Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Nick Statham

'This is vital for the regeneration of our town' - Green light for 'Utopian' plans that could change the face of Rochdale

Plans to build a ‘high quality’ 200 home neighbourhood at a derelict retail park site have been given the green light. Rochdale council’s planning committee has signed off major proposals that will see more than 223 homes built at Central Retail Park, on the edge of the town centre. The scheme includes a six-storey 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’.

The scheme was unanimously approved by councillors despite some reservations over the impact on traffic and the potential for Rochdale to become a commuter town for Manchester. Coun Phil Burke, vice chair of the planning committee, told colleagues it was ‘an opportunity we can’t afford to miss’.

READ MORE: Developer aims to create ‘diverse community’ with plans for dozens of homes at former school site

"I think this is a fantastic opportunity to get people living in the town centre and we should snap it up straight away," he said. "We have ‘high-spec’ apartments being built for people who want to move into the town to enjoy themselves,” he said.

Coun Billy Sheerin concurred, describing it as ‘a gem of a site’. He added: “This is a brownfield site that hasn’t been built on for years and years and years. We need to do something with this site and this is a wonderful development."

Artist\s impression of the apartments that will be built at Central Retail Park. (Rochdale council.)

The Castleton councillors said it had ‘all the attributes’ people needed, along with ‘marvellous access’ to the railway, Metrolink and buses. "We cannot turn this down,” he added. “This is seriously important for the regeneration of our town.”

Coun Sameena Zaheer also backed the 'vital' scheme - saying it demonstrated the council was prioritising brownfield sites for development. But while Coun Peter Winkler agreed brownfield sites were ‘what we keep asking for’ he had some misgivings over the plans - suggesting they may be too good to be true.

(Willmott Dixon/Rochdale council)

“My only reservation is that, is this so idealistic and Utopian that it’s beyond actual reality?” he said. “Are we going to achieve what we say we are going to achieve.”

He also worried that, while people may live in Rochdale for the cheaper homes, they would spend their leisure and work time in the city centre. “I think we are building city centre living in Rochdale,” he said.

“I hope it all works - I hope that the Utopian plan comes to fruition. I’m going to support it, but I hope in years to come we see the plan we are describing tonight.”

(Willmott Dixon/Rochdale council)

Councillors also expressed concerns over the absence of affordable housing, but were told the developer had proven this would be financially unviable. The scheme is not yet fully-funded but forms part of the council’s £20m bid to the government for ‘levelling up’ monies.

Rochdale council met at Number One Riverside on Thursday night (December 22).

Read more of today's top stories here

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.