Your Local Independent 202

Page 2 December 2025 AD SALES 01204 478812 No part of this publication may be used or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure that the articles and advertisements that are carried are authentic, however the publisher accepts no responsibility for claims made. © Investors in Publishing Ltd 2025. This newspaper is published monthly by Investors in Publishing, Publishing House, 3 Bridgebank Industrial Estate, Taylor Street, Horwich, Bolton BL6 7PD. Tel. 01204 478812 EDITOR: Ged Henderson ged@hendersonnewsandmedia.com ADVERTISING : JayneMeadowcroft 01204 478812 or 07703 045189 jayne@independentnewspapers.co.uk CLASSIFIEDS : Teresa Bond 01204 478812 teresa@independentnewspapers.co.uk CONTACT US Clamping down on illegal trading AWINTER crime blitz is underway in Roch- dale as police teams come together to sup- port a Home Office- led campaign. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is sup- porting the ‘Winter of Action’ as part of its crime-busting Operation North Star which began in November. It follows GMP’s Safe- 4Summer work, which sawmultiple crime-types tackled across the board earlier this year. That operation saw shoplifting and theft reduced by 20 per cent, street crime down by 11 per cent, and serious vio- lent crime down by eight per cent. North Star will concentrate on retail crime, anti-social behav- iour, violence against women and girls, and the night-time economy. Assistant Chief Con- stable Matt Boyle said: “Through our ongoing Operation North Star, our local policing teams will be supporting the Home Office’s Winter of Action campaign, and utilise all of the resources we have at our disposal to provide the best pos- sible service to keep the people of Greater Man- chester safe. “The Winter period is a time for families and friends to come together and enjoy themselves without the risk of hav- ing issues from those who SPADES are now in the ground to build the first major development in Atom Valley – a unique innovation cluster with the potential to create up to 20,000 new jobs. The new Sustainable Materials and Manufac- turing Centre (SMMC) on Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale is set to become a thriving hub of innovation. It will be a place where start-ups and emerging companies can pioneer new tech- nologies and scale up their ambitions, cre- ating jobs and driv- ing growth across the Greater Manchester. Once completed it will offer 30,000 sq ft of new laboratory space, work- shops and design stu- dios, as well as a lecture theatre, meeting rooms, office space, and flexible workspace for start-ups. Construction is expected to be completed by next summer and work is underway to secure funding and agree next steps for the site to be occupied. At a ground-breaking ceremony the mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham hailed the start of work as a major milestone in the journey to making Atom Valley a ‘dynamic mega-cluster of research and innovation’, creating new jobs across Roch- dale, Bury and Oldham. He said: “With the right investment, this centre will become a major springboard to growth for companies innovating right here in Greater Manchester, and a new jewel in the crown of UK plc. “It will help unleash the untapped potential of the world-leading research taking place across our city region, bridging that crucial gap from invention to bring- ing those new innova- tions to the market. look to cause harm and anti-social behaviour. “It is those people that can expect a knock on the door from us, whether it’s a polite word of advice or a new pair of handcuffs for Christmas, we sim- ply won’t tolerate crime or anti-social behaviour in our communities.” Kate Green, deputy mayor of Greater Man- chester, said: “Everyone deserves to feel secure in their neighbourhoods or when out and about, especially during the festive season.” Bolton West MP Phil Brickell has also wel- comed the initiative. He said: “Residents across Bolton West are fed up with rising crime on their high streets, and they’re demanding action. “The Winter of Action marks a clear shift: more police patrols, faster crackdowns on offenders, and genuine support for shopkeepers who’ve been left to cope with the fallout. A tougher stance on money laundering is also vital. Cutting off the financial lifelines of criminal groups makes it far harder for them to operate — and sends a blunt message that crime won’t pay.” Police launch winter of action The mighty Atom grows Groundbreaking: The ceremony to get work on the SMMC underway (Photo credit: Rochdale Development Agency) A CRACKDOWN on illegal trading in Rochdale has led to six store clo- sures in sixmonths. Following a successful applica- tion to Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court by Rochdale’s trading standards team, three more shops have received closure orders for illegally trading goods. World of Shisha in Rochdale, and Green Shop and Darnhill Discount Store, both in Heywood, received the orders following a court hearing inNovember. The council’s application was supported by its housing stand- ards service, counter fraud team, community safety service, and GreaterManchester Police. In a statement after the hearing the council said the shops had been operating as ‘fronts’ for the illegal trade of harmful goods. The court heard how all three had repeatedly sold illegal tobacco, despite writ- tenwarnings. The council says it is nowbuilding on this success by stepping up its operations to target landlords, who have a responsibility to ensure any activity within their property is law- ful and to take action if it isn’t. Tricia Ayrton, the council’s dep- uty leader and cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “The council’s trading stand- ards team is continuing to prove that they can work quickly and effectively to clamp down on illegal trading of harmful goods. “But it doesn’t stop there – they are alsobeingproactive in targeting thelandlordswholettheseactivities take place on their own doorsteps. “We are already compiling evi- dence for other shops in our sights. This should act as a clear warning to anyone who thinks they can act above the law on our high streets: our team will find you and action will be delivered swiftly.” MAKING THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS ● Continued from page one “And it will create a new hi-tech corridor from the out to the north of Greater Manchester, cre- ating jobs and new oppor- tunities for start-ups to scale up their ambitions. Atom Valley is one of Greater Manchester’s pioneering Mayoral Development Zones ( MDZs) – a reas where devolved pow- ers are being used to drive investment. The transport strategy is split into short-term (within five years), medium-term (five to 20 years) and long-term (over 20 years). The short termwill involve quick fixes such as bus routes and walk- ing pathways established into the Northern Gateway site. Identifying the initial reliance on car trips for commuters, capac- ity improvements to the Pilsworth Road/Moss Hall Road Junction (north) and M66 junction three are planned. In the medium term there will be a move away from car usage, with high-quality east-west cycle routes to be provide, linking with homes and longer distance routes across Atom Valley. The connections across the AtomValley area would be estab- lished through a new Metrolink tram extension to Middleton and further afield after two decades of development. A tram-train spur from Northern Gateway has also been touted. Council papers read: “The Northern Gateway represents an opportunity for the whole city-re- gion to bring forward development at a scale which can drive the transformational change we want to see across the conurbation. “This Northern Gateway Transport Framework provides a clear and ambitious vision for supporting this in a sustainable way, which will benefit residents and businesses. “The successful realisation of this vision now depends on a focussed effort to refine the programme and delivery arrangements.” Rochdale’s town hall chiefs officially endorsed the Northern Gateway Transport Framework and the social value plan at their November meeting. Transport for Greater Manches- ter’s Bee Network Committee have approved £5.7million to progress with the next phase of work on the Oldham-Rochdale-Heywood-Bury Tram-Train ‘pathfinder’ scheme to connect Atom Valley. A spokesperson said; “The fund- ing will enable TfGM to progress plans for the tram-train route, as well as explore options to improve the tram fleet. Work will identify new ‘next generation’ vehicles for the existing Metrolink network as well as similar models that can also run on rail infrastruc- ture too.”