Rochdale Council encouraging shopping in... Radcliffe!

Councillor Greg Couzens

New Year but same old story, the Lib Dem controlled Rochdale Borough Council is again advertising shopping facilities in another town - this time Radcliffe - despite repeatedly promising it would never happen again.

Link4Life, the Council's Leisure Trust, has a full page advert for Radcliffe Market on the back page of its Preview Winter 2010 magazine.

This follows adverts for shopping in other towns in Council and the Leisure Trust publications in June, July and September last year.

The Council has made a big play of supporting local businesses and encouraging shoppers to buy local but the words of Labour Leader Councillor Colin Lambert have, again, been shown to be accurate, he said: "For all the talk and spin that they are doing everything to promote jobs and prosperity in the borough, we have yet another example of putting the borough businesses and jobs last not first."

In June 2009 Rochdale Online revealed that the Council was advertising markets in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge on employee payslips.

At the time, Councillor Greg Couzens said: "It is totally wrong and I will take this up with council officers." 

“Quite clearly the council does not agree that advertising markets outside of the borough is helpful for local businesses and I will personally ensure that once the contract has ceased, the first advert to be in the new payslips will be one encouraging staff to shop local.” 

In July 2009 we revealed that Link4Life was promoting both Bury and Calderdale markets in its Preview Magazine.

Rochdale Council Communications Manager Kate Lindley said: “The council and its partners are committed to supporting residents and local businesses – particularly during the economic downturn ... I will be discussing this issue with colleagues ... to ensure that together we do what we can to ensure we support local business at this time”, and also promised to investigate why the council promise in June had not been kept.

In September 2009, despite the public promise that it would not happen again from the head of the Council Communications Team and the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Councillor Greg Couzens, we revealed that the Council was advertising a cash and carry in Oldham. Councillor Couzens said: "I will investigate and come back with an update as soon as possible."

Commenting on this latest advert for Radcliffe Market, Councillor Couzens said: "I was appalled at adverts on council payslips and promised to get it stopped and did so. This is a seperate publication and I will look into it."

Conservative Group Leader Councillor Ashley Dearnley said: "The question that needs to be asked is ‘has Rochdale Council’s Lib Dem leadership made the decision NOT to allow Link4Life to seek advertising from any organisation that is in competition with local traders?’

"It is no good opposing an issue such as this and hearing the usual Lib Dem message of ‘this won’t happen again’ if decision making and instructions are not being made with the right priorities and clear instructions issued.

"For too long the Council, under the past Lib Dem leadership, has been ambiguous and lacked clear sensible decisions supporting local traders; it is time for a change and I believe working together with the new Lib Dem leader, the Labour leader and myself there is an opportunity to put the interests of the Borough and it’s people first.