Rochdale council recently rejected calls to pull its green belt sites from the region's development masterplan - dismissing mooted changes to the planning system as 'cynical' government electioneering. The housing secretary has announced a consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will start before Christmas - but how this will affect Rochdale's long-term strategy remains to be seen.
Yet the £100m regeneration of the town centre continues apace - with progress on the next phase of the Riverside development being clear to anyone who has visited over the last few months. There also plans to plough £20m of Levelling Up monies into the area around the town's railway station, while the opening of the new 'Queen Elizabeth Way' M62 link road has also opened up economic opportunities in Heywood.
So, while the future remains uncertain, there appears to be no risk of things entirely grinding to a halt in Rochdale. Below are some of the major schemes that could change the face of the borough over the next 12 months and beyond.
Upperbanks
This is the second phase of the £50m town centre regeneration project that has already brought the Rochdale Riverside retail and leisure complex to the town centre. Dubbed ‘Upperbanks’, work is already well underway on the 242 apartments - split across two blocks - and Hampton by Hilton Hotel behind the town's new M&S.
The scheme, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year, has attracted more than £20m of external funding - including £17m coming from the government’s Future High Streets Fund. Earlier this year Coun John Blundell, portfolio holder for economy and regeneration, hailed the ‘great progress’ being made towards creating new homes that would bring more people into the town centre.
He added: “Upperbanks forms part of a major investment into regeneration of the town and this project has seen local, sustainable jobs, including apprenticeships, being created that are of lasting benefit for our residents and the economy of the borough.”
The shopping centre opened in spring 2020 and boasts a number of major retail names including H&M, Next and Deichmann. Tribez steak and grill restaurant is the latest brand to sign up - opening its doors in mid-December.
Town Hall revamp
Rochdale’s ‘neo-gothic masterpiece’ town hall is due to reopen next year following an extensive £16m restoration. The Grade I listed structure opened in 1871 and is still considered to be one of the finest municipal buildings in the country.
The ravages of time have inevitably taken their toll - recent problems include a crumbling drainage system and a leaking roof - and it closed in early 2021 so the Victorian gem could be returned to its former glory. The work, part-funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, has seen a makeover of around two-thirds of the building - with a third possibly in the pipeline at a later date.
It includes the restoration of stained glass windows - including the Cromwell window, which was removed and taken to studios in York for preservation - and specialist cleaning of the delicate painted interiors in rooms such as the Great Hall and the Mayor’s Parlour.
There will also be a new town hall square - a pedestrianised area featuring plants and lawned areas boasting a carpet of historic paving stones - with etched inscriptions inspired by historic symbols found inside the building itself.
Central Retail Park
Plans to build a ‘high quality’ 200 home neighbourhood at this 'gem of a site' were signed off by the council's planning committee in December. The scheme will see more than 223 homes built on a derelict area at Central Retail Park, on the edge of the town centre.
It includes a six-storey brick building boasting 142 apartments and a further 81 town houses, both in grey brick. A new park will also provide a ‘green corridor’ across the seven-acre site, which lies between Oldham Road and Drake Street, close to the town's railway station.
The council owned plot - previously home to Wynsors, Focus and MFI - is to be developed by Willmott Dixon as part of the authority’s wider Station Gateway plans for a 1,500 home ‘urban community’.
Rochdale Railway Station Public Square
Ambitious plans for a new public square in front of Rochdale train station are also part of the Levelling Up funding bid. The creation of new homes and business space, alongside a 500 space park and ride facility on Miall Street, are also proposed as part of the wider redevelopment of the area.
This project aims to create an improved gateway into the town centre – removing traffic to give greater priority to pedestrians and cyclists – and a new community that ‘has a distinct, vibrant, and authentic identity’.
HPARK
A huge 120-acre industrial and distribution site in Heywood, HPARK has been hailed as the biggest ‘sustainable development opportunity’ in the north west. Based off the new Queen Elizabeth Way link road - which now connects the M62 to Pilsworth Road - it will provide up to 1.45 million sq ft of floor space across six buildings.
The largest unit already has full planning approval and is ready for construction to begin once a firm is signed up to operate the building. Bosses say the site has the potential to create more than 2,400 new jobs.
Developer Russells begins marketing the site next month and has made a number of commitments to support tenants’ carbon reduction ambitions - including roof-mounted solar panels, and electric vehicle chargers. Based just nine miles from Manchester city centre, it has been described as a ‘net zero industrial development opportunity’ in the region’s ‘manufacturing and distribution heartland’.
AMPI
Rochdale has been harbouring ambitions to reinvent itself as a ‘centre of manufacturing excellence’ since being awarded £23.6m from the government’s Towns Fund. Central to this is the AMPI (Advanced Machinery and Productivity) - which aims to position Rochdale at the forefront of developing innovative manufacturing technology.
The institute is likely to be based at Kingsway Business Park - one of three sites that make up the flagship Atom Valley development zone - and is expected to generate around 660 direct new jobs and 530 indirect jobs across Greater Manchester. It would team up with universities in the north west, including Manchester, Salford and Huddersfield, and serve as a catalyst for the creation of an innovation district within Rochdale.
The AMPI has been supported by Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd who said it could could ‘launch the next generation’ of new, high-tech businesses in the borough. Dr Ruth Mallors-Ray OBE was appointed as chair of the AMPI strategy board in July. The board aims to take AMPI ‘from initiative to institute’ and ensure the opportunities it offers the advanced machinery sector are maximised.
Warwick Mill
Hopes are high that this historic Middleton cotton mill will finally be given a new lease of life. Based on the fringes of the town centre, Warwick Mill has been vacant for several years - becoming a magnet for vandalism, fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.
A serious fire also broke out at the Grade-II listed building in 2018. Plans to convert it into a £50m ‘global trade hub’ expired four years ago - as hopes of the mill being brought back into use were scuppered.
But developer Kam Lei Fong (UK) Ltd has revealed major new plans are in the pipeline for the Oldham Road mill. These include converting the building into a mixed-use development boasting up to 140 apartments, while demolishing neighbouring London House and replacing it with block of 145 flats.
The development could also contain the remains of the engine and boiler house’ at Warwick Mill, as well as what is left of Irk Mill - a building which stood on part of the London House site from the mid 1800s to the late 20th century.
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