A FEW years ago visitors to Radcliffe would have been confronted by derelict and empty shops.

But business is now beginning to boom and six new shops have opened in the last eight weeks. Two more businesses are due to start trading within the next fortnight.

Susan Stockall, chairman of Radcliffe Traders' Association, said: "During the course of the last three years Radcliffe has undergone quite a dramatic change where we have seen businesses close down. We have seen the town at its worst with shops lying vacant and no one willing to invest in the town centre.

"Now when you come into Radcliffe town centre you see a clean, friendly and well catered for shopping precinct.

"Over the past 12 months, vast amounts of money have been invested in Radcliffe. A good example of this is our state of the art CCTV, and, paired with local shops being linked to the CCTV control room via radios, this makes Radcliffe one of the safest places to do your shopping."

She added: "We as traders are now finding the people of Radcliffe are supporting their town more by coming into Radcliffe rather than elsewhere to do their shopping, and we thank them for their support."

Decade

Mrs Stockall herself has been trading in Radcliffe for a decade. She owns Zip Clothing on Deansgate and has been so impressed with the opportunities Radcliffe provides that she has also just opened Zip Kidz on The Piazza which specialises in clothes for girls.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Bury, Coun Wilf Davison and his wife, Maureen, were keen to back the new investments and turned up for the official opening of Zip Kidz and another new shop, Hugs and Kisses, also on The Piazza.

The other new businesses that have recently opened their doors are a discount food shop, a men's hairdressers, a new cafe and a security firm.

They will soon be joined by a ladies hairdressers and a tattooist.

Coun Barry Briggs, chairman of Radcliffe Area Board, said: "We warmly welcome these new shops that have opened in Radcliffe and the modernisation of existing shops. It is a great encouragement for the town that people are seeking to invest and it also underlines the success of the strategy of traders and the council working together to positively promote Radcliffe."