All the latest news on The Rock Development from the Bury Times

Thousands mark The Rock opening

THOUSANDS of people helped celebrate Bury's enviabe "boom town" status at the launch of the massive £350 million Rock development.

They turned out in force to witness a veritable carnival atmosphere as the countdown to the official opening of the development began. Huge queues formed outside a number of shops, most notably Primark, before the official 11am opening time.

Waiting crows were entertained by Reborn, a Taiko group, who performed a Japanese drumming ritual to call people to The Rock. And as the 11am launch time drew nearer, a procession of more than 180 children, led by stiltwalkers, took part in a Beat Parade march in a show of civic pride.

Addressing the crowds, Rock centre director Mr David Laycock said: "This is a great day for Bury. The launch of the Rock will catapult the town into one of the North West's leading fashion hotspots.

"This stunning scheme heralds a new era for Bury, bringing a fantastic line up of retailers, restaurants and leisure brands. We are incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve together with and for Bury and all the hard work hart has gone into creating the Rock."

The thousands of visitors took part in the 10, 9..countdown to herald the 11am official opening.

This was the signal for the Rock stores to open their doors. A massive queue stretching more than 100 yards had formed outside Primark and there were also eager shoppers outside Marks and Spencer and Debenhams.

A number of dignitaries attended the ceremony including Councillor Bob Bibby, leader of Bury Council and the mayor, Cllr John Byrne.

Despite the heavy rain, shoppers wasted no time in visiting many of the new stores who were already assured of brisk business on their opening day.