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New centre of excellence

17/ 1/2008

THE future is looking bright for a Rochdale business centre.

The Unique Enterprise Centre, in Belfield Road, Hamer, is going from strength to strength and helping to provide a more positive outlook for young people in the area.

The not-for-profit organisation opened less than two months ago and it’s already providing specialist training and business advice to dozens of adults.

The project has been promoted by Rochdale Borough Economic Partnership and backed by partners, including Rochdale Development Agency, Kashmir Youth Project and Rochdale Council.

Shabir Khan, senior business adviser at the centre, said: "Things are progressing and we’re doing very well even though we only opened recently.

"We provide lots of services from nursery day care provisions to business advice and support. We’re giving computer skills training to young adults and we hope that this could lead to new job opportunities for them when they’ve finished their courses.

"We’re already looking at developing a more extensive programme for the people who use the centre but it is something new for the Rochdale area.

"We’re hoping that we can do even better over the forthcoming months."

The former cotton mill was officially re-opened in December by Andy Burnham, the chief secretary to the treasury and he hopes that the development could kickstart Rochdale’s fortunes.

The centre is also home to the Kashmir Youth Project and the redevelopment of the mill could play a leading role in encouraging the wider regeneration of the area.