Mayor’s Column: Councillor Mike Holly

Councillor Mike Holly was sworn in as the Mayor of Rochdale in May 2023.

This column is about the places he has been and the people he met in December 2023.

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After the previous month’s focus on paying respect to our Armed Forces at the various Remembrance events, the focus over the last few weeks has been very much the run-up to Christmas. I attended and switched on the lights in Syke, Middleton and Heywood. By the time of the Littleborough switch-on, the Mayoress had sufficiently recovered from her operation to also attend. It was lovely to do the switch-on with Florence, the winner of the Littleborough Lions competition for young people.

Onwards then to Rochdale. A first glimpse of the inside of the refurbished town hall and a spectacular switch-on with the children’s champions from the Youth Parliament, who had previously met when their elections had been announced at Number One Riverside, Rochdale.

Finally, to my own ward of Norden where I turned on the lights with Father Christmas. It was particularly special for the Mayoress and myself, as some of our grandchildren shared the platform with Father Christmas, the elves and ourselves.

All of the events were very well supported, with extensive crowds despite the inclement weather. The efforts put in by volunteers and the council offices to make these events so successful is greatly appreciated.

We have also attended a number of Christmas fairs: Jolly Josh, Springhill Hospice, Rochdale Parish Church of St. Chad’s, where my Civic Chaplain Reverend Anne Gilbert is the vicar, Bamford Chapel and St. Paul’s in my own ward. Each has its own focus but they are all joyous and the volunteers raise much-needed funds for their respective organisations. We have bought some lovely Christmas items at these fairs, won some prizes at the tombolas and raffles and actually formally opened the event in some cases.

But even in these times of celebration, there were two moving events. Firstly we attended the Holodomor 60th Remembrance in the Memorial Gardens where I laid a wreath, together with the borough’s two Members of Parliament, members of the Ukrainian community and other dignitaries, before a moving service in St Chad’s church where the MPs and I spoke of the importance to never forget this genocide. Lest we forget.

Along with Councillor Janet Emsley, I also laid a poppy wreath at Spotland, prior to Rochdale’s game against Aldershot, on behalf of the council, together with the two team managers. This was the first home game after Remembrance Sunday and is a lovely tradition to allow more people to pay their respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Finally on ceremonial matters, I raised the flag for Lancashire Day, after the Proclamations were read out by a local dignitary in both Littleborough and Milnrow.

We have attended many other events in which has been a very busy period. They include:-

• The Rochdale Man of the Year lunch, in support of Springhill Hospice, a very enjoyable event at which I met a number of old friends and acquaintances. Congratulations to this year’s Man of the Year, Wesley Dowd. The award was well earned for his fantastic efforts to raise funds for children’s charities, particularly the Moorland Home.
• A breakfast brainstorming meeting for local businesses in Tetrosyl’s impressive headquarters, organised by Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) to identify their need to develop their businesses in Rochdale, helping to generate an action plan for RDA. I am excited by the stories of these, largely new, businesses and encouraged by the engagement with RDA to assist them.
• A fantastic tour around the new Hampton by Hilton hotel with the Mayoress. Great staff, lovely quality hotel. A great boost for the town.
• In addition, I enjoyed a lovely tour round the Fire Museum. What a fascinating place and our guide, Bob, was incredibly knowledgeable about the history of the fire service. A great asset for Rochdale.

We have also been to a number of events to support particularly vulnerable groups:

• We opened the new premises in Summit, Littleborough at the launch of ‘Young Lives Matter’, providing essential support to teenagers in crisis including those with suicidal thoughts.
• There was an enjoyable visit to Carers’ Rights Day, providing information about the support available to carers at the Lighthouse Project. It was lovely to bump into Carl who set up the Lighthouse Project in Middleton, back when I was a councillor there and was supportive of his efforts.
• We also visited the Army of Kindness and the volunteers who supply a hot meal and other support every Thursday at St. Andrew’s Methodist church. The volunteers there, a lot of them very young, show a truly caring spirit.

There is much more I could report. However, I would like to mention one more thing. I was delighted to be on the council video for the White Ribbon Campaign to end male violence against women. With a wonderful wife, two daughters and two granddaughters, I totally support this campaign. Such violence has no place in this country. As part of the campaign, it was great to attend a 9-a-side football match between BASA, one of my charities, and Rochdale Council which BASA won. I was delighted to present the cup to the winning team.

Onwards to another busy month, as we enjoy the run up to Christmas.