Councillor Phil Burke appeals for Rochdale/Oldham Metrolink line to go to Piccadilly
Date published: 18 November 2016
Town Centre Metrolink stop
Councillor Phil Burke appealed at last week's TfGM meeting for the Rochdale/Oldham Metrolink line to go to Piccadilly.
Rochdale Online reported earlier this week that a TfGM decision meant Rochdale passengers still won't have a direct link to Piccadilly station.
Councillor Burke said: "Oldham and Rochdale Councils are campaigning for the Oldham/Rochdale line to go to Piccadilly, but this is not being supported by the officers.
"There are a lot of warm words throughout Greater Manchester at the moment in support of Oldham/Rochdale/Tameside demands for more investment and priority given to our area to promote growth and redress the economic imbalance that exists across Greater Manchester.
"This is one of the first opportunities to match the words with deeds, and TfGM has failed.
"We should link Oldham and Rochdale with a direct tram route to the most important transport hub in the city region. This will give us an important edge and an incentive for businesses to invest here.
"Officers will argue there isn't the demand compared to other areas, but that's precisely the point we are making. We will never be able to match the demand from more prosperous areas such as Bury and Media City so we will always be at the back of the queue when decisions like these are made, compounding our economic woes.
"They will also argue that when trams temporarily ran through Piccadilly to Ashton, when the city centre crossing was closed, most people got off at Market Street. That's not the point. A direct link to Piccadilly now will promote economic growth in the north of Greater Manchester which will create future demand. Without the link now it will make the prospect of future growth so much harder. In short, we have to invest in the future prospects for Rochdale and Oldham more than other more prosperous areas.
"The decision making model is wrong. We should prioritise areas like Oldham and Rochdale to help us accelerate economic growth."
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