#FreePeriods

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Middleton Shopping Centre is handing out free sanitary products to visitors who may be in urgent need.

The shopping centre is trialing a new discreet scheme, therefore if you are in need or struggling for sanitary products go to our customer service (next to the public toilets) and ask for a package that MADDISON has left for you.

You will then be given a FREE discreet envelope with what you need no questions asked.

It also used the hashtags ‘FreePeriod’ and ‘Let’s End Period Poverty’

Middleton focuses on local businesses

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Middleton Shopping Centre has revealed a new plan to put a focus on local businesses to support Middleton retailers.

The centre’s wider strategy includes letting agents in Barker Proudlove, which will be working alongside Middleton team to ensure a diverse mix of local independents alongside its existing brands over the coming months. The centre is already in early talks with a number of local organisations which have expressed their interest in being part of the town centre scheme. 

Marie Gribben, centre manager at Middleton Shopping Centre, said: “UK retail has gone through some enormous changes over the past year. While this has meant the unfortunate closure of some popular brands, it does present us with an opportunity to shake up the centre offering, and increased support for local independents will play a big part in that.

“We have a great mix of retail at the centre, offering a blend of big-name brands that our customers know and love and in recent months, we’ve begun talks with other fantastic local brands.

“We have always been committed to ensuring we provide our customers with a diverse mix of shops, cafés and services, and this move will ensure we continue to do just that, while also providing support for many smaller businesses in the local community. Our approach is collaborative, and we’d encourage any local businesses looking for new premises to get in touch.”

Middleton achieves Park Mark® Parking Award 2021

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Middleton shopping centre car park in Middleton has achieved the coveted Park Mark® Safer Parking Award.

The Park Mark® Safer Parking Award is given to parking facilities that have achieved the requirements of a risk assessment conducted by the Police and the British Parking Association. The Safer Parking Scheme is an initiative of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, aimed at reducing crime and the fear of crime in parking areas.

The Safer Parking Scheme, managed by the British Parking Association (BPA), awards the Park Mark® to facilities that have measures in place to create a safe environment. Police Accredited Assessors undertake a site specific risk assessment. They assess the management and maintenance of the facility and check that there are appropriate levels of surveillance, lighting, signage and cleanliness, thereby reducing the opportunity for crime.

Centre Manager, Marie Gribben, has put in place measures that help to deter criminal activity and anti-social behaviour, thereby doing everything possible to reduce the fear of crime.

Mark Osmond, Park Mark® Scheme Area Manager, says, “We are delighted that Middleton shopping centre car park has achieved the Park Mark® Award, as it means they are delivering a safer environment for those using the car park. It is a fantastic achievement and testament to the effective management and high car parking standards maintained by the shopping centre management and security staff.”

Car parks with the Park Mark® award can use signage featuring the distinctive Park Mark® tick, so that drivers know exactly where to go for safe parking. Facilities that have received this award have seen a drop in vehicle-related crime of over 80%. This initiative is very important and making a difference, as vehicle-related crime now accounts for 13% of all crime* (down from 22% in 2004), and 11% of vehicle-related crime occurs in car-parks** (down from 20% in 2004).

There are currently 5000 car parks with the Park Mark® Award throughout the UK. To find your nearest Park Mark® car park, visit www.parkmark.co.uk.

Middleton Shopping Centre adopts Real Living Wage in 2021

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Independently calculated based upon real and geographical living costs, the Living Wage has, since 2011, been championing workers’ pay. Middleton Shopping Centre believe that a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay and have adopted the Living Wage.

Following a full review of the operational hours of the shopping centre during 2020, the centre manager, Marie Gribben was able to identify significant annual savings. Due to the continued hard work and dedication demonstrated by personnel during the COVID pandemic, Marie decided to offset some of these savings and adopt the Living Wage for all employees from 1st April 2021.

Marie commented, “We are delighted to adopt the Living Wage at Middleton Shopping Centre. This is a great step towards eradicating workplace poverty and partnering with like-minded businesses like Aston Services Group can only build our reputation and enhance our corporate social responsibility.”

Alistair Clayton, ASG Sales and Marketing Director, added, “As a recognised Real Living Wage Service Provider for over 5 years, ASG understand the value in rewarding and retaining staff and supporting the Living Wage principle. Thanks to the support of Marie Gribben, Middleton Shopping Centre and Ashdown Phillips & Partners Ltd, we have a fantastic team delivering cleaning, security and maintenance services and we are all hugely proud of the work they do which translates to excellent customer service being delivered on a daily basis as well as ‘a happy camp’.

The reward and recognition of the adoption of the Real Living Wage will undoubtedly be very well received and will provide a further reinforcement of their sense of value on site and for that we do appreciate Marie’s efforts in helping majorly in this process.’’

Sustainability 2020

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We’re committed to creating and contributing to a more sustainable environment.

Middleton Shopping Centre aim to be a transparent and ethical business and endeavour to make a positive contribution to the community. We understand community and sustainability is at the heart of Middleton Shopping Centre. That means making careful decisions that protect and enhance the environment while serving the economic requirements of a successful business enterprise.

Buildings generate 40% or more of greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. We will help to reduce emission levels significantly by taking a proactive approach to promoting change within our industry. We will apply our resources and management capabilities to the 330,000 square feet of property we manage, reducing the environmental impacts of our operations and delivering leading sustainability solutions to our owners and occupiers throughout the scheme.

We will deliver real value in a world where energy management and sustainability are assuming ever greater importance to our owners, retailers and our own local community.

Our objectives focus on 4 main areas:

  • Environment – We recognise that we have a responsibility to help protect the environment and will continue to introduce initiatives such as:
    • Chemical free cleaning and uniforms made from recycled plastics;
    • Identify and meet environmental legislative obligations;
    • Lowering energy consumption across the retail scheme through sustainable renovations and management improvements;
    • Permanently cutting energy demand and costs
    • Reducing the CO2 impact of corporate travel by investing in communication technology tools such as Zoom, for example – and flexible work practices;
    • Engaging and educating colleagues in energy awareness to create permanent sustainable behavioural change.
  • Social – We recognise that the way we conduct our undertaking may have a negative or a positive impact upon society. The health and wellbeing of our colleagues and those in the local community are considerations for our business. We will assess and manage all our risks to support our colleagues and the local community.
  • Ethical – We understand the importance of our colleagues, they are at the forefront of our business and therefore we aim to provide them with the best support possible. We will provide training plans; succession plans and support the whole team at Middleton Shopping Centre.
  • Innovation – We will endeavour to work alongside companies that bring innovative solutions and smarter ways of working through paperless bespoke management systems.

JD Gyms set to open in Middleton

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When launched in early January, JD Gyms Middleton will be a state-of-the-art facility with the very best fitness equipment, studios, a JD BURN area and a sprint and prowler track. Plus vast free weights and functional areas.

JD Gyms Middleton will give you a truly cutting edge fitness experience at an incredibly affordable price, with 200 discount memberships available.

#FitnessJustGotSerious

 

Giving Tree

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Inspire Middleton is the charity that runs the Lighthouse Project, Middleton Central Foodbank, Lighthouse Money Advice and Lighthouse Pantry. These projects have been supporting local people during these challenging times and helping families in crisis.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but for many of the families they are working with it can be a difficult time, which is why they are appealing for your support . Your donation to their Toy Appeal will directly help a child in need a child that will have been referred to them through their support services or local schools.

Your donations will be used to purchase toys or gift vouchers for children aged between 0-16 years and will be especially welcomed where we have a child who has requested a particular toy on their list from Santa!

This year the Lighthouse Project has undertaken:

– Middleton Central Foodbank saw a 32% increase in people needing emergency support last year, with meals provided for 2935 adults and 1691 children

– Lighthouse Money Advice debt service has been helping our community deal with over £1 million of personal debt

– Lighthouse Pantry has been supporting 146 different families, providing savings of up to £1,494 on their annual food bills, leaving more money available for other household bills .

Thank you for supporting our local community, and helping us ensure that fewer children in Middleton will be without Christmas presents this year.

To donate to their Just Giving page click here.

 

Spooktacular Halloween raises over £600 for local charities

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On Friday 30th and Saturday 31st October Carrol and Jon from “All Season with Carrol” ladies underwear and bespoke bra fitting service presented a spooktacular scarefest exhibition in the Middleton Shopping Centre.

The scarefest was organised to support the local community and avoid children’s disappointment in not being able to trick or treat due to the ongoing COVID restrictions. The spooky walk through was free although donations to Oldham cats home or knitted knockers UK for breast cancer were warmly welcomed.

Jon from “All Season with Carrol” created a walkthrough Halloween masterpiece with his collection of American animatronics which included creepy sound effects, spooky skeletons, scary spiders, crazy clowns and heaps of other terrifying characters! People were encouraged to dress up for Halloween and warned that they may get a scare!

Marie Gribben, centre manager, was thrilled with the effort made by Jon and Carrol and said “this was a great way of showcasing Halloween to our shoppers and local community and Jon & Carroll’s efforts are truly appreciated. With the current COVID situation and trick or treating on hold this year, it was wonderful to see that we could still provide some spooky Halloween fun!”

Over the two days there were over 2000 visitors.  A total of £251.57 was raised for Oldham Cats Home and £397.34 for Knitted Knockers UK for breast care. A massive thanks to everyone involved for their support.

Hidden Disabilities

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Middleton Shopping Centre has signed up to the sunflower lanyard scheme that supports people with autism and other hidden disabilities.

The scheme involves people wearing a sunflower lanyard to highlight to staff that they might be in need of extra help. People with invisible conditions, such as autism and dementia, can collect and wear a lanyard from the customer service desk to signal that they may need more support during their visit.

It will act as a discreet sign to staff that the wearer could require help or a little more time with things like finding their way around a centre or store and getting access to a quiet space or close-by toilet facilities.

Demand for the initiative has soared since it was first introduced. It is one of a number of measures to create more accessible shopping and leisure experiences and was introduced ahead of Purple Tuesday on November 12 – a day devoted to the needs of disabled shoppers.

Marie Gribben, Centre Manager at Middleton Shopping Centre, said: “We want to ensure that Middleton Shopping Centre is an accessible and inclusive destination for everyone. Nobody should feel excluded. The measures we are introducing will help every visitor to feel welcome to enjoy a fantastic experience at the centre.”

Middleton Shopping Centre also runs regular quiet hours every Saturday from 9am to 11am and its staff are trained to support people with autism and dementia.

Happy to Chat bench

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Loneliness is a serious health condition, but unlike other ailments, the symptoms of loneliness can be hard to detect to everyone but the person having them. A new initiative in the UK aims to combat the problem by making it easier for people who feel alone to socialise with strangers.

For people who feel isolated in their daily lives, these benches are an opportunity to make a connection with someone new. They also give people who want to help the lonely members of their community a way to do so. Inspired by the original ‘Happy to Chat’ campaign, an existing bench has been selected and to signpost those looking for a chat, a large sign has been displayed above the bench near The Works, reading ‘Sit here if you don’t mind someone stopping to say hello’. The idea is a simple one that encourages visitors to the centre to strike up a conversation and make a connection with someone new; promoting happy and friendly communities in Middleton.

Marie Gribben, Centre Manager, said: “This is a compassionate, community-led initiative that has quickly spread around the globe, and although it’s not Middleton born, I’m really proud to be welcoming a ‘Happy to Chat’ bench in Middleton. Simply stopping to say ‘hello’ to someone at the Chat Bench could make a huge difference to the vulnerable people in our communities and help to make life a little better for them. If this is well received, we may well introduce another bench within the shopping centre or collaborate with the local authority to introduce one in the town centre. This simple idea of just giving people permission to stop and chat is a great way to help defeat loneliness and develop a keener sense of community.’

For more information on Time to Change and Time to Talk, visit their website: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/.