Tidiest shop title is axed

DISAPPOINTED Deana Harrison, manager of the Tan Shop, with the plaque she had made after learning the contest to find Hollinwood’s tidiest shop would not take place this year.

Award winner Deana lashes council

A SHOP manager has spoken of her disappointment after council officials scrapped a community competition because of lack of funds.

The Tan Shop, in Hollins Road, won the Tidiest Shop in Hollinwood award 2008, a competition run by the previous Hollinwood Community Council.

Keen to defend the title, the shop called the council to inquire when this year’s heats would be held.

However, manager Deana Harrison was stunned to be told that officers could not afford to run the competition this year.

She said: “We were informed that the scheme would not be running in 2009 because of insufficient funds, and the cost of a new brass plaque was considerable.

“We offered to sponsor the cost of a plaque regardless of who won as a way of giving something back to the community.

“But we were then told that the cost of answering calls from the voting public would be excessive.

“And we were finally informed that the only reason the award was created in the first place was to try and justify the millions spent on the area as part of regeneration.”

The shop manager has now had her own plaque created, which states that they are still retaining titleholders until another business takes the award from them.

Mrs Harrison, who said she only received £10,000 to regenerate her stretch of the Hollinwood corridor, said: “God knows where the rest of the money went.

“Perhaps they should have saved some of it for future award schemes.”

Councillor Rod Blyth, cabinet member for people and communities, said: “This was a very worthwhile competition that was originally run by the former Hollinwood Area Committee, however, and the issue here is that the structure of local committees, and crucially their funding, has since undergone fundamental changes.

“The original money from the Single Regeneration Budget used for that competition is no longer available.

“When setting up the new district partnerships, it was crucial to us that local people should be empowered and have greater input into deciding how best they use the funding that their area receives.”

Councillor Blyth said Ms Harrison should urge local councillors to reinstate the competition with their personal budget or attend the next Failsworth and Hollinwood PACT meeting on December 7 to argue for area funding.