'Ghost town' is third worst in the country

Photo: Kirsty Rigg

The former Music Zone store has been empty for some time.

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Rochdale town centre has been branded a ‘ghost town’ as it emerges that nearly a third of shops are closed down.

A worrying survey has revealed the town as the third worst in the country, after the credit crunch bit hard into the shopping scene, leaving many buildings with the shutters permanently down.

Principles became the latest casualty as it closed up for the last time last Saturday, leaving 14 people jobless.

Yorkshire Street, which was once the town’s main shopping street, has suffered the loss of Woolworths, Mark One and Music Zone, to name a few, in the past year.

In the Rochdale Exchange, the old Littlewoods store remains empty, as does JJB.

Patricia Clegg, 60, says she’s saddened to see the shopping streets decline. She said: “I’ve lived in Rochdale all my life and I’m sad to say it has never been like this before.

“It is a ghost town, similar to what happened in Castleton when all the banks closed. There is just nothing here”.

Rochdale MP Paul Rowen has warned his constituents to “use or lose” their local shops.

He said: "Rochdale’s businesses need local residents to shop locally or we could end up seeing more closures over the next few months. This is what I do and we all must do if we want our high street to survive.

"Unfortunately the loss of many high street chains such as Woolworths and MFI has had a huge impact on us here in Rochdale.

“We are worse affected because so many people who live locally are employed in the manufacturing sector and that has been hit hard by the credit crunch.” 

Rochdale Council finance portfolio holder Councillor Greg Couzens said; “At this difficult time it’s vital that local businesses get all the help and support they need.

"As a council we have strived to do this by offering local businesses the opportunity to take advantage of the free services and events that we have held.

"For example, we are currently inviting local businesses to come along to our latest sessions in which we offer advice on a range of topics such as starting a business, becoming self employed and marketing your business using the internet.

“Good advice can be the difference between a business surviving or going under and we realise that it is important that we reach out to those that need our help most.”