Heywood having a particularly successful haul of awards, along with the added kudos of winning best ‘town centre’ in the North West.
Our borough has once again been recognised as the green, clean community we pride ourselves on.
This is thanks to our first-class teams, who work alongside dedicated In Bloom volunteer groups and local businesses who we must credit for their outstanding contributions to each township that make our community such a great place to live, work and socialise.
A huge thanks go to every person who has made this a bumper year of awards, proving that by working together, we can achieve great things.
● Thousands of people across our borough, many of them older and vulnerable, rely on high quality, accessible, public transport to go about their daily lives. For the rail network, that should mean guards on trains, staff at stations and maintaining ticket offices.
Along with countless others, I was outraged at the government’s proposal to close ticket offices.
The proposals would have meant the closure of Littleborough’s office and a reduced service at Rochdale. At a local level, we swung into action and passed a council motion in July calling on the government to scrap these unnecessary proposals.
Therefore, I was delighted at this week’s U-turn confirming no ticket offices would now be closed.
It’s a victory, not only for common sense but the huge campaign to maintain these vital services, which are at the very heart of what an accessible, modern rail network, should be with the interests of passengers the priority.
● We know that being able to use the internet is becoming increasingly important and digital exclusion is a driver of inequality, with many people needing to access websites to apply for jobs, search for better deals on their energy bills and much more.
That’s why we teamed up with partners, including the NHS, to stage a fantastic digital inclusion event aimed at helping people get online and make more of the internet.
The free event took place at Number One Riverside in Rochdale last Saturday.
● I am pleased to share the recent announcement of a major new six day festival accompanying the official long awaited re-opening of Rochdale Town Hall in March 2024.
Rochdale Borough Festival of Ideas will run from Monday, March 4 to Saturday, March 9, and whilst the line-up is yet to be confirmed, what I can say is expect a feast of visual arts, music, electrifying live performances, interactive installations and lots more, as originality and imagination is celebrated.
The magnificent Rochdale Town Hall will be one of a host of festival venues across the borough and we want this festival to further raise the profile and reputation of the borough across the UK arts, culture and events scene.
● As the countdown to Christmas begins, I am pleased that events to switch on Christmas lights will be taking place in our borough.
The festive period is a time to bring people together and these events are always popular, particularly with young families.
Details are:
Rochdale Town Hall – Sunday, November 26,
5.30pm.
As well as the switch-on the new ‘Ignite’ Fire Festival will transform the gardens opposite Rochdale Town Hall from Saturday, November 25 to Sunday, November 26, with two free night-time events from 4pm to 8pm each evening.
Heywood town centre - Saturday, November 18, 3pm to 5.30pm, organised by Heywood Business Group.
Middleton town centre - Saturday, November 18, 2pm to 7pm organised by Middleton Township.
Littleborough town centre - Saturday, November 25, 4pm to 6pm, organised by LEAF.
● Finally, on Sunday, November 12, the borough will come together to pay its respects to the fallen at Remembrance Sunday services.
Without the selfless dedication and sacrifices of our Armed Forces, the freedoms we value – but all too often take for granted – would have been lost. It will, as always, be a poignant moment when the borough falls silent.
Details of Remembrance services across the borough can be found at rochdale.gov.uk/events. Lest We Forget.