Is the grass really greener?

Reporter: Karen Doherty
Date online: 16 August 2010

MANY Oldhamers are looking at Bury’s swish new shopping and leisure complex with envy. Reporter Karen Doherty and photographer Darren Robinson took a trip along the motorway to see if the grass really is greener on the other side.

The £350 million project on The Rock has been billed as the single biggest development in Bury’s history.

It is the largest development of its type to open in the country this year and smashed expectations by pulling in 172,000 visitors in its first three days.

And boy does it have the wow factor!

The Rock has been described as a slice of Manchester with its sleek glass and trendy eateries — think of the area around Selfridges or the newest Arndale extension in the city.

It ups the ante to create a serious rival to Manchester and the Trafford Centre, positioned a mile from the motorway and on the Metrolink line.

There are 60 shops, including Marks & Spencer, Debenhams, Primark and H&M.

But it is not just retail therapy. The Rock also boasts a 10-screen Vue cinema, a 24-lane bowling alley, restaurants and cafes to attract families and make sure Bury is busy long after the stores close.

Add to that 408 apartments which are a short hop away from the town’s new 24-hour NHS centre.

People have said that the town will never be the same again and Bury Council chief executive Mark Sanders agrees: “It is absolutely stunning. It has transformed Bury from being an also-ran into the major player in Manchester.

“It is not just a retail centre. You can shop and visit a whole range of attractions in Bury. There are the cafes and restaurants, the bowling alley, the cinema, the family attractions.”

Extension

The project has not happened overnight or been all plain sailing. Long-identified as a possible town centre extension, Bury Council has worked with developers since 2002. The proposals went through many changes and initial planning permission was given in 2004. Original developers Thornfield Ventures went bust in January, but fears that the credit crunch would halt the project were unfounded when developer Hammerson was appointed to complete the work.

The Rock opened on schedule on July 16, transforming a run-down corner of Bury that was badly in need of investment. Mr Sanders, a former assistant chief executive at Oldham Council, believes developers were attracted by its potential: the opportunity to bring in new brand names and leisure attractions, and Bury’s proximity to the city centre.

Another factor in Bury’s success is Metrolink: the line to the city centre was the first to open, in 1992. The town is also easy to reach by the motorway and buses, with two million potential customers within a 10 to 12-mile radius, including affluent shoppers.

“Most importantly there is Bury Market which brings in 12 to 13 million visitors itself a year,” added Mr Sanders, who is credited with having a key influence in ensuring The Rock went ahead.

If a market’s success can be judged on the number of film crews who visit it, then Bury is hard to beat attracting everyone from The Hairy Bikers to fashion guru Gok Wan.

Its popularity cannot be underestimated with coach loads of tourists visiting each week. It was Market of the Year 2009 and named the Best Food Market by the BBC.

“The key to the market’s success was the improvement we put in 12 years ago. The design at the time was pretty advanced. It was based on a good understanding of what people do and how they want to shop,” said Mr Sanders.

“Through our market managers we have also encouraged stall holders not just to look at their existing customers, but at potential new customers.”

The Rock is part of a wider vision to make Bury a place to work, live and play. A place where people can visit for an afternoon, a weekend or longer, while local residents don’t have to go out of town for decent shops and leisure facilities. The idea was to link everything together, rather than make “pepper pot” improvements.

Other new developments include a new £3.7 million Fusiliers Museum, and a refurbished Transport Museum situated opposite the popular East Lancs Railway.

A 110-bed central hotel is under construction and new commercial buildings have opened, are under way or planned, creating hundreds of jobs.

David Laycock, centre manager of The Rock, acknowledges the development’s mini-Manchester comparison, but stressed that it was very much part of Bury with its compact town centre and history.

He believes that it complements what is already on offer: the covered Mill Gate shopping centre, the market, the retail parks and independent shops.

“The footfall in the Mill Gate too has gone through the roof. The passage through from The Rock to the market is like a motorway of people,” explained Mr Laycock.

“We all benefit from bringing people into Bury. It is like sending blood round the body, all the organs benefit. It makes no sense to operate in isolation.

“The important thing about The Rock is that it is adding to an established and already successful town. We have now got the total retail offer in Bury.”