New Year Message - Councillor Allen Brett, Leader Rochdale Borough Council

As I reflect on the past year, my first during my second stint as leader of the council, I do so with a sense of pride about what we have delivered for residents across our communities over the last 12 months.

Working together we have invested in our towns and communities to make them even better places to live and work in.

The success stories include the continued regeneration of Rochdale town centre, a record breaking haul of ‘In Bloom’ awards across our excellent townships, national awards for our apprenticeship scheme, record crowds at the Feel Good Festival, the completion of the Middleton heritage restoration project, the launch of a major regeneration scheme in Heywood that will provide a much-needed new link road, a new dementia facility and one of the best library services in the north.

That is a record we can be proud of.

There was more.

We also managed to hang on to our Marks and Spencer store, despite many of its sites closing across the country. I’m told the reversal came after a bosses from the retailer made a secret visit to Rochdale town centre and were wowed by the changes that we’ve made over the past 10 years. That excellent news was a huge boost for our flagship regeneration scheme.

And in a poignant end to 2018, Rochdale Town Hall’s famous bells rang out across the land when BBC Radio 4 broadcast them live to the nation on Christmas Eve. We were very honoured to have national coverage for our Grade 1 listed building

So yes, it has been a year of progress and delivery but standing still is not an option. We have ambitious plans for 2019, which will see further investment and growth across the borough.

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, festivals and much more. Exciting times.

There are three further points I would like to end my message with.

Firstly, a huge thanks to council staff for their hard work and commitment in delivering services to our residents.

Let no one doubt the extra mile our staff go to help and support people.

This was reflected when the ‘Beast from the East’ hit last March. Staff, volunteers and local residents went out of their way to help stranded motorists and provide food and shelter for some of our most vulnerable residents. It showed our borough at its very best.

Secondly, too many people can be quick to knock us, but let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture.

There are people here that are feeling the effects of national austerity and our ability to help them is being severely diminished by the relentless cuts inflicted upon us by the government. But despite being wrapped in a spending straight jacket our borough is showing signs of economic progress. We are well and truly open for business.

Finally, we must never forget there is more that unites our borough than divides it.

I am proud of our diverse communities, cultural richness, cooperative values and sense of civic pride.

There are challenging times ahead but, working together, we can continue to build a better borough where everyone, irrespective of their age, race and religion, is given the opportunity to flourish and succeed in life.

On that positive note, I wish everyone a very happy and peaceful New Year.