The Rock Shopping Centre is thrilled to announce the winner of our £1500 Birthday Spending Spree prize — congratulations to Samira Safapour from Bury.

The Birthday Spending Spree giveaway was launched to celebrate The Rock’s 15th anniversary and show appreciation to our fantastic community of shoppers.

From all of us at The Rock: thank you to everyone who entered, and stay tuned for more exciting events and prizes coming your way!

Here is Samira’s entry:

FIFTEEN local creatives were at the centre of The Rock’s 15^th birthday celebrations.

To mark the shopping and leisure destination’s birthday, The Rock held a competition earlier in the year where local people were invited to enter their ‘Design a Birthday Card’ competition.

More than 300 entries were received, and 15 winners were selected. Their designs are now on display at The Rock as part of the birthday celebrations.

The winners were invited to a celebration event on Saturday 12^th July, where the cards were unveiled and they were each presented with a £30 gift card for a store of their choice at The Rock.

The celebrations were hosted by Roch Valley Radio and included performances from Forza Dance Studio and North West Musical Theatre Choirs.

The Rock’s new partner charity, Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, attended for their first fundraising event as part of their year as ‘charity of choice’. They ran a tombola which raised £452.

To add to the fun, three costume characters dressed as cupcakes, roamed the centre handing out cupcakes to visitors and The Rock’s mascot Rocky joined the crowds for photos.

Arnold Wilcox- Wood, Centre Director of The Rock, said: “We’ve had a wonderful weekend celebrating our 15^th birthday – which officially falls on Wednesday (16^th July). The competition entries were fantastic, and we’re so pleased to be able to celebrate so much local talent. The cards will be on display for the next few weeks, please do come to have a look at them.

“On another note, we’d like to thank all our customers, retailers, team members and residents for a wonderful 15 years of The Rock. We’re so proud of the part we’ve played in Bury’s story and we’re equally proud of the part everyone has played in ours.”

For more information and the full timetable visit: www.therockbury.com

VISITORS to The Rock could be in with a chance of winning a huge spending spree this summer.

As part of its 15^th birthday celebrations The Rock Shopping Centre has launched a competition to win a £1,500 shopping spree.

The centre, which officially opened on 16^th July 2010, has unveiled an impressive photo prop structure in the shape of a 15. Shoppers who visit the centre and share a photo with the installation will be entered into a draw to win the prize pot.

The competition was launched on Saturday with a special event at The Rock featuring butterfly stilt walkers and roaming dragon performers.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director of The Rock, said: “This is one of the biggest giveaways we’ve done for a long time and we can’t wait to see all the photo entries. We’re really proud of the part we play in Bury’s story and we’ve got many things planned this summer – this is just the start of the birthday fun. Good luck to everyone entering the competition.”

Entries can be shared on social media using #15YearsOfTheRock or emailed to [email protected]

The competition runs until 11^th July and the winner will be notified close to the official 15 year anniversary of the centre opening.

The winner will be invited to The Rock to claim their spending spree with the centre’s retailers.

The Rock has also been dressed with an array of colourful bunting, posters, banners and flowers to kick start the birthday season.

A SCHOOL uniform shop has officially opened its doors at The Rock Shopping Centre.

Smart Start Schoolwear, part of the Debonair Schoolweargroup, is the latest tenant to join the centre.

The retailer, which has school uniform stores across the North West, including in Wythenshawe and Oldham has opened in a unit in St John’s Gardens at The Rock, opposite M&S. 

Sarah of Smart start schoolwear said: “We’re really excited to have opened in Bury and are thrilled to be a part of The Rock. Our new store offers quality and value from the get-go. We meet the needs of parents and schools alike and are dedicated to maintaining high standards.

“Our shop is well-lit, clean, child-friendly and offers a modern shopping environment with plenty of changing rooms and knowledgeable staff to offer a refreshing experience. We look forward to meeting our new customers very soon.”

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director at The Rock, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Smart Start Schoolwear to The Rock and wish the team every success.”

Budding creatives are being encouraged to enter a design competition to help celebrate a Bury shopping destination’s milestone birthday.

This summer The Rock Shopping Centre is 15 and has launched a ‘Design a Birthday Card’ competition to mark the special occasion.

The competition runs from now until 31^st May and 10 winning entries will go on display in The Rock’s Wall of Birthday Wishes installation in St John’s Square at The Rock from 7^th July – 25^th July

Each winning designer will be awarded with a £30 gift voucher to spend at The Rock and invited to see their design on display at The Rock’s birthday event.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director of The Rock, said: “This year is a milestone for The Rock and we wanted to include the community at the heart of our celebrations. The Wall of Birthday Wishes aims to celebrate creatives in Bury and we can’t wait to see the submissions. I’m sure we’ll have a tough job selecting the final 10 winners and we encourage everyone to get involved.”

Entry forms can be downloaded from The Rock’s website or collected from retailers including The Entertainer, Bob and Berts, Smiggle and Starbucks.

Submissions can be emailed to [email protected] or posted in The Rock’s competition post box which will be in St John’s Square (near The Range) every day until the competition closes on 31st May 2025.

The competition is open to all.

For more information and to download an entry form visit: www.therockbury.com

At The Rock, we’re proud to lead the way in environmental responsibility and community engagement. Through innovative partnerships and forward-thinking initiatives, we’re creating a more sustainable future for our tenants, visitors, and the wider Bury community.

Waste Management & Recycling

We’ve rolled out the new Simpler Recycling legislation, introducing five distinct waste streams and upgrading bin infrastructure across our service yards and public mall areas. Delivered in partnership with SWR Newstar, this initiative has made recycling easier and more effective for everyone at The Rock.

Energy Efficiency

To help lower our carbon footprint, we’ve transitioned to energy-efficient LED lighting with motion sensors across back-of-house spaces and our car park. This upgrade reduces emissions and supports our broader sustainability goals.

Biodiversity & Green Spaces

Nature matters to us. We’re nurturing local biodiversity with bird boxes, wildflower planting, and exciting plans for bee hives and a bug hotel—right here at The Rock. Our family-friendly events like The Blooming Potting Shed introduce children to pollinators and the joy of planting sunflowers.

Community & Social Impact

Sustainability isn’t just environmental—it’s social too. We work closely with local schools and community groups, hosting free events that champion inclusivity and environmental awareness. We proudly sponsor children’s activities such as youth football and theatre visits, and we support local charities—soon to include Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.

Tenant & Visitor Engagement

We keep our tenants informed through a dedicated green newsletter, and we promote low-emission travel with onsite EV charging points. Our retailers are sustainability champions too: M&S, Primark, Lush and more offer in-store recycling and eco-friendly shopping incentives.

FAMILIES visiting The Rock Shopping Centre this Easter will be able enjoy FREE circus school skills workshops.

The shopping and leisure destination will unveil its bunny-themed circus installation on Saturday (5^th April).

Located in the space in front of The Range, the three-sided Bunny Funhouse will be in place for the length of the Easter holidays for families to enjoy.

Side one will feature a ‘bunny head’ tunnel to crawl through, side two is an oversized hoop-la with cut out carrots, bunnies and Easter eggs and the final side is an egg swing – perfect for those Easter snaps.

The Rock hosted a Circus Fun House complete with workshops in the summer of 2023 which proved hugely popular with families. The original funhouse has been repurposed and redesigned for Easter 2025.

On three days during half term, children can take part in circus school workshops, led by bunny characters.

The classes are as follows:

• Wednesday 9th April  – Plate spinning
• Wednesday 16th April – Diabolo
• Saturday 19th April – Stilt walking

Circus School sessions start at 11am and run every 30 minutes. Each session will last approximately 20 minutes and the last session is at 2:30pm.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director of The Rock, said: “The last time we hosted circus workshops, each session was packed out and visitors returned week after week to complete all the classes. We’re delighted to be bringing the circus back, complete with an Easter-twist and we’re sure it’ll be really popular with families looking for free, fun activities during the school holidays.”

A SPECIAL tree filled with messages celebrating mums from across Bury was unveiled at The Rock Shopping Centre ahead of Mother’s Day.

The shopping and leisure destination gathered dozens of ‘Messages to Mum’ from social media in recent weeks and displayed them at the centre.

The Mother’s Day Tree was in The Rock’s main square near The Range and Costa and aimed to be a live expression of thanks and gratitude.

On Saturday 29^th March visitors to the centre were encouraged to add a message to the tree to celebrate their mum, mums they know or other special mum-like figures. Anyone adding a message on this day also received a small bunch of daffodils.

Arnold Wilcox-Wood, Centre Director of The Rock, said: “We know there’s many tree-mendous mums in Bury and this installation is all about them.”