Leader of Bury Council Cllr Rishi Shori brings you his latest column, celebrating diverse examples of where business is thriving across the borough

Bury is leaps and bounds ahead of any other district in Greater Manchester when it comes to new companies being launched. A new study revealed we are the ‘most entrepreneurial’ area in Greater Manchester, beating Manchester to top the Red Flag Alert Start-up Index.

The rate of new business start-ups is phenomenal for a borough our size. It is yet more evidence of the amazing talent we have. The accolade is based on the highest rate of firms launched last year. According to analysis by Manchester-based business intelligence service Red Flag Alert, 5,644 start-ups were launched in 2017. With a population of 189,628 this works out as 29 per 1,000 people, a rate twice as many as its nearest rival Manchester.

The #BuryMeansBusiness initiative is clearly having an impact with people who want to start their own company and shows that we are being recognised as the pro-business borough of the city-region. This confidence in Bury as an entrepreneurial hub is visible, with multi-million-pound investments such as the CSF car showroom opening near the town centre.

Milliken is another great example of a business which is thriving in Bury by getting the basics right. Based here since the 1960s (and much longer if you count the original business they took over), they are a major international operation. In Bury, its 150 staff are focussed on textiles, responsible for producing the material used to make airbags. With an enviable record on health and safety, they put a high value on training and developing their staff. They have also won awards for their ethical practice. It was a pleasure to visit them alongside the Mayor of Bury, Jane Black.

The very real impact of #BuryMeanBusiness is reflected in the 2017-18 Manufacturing & Services Parliamentary Review. Out of 11 case studies in the review, our borough makes up a whopping three of the best practise examples highlighted in the review: an extraordinary accolade given our relative size. Featured in the review are MelbaSwintex and Rakem, both based in Bury, as well as West & Senior based in Radcliffe. MelbaSwintex is a market leader in manufacturing plastic moulded products for the traffic management sector.

The Rakem Group began as a chemical distribution company. Then, building on their father’s experience, three brothers ensured the family business blossomed, expanding to a group of five specialist companies. Every day we use the type of products they produce without knowing it, such as titanium dioxide, used in everything from sunscreen and paracetamol to paints and plastics.

West & Senior Ltd is the longest established company featured in the Parliamentary Review, set up in 1952 and still owned by the second generation of the two families. They specialise in digital online customer colour matching services and colour concentrates. The company, which exports to over 37 countries globally, is a profit-sharing organisation.

We recognise that local business is at the heart of our economy. As part of this, we are investing in the Greater Manchester Start Smart Programme to support Start-ups and a dedicated Business Growth Advisor. To find out more, visit businessgrowthhub.com/startup.

Autumn has brought colour to the borough, while we still have some remnants of sunshine. This was the perfect time of year to plant my first ever apple tree! I was thrilled to be invited to Philips Park by Mark Lockwood from Incredible Edible to take part in their annual Apple Tree Planting, now in its seventh year. The park is an amazing resource and that is in large part to the 50 or so volunteers at Incredible Edible that maintain and improve it. There is a herb garden, orchard, forest garden and much more. Thanks to all the #IncredibleEdible groups across the borough. It was also great to see Bury Council’s very own award-winning Park Ranger Chris Wilkinson doing some bodging: a traditional wood-turning craft.

And it seems Bury’s beautiful forests have a bright future. The City Forest Park project is an exciting initiative in partnership with the Forestry Commission, City of Trees and others. Plans are in place to transform the huge site on the edge of Manchester City Centre into a world class green space, creating an amazing forest for the people. The project brings together over 330 hectares of key green spaces and woods with the vision of creating a vast urban forest the same size and scale as New York’s Central Park. Located close to Manchester City Centre, the sites cover areas of Salford, Bolton and Bury.

We are investing in keeping residents safe and well, including investing in flood defences. Working in partnership with The Environment Agency, £46 million will be invested in Radcliffe and Redvales Flood Defence Scheme, designed to protect 870 properties. Since Storm Eva in 2015, we have been looking at ways to protect the area. Prevention is better than cure, so such as massive investment can only be a good thing. There was a great turnout of residents who came along to The Close Park Rangers Hut to learn about the first phase of the scheme and to shape the future of flood resilience.

As the nights draw in, departments right across the council start to prepare for the winter months, to keep people safe and well. We know how important pot holes are to people, and improving our roads means a great deal to residents, so we have invested in a ‘jet patcher’. This innovative spray injection patching machinery will help tackle potholes and worn surfaces more swiftly, at less cost and with less disruption to traffic. This is in addition to the £10 million already being invested locally in borough-wide road improvement schemes.

Sometimes it’s the small things that all add up to making a place special. From the work of Bury businesses, to the steps we can take to protect ourselves against flooding and the contributions of thousands of volunteers, small steps add up to massive changes; like filling one pot hole at a time.