Rochdale Town Centre Management supporting business in … Halifax!

Debbie O'Brien, Rochdale Town Centre Management

Rochdale Town Centre Management, in conjunction with Rochdale Borough Council, is working on a “high quality brochure” purporting to help Rochdale businesses, but have enraged local printers by giving the contract to produce the brochure to a company in Halifax.

One local printer, who did not want to be named, said: “We already suffer unfair competition from the council’s own in house team and now the council kick us in the teeth again by giving work to a company in Halifax to produce brochures supposedly to help Rochdale businesses. It is a joke. I am told local printers didn’t even get an opportunity to quote.”

Asked by one of her own management committee to explain the bizarre decision, Debbie O’Brien of Rochdale Town Centre Management said: “I made that decision as a one off as they raised several thousands of pounds for Rochdale Shopmobility last year and I wanted to show them my appreciation although this was never discussed in relation to them carrying out the fundraising.”

Town Centre Management Chairman, Councillor Greg Couzens, said: "Debbie's heart is in the right place, she is working tirelessly to regenerate the town centre. But we should be supporting local businesses and keeping business within the borough."

Leader of the Conservatives locally, Councillor Ashley Dearnley, who is Chairman of Shopmobility, said: "We were not that impressed with the companies fundraising, much of the work still had to be done by Shopmobility, but regardless of that, we should not be giving business like this to companies out of town, we should be supporting local businesses."

Labour leader Councillor Colin Lambert said: "This is a glaring full frontal attack on local printers, which along with the external advertising on this months council pay checks, leaves a bad taste and a loss of confidence in the intentions of the borough leadership, lets support local business first."

Not all town centre businesses are enamoured at the conditions attached to being given a presence in the brochure - traders who wish to advertise in it must be making some sort of offer/discount - the owner of one town centre business, who did not want to be identified for fear of repercussions, said: “We should be promoting the quality of the businesses we have. That we are not is indicative of the lack of business experience of officers responsible for the publication idea. Advertising the town’s independents in this way is further cheapening the town’s image.”