Year of achievement and more to follow as 2020 vision takes shape, Lots of meetings - says Allen Brett, Leader of the Council

Allen Brett, Leader of the Council

​As I reflect on my first anniversary as leader of the council, I do so with a sense of pride about our achievements over the last 12 months. Working together, we have invested in towns and communities across the borough to make them even better places to live and work in.

Our success stories include:

• Continuing regeneration of Rochdale town centre
• A record-breaking haul of 'In Bloom' awards across our excellent townships (including our first ever gold medal at the biggest and most prestigious horticultural competition in the country, Britain in Bloom)
• National awards for our council apprenticeship scheme
• Feel Good Festival that drew record crowds
• Cracking half marathon
• Brilliant Literature and Ideas Festival
• The opening of a fantastic new dementia facility
• One of the best library services in the north
• The decision by the BBC to use our famous Rochdale Town Hall bells on a 6pm Christmas Eve news broadcast

We also managed to hang on to our Marks & Spencer store while many of its sites are closing across the country. I'm told that the company re-affirmed its commitment to the new Rochdale Riverside development and reversed its earlier decision to pull out after top bosses from the retailer made a secret visit to Rochdale and were blown away by the progress we have made in transforming our centre.

We also made a £750,000 cash injection in a new Rochdale Market Foodhall and Café and, thanks to a multi-million pound council and Heritage Lottery Fund investment, we completed the townscape heritage initiative in Middleton. In a further boost we also moved a step closer to creating new employment space and transport links off junction 19 of the M62. That is a year of achievements to be a proud of.

Too many people can be quick to knock our borough. Let's not lose sight of the bigger picture; there are people here that are really feeling the effects of austerity and our ability to help them is being severely diminished by the relentless cuts inflicted upon us by government. But despite being entombed in an iron maiden of fiscal constraint and wrapped in a spending straight jacket our borough, thanks to some really excellent work being done at the council, is showing real signs of economic progress and is well and truly open for business.

Figures from the ONS (Office of National Statistics) show that there are now 8255 enterprises in the borough, up from 6685 last year. Our borough also had the biggest increase in new homes being built of any other place in Greater Manchester. If there is one sign that shows a place is doing well, it's the number of new homes being built.

But now is not the time to stand still. The next 12 months will bring many new challenges, but also new opportunities to build on our many recent successes. As leader I am determined to continue the positive work I have started. There is much to look forward to. The town centre regeneration scheme will be a step closer to completion, Dippy the Dinosaur is on the way, more investment in roads, a continued campaign to get a lasting funding settlement for social care, the expansion of our apprentice scheme, exciting events and festivals and much more.

And, if one thing underlined our civic pride it was our commemorations for the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. The borough really came together, across the generations, to pay its respects. That sense of community spirit and togetherness is why I am proud to be leader of the council and I want all communities to continue to unite together around our shared Rochdalian values of cooperation, tolerance, equality and dignity.

As we look back with pride over the last year, let's continue our work together to build a borough we can all be proud of. Season's greetings and best wishes for 2019 to all.