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Rally to pile on more Metrolink pressure

Dave Appleton
27/ 8/2004

ROCHDALE'S mass rally to get Metrolink back on track is to be held on The Butts on Friday 10 September.

The open area, which will be able to accommodate hundreds of people, is probably the best venue as the Town Hall Square, formerly used for open air demonstrations, is not considered suitable given its current use as a car park.

The Rochdale rally will be held in tandem with another in Oldham, as both towns stand to lose out most if the Metrolink doesn't go ahead, given the amount of investment and regeneration depending on it.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive is now putting the final touches to a series of campaigns designed to persuade the Government to reinstate funding for Metrolink.

A key part of this strategy will be a number of fringe meetings at the various party political conferences this autumn.

The GMPTE team, backed by the Passenger Transport Authority, will be lobbying at the TUC Congress on 15 September, the Liberal Democrats' conference on 22 September, the Labour party conference on 29 September and the Conservative party conference on 6 October.

A spokeswoman for the GMPTE said the main thrust would be made at the Labour party conference in Brighton. Insiders have said transport secretary Alistair Darling, who announced the decision to axe the £520M extension of the system to South Manchester and Ashton-unbder-Lyne as well as Rochdale and Oldham, has been taken aback by the volume of protests so far.

But at all the meetings, candidates and MPs would be invited to speak.

She said plans for a mass lobby in London were continuing and details would be announced in due course.

Published 27 August 2004