Rochdale Civic Society Awards 2005

The annual Rochdale Civic Society Awards 2005

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The ever-popular, annual Rochdale Civic Society Awards Evening took place on Monday 24th October. The event, held at Rochdale Town Hall, rewards local contributions to the improvement of buildings and the general environment of Rochdale.

The Mayor of Rochdale, Ashley Dearnley, and MP Paul Rowen were both in attendance.  The Mayor took great pride in handing out the awards and during his speech he commended the winners on a job well done. He said he “appreciated acknowledging buildings that make a difference.” Paul Rowen’s speech was similarly enjoyable as he took up his new role as President of the Civic Society.

Chairman, Dorothy Greaves, commented on the achievements of the Civic Society in her speech and made special mention of the successes of the Heritage Weekend. She said, “We’ve had another successful year, the Heritage weekend went very well, we had 27 venues open, one new one being the Sewage Works, it has taken about 3 years to bring this about.” The Mayor also allured to the success of the Heritage Weekend in his speech.

Dorothy went on to talk of the work of the Civic Society, in particular the work of Planning Officer, Cyril Winterbottom, who has been a prominent representative in the raging debates over the Turners Asbestos Site. She then spoke of the efforts of one particular member who has followed up her concern over the derelict buildings on the edge of the town centre that are sadly used by drug addicts and alcoholics and the society hopes that there will soon be a solution that can aid these unfortunate people.

On with the awards and the first of these was a plaque given to Beva-Hurstwood, the company responsible for the restoration of the Rochdale Post Office on the Esplanade. Locals have clearly been appreciative of the movement of the Counter Service back to its original site, and they now find themselves walking into a building that fits in with the splendour of the nearby Town Hall and Cenotaph.

Next to be recognised was Dixon’s Funeral Home after their move to the site of the old United Reform Church from their previous building on Exeter Street. The new construction is similar to their former premises and the Society saw fit to reward the Funeral Home in recognition of their new building, as well as reflecting on the qualities of the old one. Abigail Palmer was clearly delighted to receive the award and she said that this reflected the mood of all the staff at the Funeral Home.

The third award of the evening was given to a perhaps unlikely candidate in Greg Couzen’s Hairdressers, which can be found in the Walk off Yorkshire Street. Greg received the award himself and was praised for his sterling efforts in improving the frontage and, especially, the inside of his popular hairdressers.

With five awards still to go it proved to be a busy evening as Reverend Lynn Connelly stepped up to receive a certificate in appreciation of the quality of the grounds at St. Clement’s  Church. The building has always been impressive but it is the efforts that are involved with the upkeep of the grounds that caught the judges’ eyes. The gardens are pleasing to the eye for both church goers and passers by and it is particularly pleasing to note that all of the work is done voluntarily under the guidance of the Church gardener. Indeed this award meant that the grounds have now been honoured on two separate occasions after gaining first place in the ‘Rochdale in Bloom’ competition.

Rochdale’s oldest park was next to gain an award. Broadfield Park has undergone great changes and restoration in the last few years and this combines well to form the beautiful landscape of a park with great historic interest. Martin Hathaway spoke at length of the achievements in erecting the new bandstand for which the Park gained this award. Dorothy Greaves said in her speech, “We were delighted to attend the unveiling of the new Bandstand at Broadfield Park, progress at last. It is always a great pleasure to look for projects for our awards evening.”

Newhey Memorial Site then received a plaque praising a site that shows the history of Newhey with regard to the number of Textile Mills and the preservation of the mill engine at Ellenroad. The efforts of Councillor Keith Swift, amongst others, in gaining a grant from the Design Initiative Fund are there for all to see at a site that was previously a patch of land that seemed to specialise in collecting litter. The Ellenroad engine house warrants particular praise as its upkeep enables the biggest working steam mill engine in the world to continue to function.

The penultimate award went to Holyrood Nursery who had three representatives present at the awards ceremony. Their chain of nurseries was praised for making use of an existing building when they converted the United Reform Church on Heywood Road. The improvements to the building have brought an element of re-generation to an area that was in need of a face-lift.

Finally, Ashfield Valley School received the Eddie Hilton Award for the community effort involved in creating the cheerful environment of the school’s playing area. Children, parents and teachers have been involved for many years in planting trees, flowers and shrubs and their efforts now provide an area that the children can all enjoy. Both adults and children came up with the ideas whilst the Community Association helped by painting the walls.

Those that attended the evening were reminded that the people of Rochdale have a lot to be proud of with the town’s beautiful buildings and wide ranging history. The efforts of local people means the environment of the town continues to go from strength to strength, something that this awards evening was successful in highlighting.

If you would like to join Rochdale Civic Society contact Revd D Finney, 01706 646272 or email: davidfinney@ntlworld.com

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