A new partnership of leading Rochdale businesses, including Zen Internet, Tetrosyl and The Casey Group, has joined forces to promote the borough’s growth, which is set to total more than £600m per year, with the creation of 19,000 new jobs.
The partnership was officially launched at an event at Zen Internet’s Rochdale HQ, where Rochdale Council chief executive Steve Rumbelow told business leaders from across the region about the borough’s remarkable growth story.
Steve Rumbelow, Rochdale Council Chief Executive said: “Our future is focused on the whole borough progressing together, improving, working harder, and getting and smarter – everyone has a role to play in doing that. That’s why this event is so critical in bringing the public and private sectors together.”
With over £200 million invested in the area over the past five years, and hundreds of new businesses set up over the past seven years, the borough has gone from strength to strength.
This growth is expected to continue under the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework, which will bring 15,500 new homes, create 19,000 new jobs and increase the borough’s GVA by over £600m per year.
The new partnership of businesses will work in collaboration with the Rochdale Development Agency to further promote the borough and drive additional inward investment, as Rochdale seeks to attract more success stories to join the likes of ASDA, JD Sports, FootAsylum, Eddie Stobart and Argos, who already base operations in the town.
So many industries have thrived in Rochdale because of the low costs available. For example, renting industrial properties in Rochdale can cost as little as £4.50 per square foot, keeping costs down for new and developing businesses. What’s more, Rochdale has the most industrial space in Greater Manchester – almost 30 million square feet – so there is plenty of space for companies to grow.
With a huge regeneration programme currently underway in the town centre, more businesses are expected to invest in the local area in the near future, too.
In addition to offering excellent value for money, Rochdale is also one of the most connected places in the country. More than 9.5 million people currently live within a one-hour drive of Rochdale, and 2.6 million people of working age live within a 45-minute drive.
Being located alongside the M62, and having five Metrolink stations and a train station with direct services to Manchester city centre, means that Rochdale is easily accessible for a huge amount of people in the North West.
Aside from excellent transport links, there is also a wealth of support available to new and growing businesses in Rochdale. Council grants, business-rate reductions, free training schemes, and recruitment services all mean that more and more businesses are seeing Rochdale as an ideal place to grow.
Phil Cornell, KP Industries Managing Director said: “Thanks to the support of Rochdale Development Agency and the Business Growth Hub, we were able to identify how we could be even more successful. Taking their advice on board was directly instrumental in us meeting with one of the world’s leading generator manufacturers.”
Rochdale Development Agency works with public partners, private sector partners, and economic organisations to take action and invest in projects that have a positive impact on Rochdale.
