Town Centre Management Column

Members of the Rochdale Exchange team are presented with their Golden Green Apple award for waste management.

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On Friday and Saturday 17 and 18 April in the Rochdale Exchange you can find out all you need to know about how to keep yourself in really good shape.

Their free information and advice will include:

Blood pressure testing
One to one advice from NHS Health trainers on diet and healthy lifestyle
BMI testing
Smoking cessation
Lung function testing
Cardio vascular advice

As well as dealing with the serious side of things, there will be lots of fun activities for you to enjoy:

Try walking the straight line whilst wearing ‘beer goggles’
Free mini manicures
Dancing from The Academy
Sample healthy foods and smoothies
Have a go at Hula hooping and skipping
Free goody bags
Free prize draw to win a fantastic fruit filled hamper

The event will run from 10am until 3pm on both days so make sure you don’t miss out on finding out how to love yourself and have yourself a great time whilst you’re at it.

For further information please contact Margaret Cigna on 01706 764961 or email margaret@rochdaleexchange.co.uk

The Oxfam shop on Baillie Street needs your support. They are in desperate need of good quality books.

Oxfam is one of the oldest shops in the town centre, opening in the 1960s as a second-hand store which eventually changed to a book store in 2001.

Did you know that for every £1 spent in Oxfam, 83p goes straight to Charities abroad? That’s what I call charitable support!

They also stock a fantastic selections of vinyls, cds and videos, so pick up a bargain while you are down there dropping off your books.

The Rochdale Feel Good Festival will be returning again in July 2009, with fantastic entertainment happening throughout the town centre. This year the event will be a Rochdale Township event, with support from Rochdale Town Centre Management and Link4Life.

There will be a food market, celebrity chefs, live music and much much more. There will be many opportunities for local businesses to get involved in the event and to make the town a vibrant and exciting place. The Feel Good Festival is just what we need during the current climate to lift everyone’s spirits and help our town centre traders. Watch this space for more details or phone us on 01706 926676.

The Rochdale Exchange has been presented with a Gold Green Apple Retail Award in recognition of their environmental project - Waste Minimisation.

The trophy was presented to Centre Manager Lorenzo O'Reilly by top botanist and TV personality Professor David Bellamy OBE and Warren Edmondson of Nettoyer Media, aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh.

The Green Apple Awards for Retail and Wholesale are a new awards scheme from The Green Organisation, who have been recognising and rewarding environmental best practise for 16 years.

The judge commented: "All too often cost cutting leads to compromising ideals and ambitions. Time and again this has shown to be detrimental to long-term savings. Rochdale never took the risk. An ambitious programme of waste reduction measures with considerable investment in time and money has led to savings in the first year. These savings will continue and improve as the systems stabilise and their experience grows, and the benefits shared with their clients through reduced overheads."

The award winning project was one of hundreds put before the judges, and to get this recognition is a great credit to the team at the Rochdale Exchange.

National Organiser Roger Wolens commented: "Organisations that go the extra mile and become Green Heroes are demonstrating a serious commitment to the world around them. They invest in a better future for us all and deserve to be recognised for their efforts."

Business rates were set to rise by 5% from 1 April, however Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, made a last minute u-turn and decided to raise them by 2%, with the 3% balance smoothed out over the next two years.

Although 2% is still going to cause businesses with limited cash flows to struggle, it's a little bit of good news for Rochdale town centre traders.

However the relief will not be automatic and only available from August at the earliest.

The original announcement of the 5% rise angered business leaders who argued that imposing the full rates rise during a recession would cause many smaller businesses to close.

Ladies Only Ltd on St Mary’s Gate now give you cut-price deals on hairdressing in the town centre.

Hair By Lisa is situated amongst the charm of original stone flag floors and wooden beams. Coupled with the friendly staff this makes for a wonderful relaxed atmosphere to pamper yourself.

Lisa has over 15 years experience and whether you have a cut, colour or perm you will get the VIP treatment. Lisa uses only the best ‘Bed Head’ hair products and is an approved GHD stockist.

And lastly please don’t forget to check www.rochdaletowncentre.co.uk on a regular basis for news and events. You can also contact Town Centre Management through the site.