Winter 2018Town Centre Regeneration

Greg Couzens looks at the massive change that has taken place in Rochdale town centre

Looking back to 2006, I was fortunate to be elected as a councillor and became head of finance in what now appears to be very transitional years.

Here, I am highlighting some of the projects and refer to each one as a piece of a jigsaw...

The first piece was to open Rochdale Sixth Form College; it is now the best performing college in the country with a 99% pass rate. It has brought 1,600 students into the town centre - helping to increase the footfall. Next door Hopwood Hall College also benefitted with £7m of improvements.

Increasing footfall was key to bring more investment and the best way to achieve this was to cut parking charges, then introduce ‘Free After Three’. This proved very popular and after I was invited to discuss the initiative on BBC Breakfast TV, it paved the way for free parking.

The next piece of the jigsaw was the refurbishment of the police station - the cladding was retained to harmonise with the old Post Office building across the gardens.

Next was the importance of improving our health, and three new sports and leisure centres were opened in the borough.

Transport and being accessible is vital to regeneration, and though bringing the Metrolink into the town centre was not an easy task, it was essential.

The former bus station was old and dilapidated and the new transport interchange - adjacent to the Riverside retail and leisure area that is currently being developed - is a vast improvement. One of the most controversial initiatives was moving councillors from the Town Hall into a new purpose built building.

The work involved the demolition of Telegraph House, the Black Box and amalgamating staff from thirty three buildings into a new building, Number One Riverside.

It was felt the original design lacked imagination, and I proposed for the building to be more fluid, to follow the contours of the river, and the resultant curve is beautiful.

The building has solar panels to generate the hot water, photo voltaic for electricity, a biomass boiler to generate heat and rainwater is collected on the roof to be recycled for the flushing of toilets.

Bringing 1,700 staff into the building has substantially increased town centre footfall.

The next piece of the jigsaw was the uncovering of the River Roch in the town centre. I fought hard for this because I felt that it changes the whole atmosphere of the centre, emphasisng our heritage - a medieval bridge in front of our majestic Grade I listed Town Hall, surrounded by Victorian and Georgian architecture, is the envy of many other towns.

Plans to transform Rochdale Town Hall, one of the best examples of Victorian architecture in the country, have been given an initial boost after the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) approved the first stage of an £8.95m bid. The proposals include a full scale restoration of large sections of the building and its historic rooms along with two new lifts and a brand new entrance to make the whole building more accessible and welcoming. The outside of the building will also be restored, cleaned and better lit.

The final piece of the jigsaw is better quality retail and leisure opportunities right in the heart of the town centre.

The new Riverside development, specifically sited on level ground for easy access, complemented by a new market, will provide a much improved shopping experience. Phase two of the development will see residential properties introduced.

There has also been development at the Pioneers Museum on Toad Lane, and the fire station museum is to benefit from a major renovation.

All will be completed by 2020 - we are so fortunate to witness this important and impressive transitional period in the history of Rochdale.