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Middleton Arena opens to public acclaim

The people of Middleton love their new Arena and that’s official. “Wow”, “incredible” and “fantastic” were the comments of the day as thousands flocked through the doors to take possession of one of the best New Year presents the town has ever seen.

The impressive 25 metre six lane pool was officially Christened by local Olympic heroine, Keri-Anne Payne who added her congratulations to Middleton.

Date published: 06/01/2009

Gun incident plot for Waterloo Road

A gun incident will shape the forthcoming term at Waterloo Road.

The BBC One series, set in a tough Rochdale school and starring former Coronation Street actress Denise Welch, will begin with a 90-minute special in which a shooting takes place at the school.
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Date published: 06/01/2009

Heywood Civic Centre has national star quality

Heywood Civic Centre Managers Graham Duckworth and Brian Johnson receiving their Award, presented by Denise Walsh alongside Councillor Leon Unczur, APSE English Chairman 2008/2009

Staff are celebrating at Heywood Civic Centre after they scooped a national award for public service excellence.

Staff received the good news at the APSE (Association of Public Sector...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Keep warm, keep safe

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is urging everyone to ‘Keep Warm – Keep Safe’, in particular it is asking relatives, friends and neighbours to keep an eye on the elderly as the current cold snap continues.

County Fire Officer, Barry Dixon said: “During this period we would ask that friends and neighbours check on the elderly whenever possible."...

Date published: 06/01/2009

£85,000 community cash available for Rochdale groups

Grant-making organisation The Community Foundation is calling on community and voluntary groups to apply now for the £85,000 still up for grabs in Rochdale from the Government’s Grassroots Fund.

The Fund was set up by the Office for the Third Sector earlier this year to support small voluntary and community groups across the country. Over the next through years the Office...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Officers to receive computers to cut bureaucracy

Greater Manchester Police is being given a share of £25 million funding to reduce police bureaucracy.

The cash injection of £815,000 will allow the force to supply 1,500 officers with handheld computers, which boost the amount of time officers spend on the streets. ...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Masked men steal cash in Heywood armed robbery

Masked men armed with a claw hammer threatened staff during a robbery in Heywood yesterday evening (Monday 5 January).

Three offenders went into Heap Bridge Filling Station on Bury New Road at 8pm and two of them jumped over the counter and demanded cash from the two women working in the store....

Date published: 06/01/2009

Abseilers inspect historic railway viaduct

Specialist abseilers have begun inspecting the arches of an historic railway viaduct which will take a new Metrolink tram line to Rochdale.

Smedley Viaduct near Cheetham Hill in North Manchester opened in 1902 and carried the railway over the River Irk for nearly a century before closing in 1998. ...

Date published: 06/01/2009

£2.2M regeneration grant

The North West Development Agency (NWDA) is to give Rochdale £2.2M for a regeneration scheme to help bring jobs to the town. The money will be spent on buying sites and businesses in and around the Oldham Road area for development.

The scheme is part of Rochdale Development Agency’s Brighter Futures project to regenerate inner Rochdale, including areas of Milkstone,...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Council bids to help jobless Woolworths staff

Hundreds of staff made redundant by Woolworths over the festive period have been receiving employment support from Rochdale Council.

Employment advisors and staff from Jobcentre Plus went into Woolworths’ Castleton depot/customer service centre on 29 December 2008 to talk to around 200 staff who are being made redundant. The workers were given advice about things like...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Secret video surveillance snares fly-tippers

A report in a national newspaper claims Rochdale has used powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to track people illegally dumping their rubbish by secret video surveillance more than any other authority in the country to track rubbish offences.

Out of 25 cases in the borough since 2006, 13 were in Rochdale and six in the Pennines, which covers...

Date published: 06/01/2009

£17m Academy building work set to begin

The contract to construct the £17.6m state-of-the-art 900-place Academy in Middleton is set to begin - building work should start very soon.

Members of Rochdale Council and developers Willmott Dixon signed the contract just before Christmas, and if the project stays on schedule, the combined secondary and post-16 education centre should open in September 2010. ...

Date published: 06/01/2009

Middleton residents urged to have their say

Middleton residents have been invited to ‘have their say’ at the Middleton Township Committee Meeting this Thursday (8 January).

The meeting will be held at the newly opened Middleton Arena for the first time and township manager Janet Watson believes that the meeting presents the perfect opportunity for Middleton residents to have their voices heard....

Date published: 06/01/2009

Middleton man charged with attempted murder

A Middleton man has been charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in Heywood in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Michael Downey, 41, of The Heath, Middleton has been charged after a man and woman were stabbed at a house on Downham Road, Heywood at about 2.50am on Friday 1 January....

Date published: 06/01/2009

Another fire at Spotland mill

Fire crews at the scene as the fire rages at the former Dexine Mill.

For the second time in a week there has been a large blaze at a disused mill in Spotland.

Fire fighters have been at the former Dexine Mill throughout the night (Monday 5 & Tuesday 6...

Date published: 06/01/2009

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