ANDY Burnham has seen for himself what Staybridge has to offer and what can be made of it – now he believes it is time to make more of the town.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester opened the programme for what will happen while it is the region’s Town of Culture for 2022.
And speaking exclusively to The Correspondent, he can see opportunities and potential waiting to be developed.
“I’ve always been a massive fan of Stalybridge,” he said. “I know it well and I can’t think of anywhere better to be our second Town of Culture.
“It’s a place people love already but it’s still got more to give, I think.
“This year is about saying, ‘Right, the spotlight’s on. Let’s see what you’ve got, Stalybridge.’
“You feel a really good vibe around the town these days. Even on a wet Friday in March, we had a great atmosphere just for the Town of Culture launch. That’s something that’s precious, not every town has that but Stalybridge has.
“There’s a bit of a buzz around the place. There’s the location, with the hills behind, it’s the centre – Stalybridge has it all really.
“All the ingredients are there, they just need to come together and the point of the Town of Culture is to make that buzz bigger.
“We gave the award as we see there’s more to give and more to be done. It’s about that opportunity and shining in that spotlight.
“I’ll be saying to everyone in Greater Manchester, ‘Get yourselves over here. Come and see it and experience what it’s got to offer.’”
Mr Burnham’s contribution to Stalybridge is often criticised, with many wondering what happened after Town Centre Challenge scheme was launched.
But as well as the £50,000 grant for being named Town of Culture, Historic England has granted £1.27 million, which will be match-funded by Tameside Council, for the town’s Heritage Action Zone.
He also opened the latest stage of the Ashton Old Baths development while launching the Mayoral Development Zone which, if funding is secured, will see the transformation of Ashton town centre, St Petersfield and Ashton Moss.
And Hyde is currently in the process of setting up a High Street Task Force team to tackle issues in that area.
A public transport overhaul after an attempt to block a plan to take ownership of the bus system and operate a franchise scheme was thrown out will also see maximum adult fares of £2 and children paying no more than £1.
Currently, it costs more than £2 to travel by bus from Stalybridge town centre to Carrbrook.
Among the events under the Town of Culture banner are things to get children involved between June and September, with things like theatre, dance, film-making and arts and crafts.
July, August and September will see a series of talks, walks, theatre and music detailing things like Hannah Mitchell joining the suffragette movement and Jack Judge writing the song It’s A Long Way To Tipperary under the ‘Astounding Inventions In Stalybridge’ slogan.
September will also see local yarn bombers given the chance to knit and crochet creations linked to the town and its surroundings.
Street Fest, the Whit Friday Brass Band Contest and the returning Beer Festival, which takes place on September 16 and 17, also form part of the program.
After hearing Dukinfield/Stalybridge Councillor Leanne Feeley make reference to an alleged comment by Hollywood star Richard Gere after he filmed Yanks in the town, Mr Burnham promised: “When we come back here at the end of this I can just see a bunch of T-shirts saying, ‘We proved Richard Gere wrong.’
“You’ve got so much to offer and you couldn’t have a better location, it’s so beautiful and I know there’s going to be amazing things happening here.
“It’s going to be the place to be. This year we’re celebrating as Greater Manchester comes back from the pandemic and celebrating this town with all the spotlight on it.
“This is the time to make real change, so much more will come from this and that’s what we intend to do.
“Let’s just make it a really good year, a year to remember that we can all look back on as a really good memory.”
I think it would be helpful to the community to have Traffic Light system for Andy Burnham.
GREEN: Andy Burnham will not be in your area and it will be safe to go out and about your business as normal without any risk of meeting him.
AMBER: Andy Burnham may be passing through your area or may be in your area but engaged in activities with a low likelihood of the general public having to encounter him. Exercise caution and only go out if strictly necessary.
RED: Andy Burnham is out meeting with the community and the general public and posing for pictures; extremely high risk of meting Andy Burnham, residents are advise to remain indoors, close the curtains and not to answer the door until the risk has passed.