The 40th anniversary of the formation of the Rochdale borough was celebrated this week at the town hall during an event hosted by the Mayor, Councillor Peter Rush. Representatives from Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service and Rochdale Borough Council, all formed in 1974 and celebrating 40 years’ service were present, alongside guests from the community. The evening commenced with a passing out presentation by more than one hundred Rochdale Police Cadets in front of their parents, followed by a parade along the Esplanade in front of the town hall. Inside the great hall guests were treated to live music performances by Lydia from Hey Kids, Mohammed Sawar, who presented a fusion of ‘east meets west’, as well as song and dance routines from Middleton Popstars. Opening the evening, which highlighted the developments, changes and achievements since 1974 the Mayor joked that life begins at 40! He said: “I am extremely proud to be the Mayor of the borough as it reaches its 40th anniversary. Over the last year I have seen the great sense of community spirit here and it has been a pleasure to meet so many people here tonight who work so hard to make the borough a better place.” Local actor, historian and publisher Colin Meredith talked about his life growing up in Rochdale and some of the historical gems in the borough, including the town hall. He was followed by retired Police officer Jon MacMillan, who looked thanked officers past and present for their efforts to uphold the law over the last four decades and talked about some of the changes over the years: “I have never failed to be impressed by the professionalism, dedication and bravery of the people who work for the organisation.” Rochdale’s new Chief Superintendent Chris Sykes took to the stage and said he had already been impressed by what he has seen so far: “Tonight has been a fantastic night in a spectacular building … I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome I have already received and am very much looking forward to working in the borough.” Paul Starling, Borough Commander at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, talked about how the organisation was formed and some of the changes since the 1970s including new fire stations. He mentioned the 1979 Woolworth’s fire in Manchester, the 1985 Manchester Airport disaster and the IRA bomb in 1996. He said fire fighters in Greater Manchester now rescue more people from road traffic collisions than they do from fires, attending more than 800 serious road traffic collisions every year: “The risks we face are forever changing, but we continue to ensure we are fully prepared and have a track record of Community Safety and Fire Fighter Safety that is second to none.” Council Chief Executive Jim Taylor talked about the four distinctive townships of Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and the Pennines, the many successful businesses and the regeneration that has been achieved and is planned: “I am immensely proud to be the Chief Executive here in Rochdale, the birthplace of the co-operative movement. Here alongside my colleagues from the Police and Fire I am pleased to say the spirit of co-operation is alive and well … Rochdale is on the rise!” Council Leader Colin Lambert looked back at his career in teaching before moving into politics and praised the achievements of the boroughs young people, together with the progress made in schools and colleges: “In my role as council leader I often feel very proud and very privileged to be involved in such an inspiring borough, with people showing a ‘can do’ attitude each day. The council has much to reflect on and it is important that we constantly evolve and improve to ensure we are delivering the quality of service to residents that they both want and deserve. Forty years is a major milestone.” Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Jim Battle and young people from the ‘UpRising’ – a local leadership group also addressed the audience during the evening, which concluded with a specially commissioned surprise birthday cake being presented to the Mayor by a duo from Middleton Popstars whilst ‘Happy Birthday’ was played on the town hall organ.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 17:01:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015