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New Phoenix will rise from the ashes of the past

16/ 7/2008

THE town’s new £7.3M health and community services building will be called The Phoenix Centre.

The name, chosen by the public from a shortlist of five suggestions, reflects not only the fact the new building will rise from the foundations of the former Heywood Grammar School but also harks back to the phoenix emblem which was the centrepiece of the school badge.

Heywood people were asked to vote on five names on the shortlist — Oldroyd House, Healey House, The Nuttall Centre, The Phoenix Centre and Heywood’s Heart — and The Phoenix Centre won by a large majority.

The judges chose the final five names from an entry of 240 original suggestions.

By co-incidence, the two suggestions for The Phoenix Centre were sent in by two Heywood women, Dorothy Sweetmore of Edgeworth Close and Jennifer Lee of Queen’s Park Road.

But it was only when they were invited along to the building site, off Hind Hill Street, for the name unveiling on Tuesday afternoon that the pair realised they had much more in common than just having the same idea.

Mrs Sweetmore used to teach Miss Lee at Bethel Street Sunday School more than 40 years ago and both women were students at Heywood Grammar School.

Mrs Sweetmore said: "We feel very honoured that the name we suggested will be on the building when it opens. It is very exciting."

Miss Lee said: "We obviously both had the same idea to reflect the fact the new centre is rising from what was once our school."

To encourage people to vote, a £25 shopping voucher was offered as a draw prize and that went to Jill Butterworth of Marlborough Street, Hopwood.

The people who had put forward the other four names were also invited to the ceremony to see the winning envelope opened by the chairman of Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Primary Care Trust, John Pierce.

Susan Coates, chairman of the New Heart Partnership, which is a main player in the project alongside the PCT and the council, said: "We are really thrilled this has come to fruition. It is the first day of a new beginning for Heywood."

Township vice-chairman, Councillor Susan Emmott, said: "This is a momentous occasion. It has been a long time coming, but don’t let anyone tell you that nothing happens in Heywood. It is happening right before our eyes."

Mr Pierce pointed out that it was the second major project the PCT had committed to in the past week, following last week’s opening of a new centre in Alkrington.  Mr Pierce said: "Another part of the provision for Heywood is a new doctors’ surgery and we hope to have some good news on that very soon."

The other suggestions on the shortlist were The Nuttall Centre, from Damien Kavanagh Heywood’s Heart suggested by Olivia Clews and Charlie Simpson; Jean Williams suggested two names, Oldroyd House and Healey House.

Charlie Simpson, a pupil at Hopwood Community Primary School, was the youngest entrant.

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