Feel Good Cafe expansion greeted with anger

Feel Good Cafe

The Feel Good Cafe, on Yorkshire Street, is expanding having taken on the lease of the ground floor vacated by 25 Ten Boutique earlier this year.

However, the news has been greeted with anger by some as Councillor Farooq Ahmed has confirmed that Rochdale Council has used its discretionary powers with regards to business rates and the cafe will not pay a penny in rates on a ground floor that has a rateable value of £30,000.

Paul Turner-Mitchell, proprietor of 25 Ten Boutique, who used to trade from the ground floor of the building, has slammed the decision, he said: "Our rent and rates were approximately £75,000 per annum which sadly, given the demise of the town, no longer made trading in the town centre viable causing us to relocate.

"It is absolutely scandalous that the Council is refusing to discount business rates for retailers, something the Prime Minister urged councils to do only a couple of weeks ago at Prime Minister's Questions, yet waive them for a council funded coffee shop that is in direct competition with other establishments paying their dues and struggling. This is simply not a level playing field."

Franko of Sorrento Coffee Bar on Yorkshire Street agreed, he said: “It’s not fair. We have to pay so why don’t they?”

Debbie Hernon, of Rochdale Town Centre Management, who run the cafe, said: "We want to continue to act as an ambassador for the town and any business is welcome to come and use the space or just tell us all about what they are doing and we can promote and recommend them to our customers.

"We hope by making this investment that we will help to support other businesses in the town by offering our customers a quality choice giving them a reason to come to Rochdale."

Ms Hernon said any money made from the Emporium and cafe will be "used to deliver things within the town centre".

However, this did not assuage the anger of Ian Shaw, until recently the proprietor of 'The Best Cod in Town' on Yorkshire Street, which he was forced to close due to the high cost of business rates making his business unviable. He said: "It is absolutely disgusting. Town Centre Management is supposed to support town centre businesses, not compete against them.

"When I asked the Council to do something about my rates so I could carry on trading they just stonewalled me and passed me off to Town Centre Management - but they were my competition.

"You couldn't make it up, it's a joke."

It is understood that though the building is owned by a private landlord, the Council funded the original conversion of the building, and set up of the cafe, to the tune of tens of thousands, including thousands of pounds on an 'illuminated ceiling' on the first floor, before handing over the cafe to Rochdale Town Centre Management.