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Rochdale Town Centre Management Column - August 2010

Posted on 09/08/2010

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It’s an exciting few months coming up in Rochdale town centre, with plenty of activities going on. You’ll be able to choose from a range of events such as Rochdale Feel Good Festival, Tour of Britain, Peace Parade, Heritage Weekend, and the Rochdale Exchange Ball. In our monthly Town Centre Management column we bring you the latest news from the town centre.

Feel Good Festival latest news

The Rochdale Feel Good Festival is now only a couple of weeks away and the excitement is building!

On 10 July the Battle of the Bands competition took place in East on South Parade. Seven local unsigned bands battled it out before a packed crowd in hope of winning the chance to appear as the opening musical act for the Feel Good Festival main stage on 14 August. Winners, ‘Dead Kestrels’ stormed to victory with what the judges described as an ‘assured and confident performance’ and will be playing on the same stage as the likes of The Lightning Seeds, The Herbaliser, The Travelling Bands and Kirsty Almeida. Second place went to ‘The Mysterons’ with ‘Red or Black’ taking third position. Both runner-up’s with play in the town’s indoor venues during the summer Festival.

Another Feel Good Festival warm-up was held at Heywood Civic Centre on 17 July with singing sensation Catherine Tyldesley and acclaimed soul vocalist Larry Edwards as the guest stars for a special Motown evening. The night was a great success and Catherine will also be appearing at the Feel Good Festival. Kym Marsh (aka Michelle Ryan from Corrie!) also made a guest appearance on 24 July at the Wheatsheaf Library and the ‘Feel Good Fashion Show’ staged in the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre. Town Centre fashions were displayed on the catwalk, with outfits from the likes of 25 Ten Boutique, New Look, Solo, Chantilly, Denis Hope, and Peacocks.

The Feel Good Festival will run over Friday 13 and Saturday 14 August in Rochdale and feature a celebrity Food Tent (including Gino D’Acampo) sponsored by Love Food Hate Waste, top musical acts, street theatre, a quality food market, and much much more. To see the full programme of Festival events, go to www.rochdale.gov.uk/events. To get the latest Feel Good Festival news, you can also follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/feelgoodfestival

Retail News

On Friday 16 July, the new shopping and leisure destination in Bury officially opened its doors. The Rock offers a range of flagship retailers alongside restaurants, a bowling alley, and a cinema complex. This mixed-use development may bring an additional challenge to the Rochdale trade, but Rochdale retail continues to develop and grow and customers continue to Shop Local.

Advancements in Rochdale retail include a bigger and better River Island store offering both ladies and menswear in the Exchange Shopping Centre, which itself recently received a Green Apple Award from The Green Organisation in recognition of their environmental Car Park Energy project.

We also have some new and exciting stores such as fashion store ‘101 Boutique’ and milkshake bar ‘2 Shakes’, which offers freshly made milkshakes in over 100 flavours (!) including a selection of chocolate, sweet, biscuit, cake, and health shakes. There’s also a range of milkshake toppings including Space Dust, Smarties and Strawberry sauce, yum! Advancements have been made in our existing stores too, earlier this month John Peers Hairdressers (which has been a Rochdale feature for 23 years!) was featured in BBC programme Mary Queen of Shops as retail guru Mary Portas visited John’s salon and helped him to revamp the shop and deliver a new range of affordable and stylish ‘Fashion Hair’ cuts and styles.

The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre has also been very busy with ‘The 50 Mile Megahike’, ‘The Table Football World Cup’, and ‘Ladies Only on the Malls’. A big congratulations to The Wheatsheaf Wanderers who rose over £1600 for the local charity MedEquipforkids by taking part in the impressive Megahike journey. In total the team walked over 90 miles combined! The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre also welcomed Kym Marsh and held the ‘Feel Good Festival Summer Fashion Show’. The Centre will be starting a new ‘Bonnie Baby’ competition at the end of July.

Car Boot Sales

There are only four more Town Centre Car Boot Sales on the Town Hall Square left this year – so make sure you’re there! If you wish to sell goods on the Car Boot Sales, the costs are £12 per car and £20 per van. We suggest you arrive between 6.30 and 7.00am to get a spot. The upcoming dates are: Sunday 22 August, Monday 30 August, Sunday 26 September. If you require any further information visit www.rochdaletowncentre.co.uk/car-boot-sales or call us at Town Centre Management on 01706 926676.

And now the latest business news:

Ladies Only Ltd

Pioneering gym Ladies Only Ltd will soon be launching a new system to help people to easily monitor their daily calorie intake using a new application on their mobile phone or PC. It's no secret that nutrition plays a huge part in athletic performance, and the same guidelines can help the average person to count their calorie and nutrient intake in order to achieve long-term weight loss. For a one-off fee, Ladies Only Ltd will measure an individual’s weight and body fat on a monthly basis, even if they are not a member of Ladies Only Ltd. This data will be supplied to an off-site Sports Rehabilitator Daniel Rothwell BSc (Hons), who will produce a spreadsheet which can be stored and updated on a PC or mobile phone. The spreadsheet will show how many calories that individual should consume daily to lose weight at about 1lb per week. The user can input data after each meal or drink and the application will immediately calculate the remaining calories permitted for that day. For clients who want to measure their nutrients, the system can also monitor proteins, carbohydrates and fat intake. It should help people plan their meals and control their calorie intake even if they live a sedentary lifestyle. If they do exercise, the calories burnt during exercise can also be added in to the system. For anyone serious about sensible long term weight loss, this is a really convenient round the clock way of controlling diet.

Gregory Couzens

Greg Couzens from the Gregory Couzens salon on The Walk spent time cutting hair in the Town Hall to raise money for the C.V.S. (Community Voluntary Service). Two of the volunteers were previous mayors, Councilor Keith Swift and Deputy Leader of the council Ashley Dearnley. Greg commented, “It caused quite a stir within the Town Hall and the response was tremendous, so much that I have pledged to do it again, all the money raised will go to the C.V.S. and the total will be matched by central Government - doubling the amount. The C.V.S. achieve so much within the Borough and I wanted to help”

Fitness First

Fitness First has heavily invested back into its Rochdale club after being at the Sandbrook Park for over ten years. Fitness First has rejuvenated and revolutionized the whole fitness programme ensuring that members and new members get the results that they want through a fantastic Body First programme quarantining results within eight weeks and best of all getting their money back for the service. At Fitness First they believe that money motivates and that by having a financial attachment of completing 20 sessions in eight weeks will motivate customers to exercise. The club has just under gone a major refurbishment programme under the direction of ex Walt Disney World employee and new General Manager Richard McGrory. As an external to the Fitness First Company he has been brought in to rejuvenate the world’s number 1 Fitness Club brand and lead it to a new direction at the Rochdale club. The club has received state of the art new resistance equipment, showers and changing facilities; new air conditioning, lighting, plasma TV’s and decoration all complimenting the club. Richard McGrory states that “The core of the business is people. You can have the greatest facilities and the fanciest equipment but it takes people and staff to make the fitness journey an enjoyable one. Richard says that the club is a hub of the community, suitable to meet the requirements of the local and surround areas. The introduction of the multi million pound international star guest system which was rolled out over the world identifies members that need the support and extra encouragement to achieve the desired results. Richard McGrory is excited about the changes that are being implemented across the company and is excited to be a part of the new Fitness First era here in Rochdale.

Dorothy Perkins

Dorothy Perkins, 52-53 Yorkshire Street, is giving a fabulous 10% discount to all NHS employees on production of valid ID. Other great offers in-store also include the Summer Sale offering up to 70% off, 2 pairs of jeans for £25.00, and 3 tops for just £12.00. Sizes 6-22 are available.

Butterworth Brothers Jewellers
Butterworth Brothers are taking part in a ladies evening at the Renault car dealership in Oldham on Thursday August 26th from 6pm to 8pm. They shall be showing our tiSento jewellery including a preview of the forthcoming autumn/winter collection.

Oak Property Associates

‘Oak Property Associates’ opens its doors on Drake Street as a brand new property renting and selling concept. To celebrate their launch they’re offering their first 100 customers the ability to sell a house from only £99 and to let a house from just £199.

Hearty August at Shelly B’s Café

The August monthly offer at Shelly B’s Café: any plain Salad, Tuna Mayo, Egg Mayo, or Cheese Barm is available for only £1.00! Great food, great value.

25 Ten Boutique
Young fashion indie in Rochdale, 25 Ten Boutique, is collaborating with local fashion and textile students at Hopwood Hall College with a view to designing and producing a small collection for Spring 2011 to be showcased at Pure in London in February next year. Pure is a trade fashion event for womenswear, with over £100 million worth of buying done by retailers either at the show or as a direct visit. Annette Houghton of Hopwood Hall college said “we are absolutely delighted to be working with local boutique, 25 Ten, on this collaborative project which is an exciting venture for our fashion and textile students.” Manchester Fashion Network will also be tracking and reporting on the exciting collaboration.

Stay in touch!

For the latest news from Rochdale Town Centre Management, visit our website: www.rochdaletowncentre.co.uk, or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rochdaletowncentre and www.facebook.com/feelgoodfestival. Rochdale Town Centre Management has also exploded onto the Twitter scene, with over 400 followers to-date. Join the conversation on Twitter @RochdaleTown for the latest news and events from Rochdale Town Centre including the latest business info, retail, arts, leisure, and community news: www.twitter.com/rochdaletown.