Page 14 - Real Rochdale - Winter 2018

Town Centre Regeneration

he next piece of the jigsaw was the The final piece of the jigsaw is better quality retail
uncovering of the River Roch in the town and leisure opportunities right in the heart of the
Greg Couzens looks at the massive change
that has taken place in Rochdale town centre T centre. I fought hard for this because I felt town centre.
that it changes the whole atmosphere of the
centre, emphasisng our heritage - a medieval The new Riverside development,
ooking back to 2006, I was fortunate to be Transport and being accessible is vital to bridge in front of our majestic Grade I listed Town specifically sited on level ground for easy
elected as a councillor and became head regeneration, and though bringing the Metrolink Hall, surrounded by Victorian and Georgian access, complemented by a new market, will
of finance in what now appears to be very into the town centre was not an easy task, architecture, is the envy of many other towns. provide a much improved shopping experience.
L transitional years. it was essential.
Plans to transform Rochdale Town Hall, one of Phase two of the development will see residential
Here, I am highlighting some of the projects and The former bus station was old and dilapidated and the best examples of Victorian architecture in the properties introduced.
refer to each one as a piece of a jigsaw... the new transport interchange - adjacent to the country, have been given an initial boost after the
Riverside retail and leisure area that is currently Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) approved the first There has also been development at the Pioneers
The first piece was to open Rochdale Sixth Form being developed - is a vast improvement. stage of an £8.95m bid. The proposals include a full Museum on Toad Lane, and the fire station
College; it is now the best performing college in the scale restoration of large sections of the building museum is to benefit from a major renovation.
country with a 99% pass rate. It has brought 1,600 One of the most controversial initiatives was and its historic rooms along with two new lifts and
students into the town centre - helping to increase moving councillors from the Town Hall into a new a brand new entrance to make the whole building All will be completed by 2020 - we are so fortunate
the footfall. Next door Hopwood Hall College also purpose built building. more accessible and welcoming. The outside of the to witness this important and impressive
benefitted with £7m of improvements. building will also be restored, cleaned and better lit. transitional period in the history of Rochdale.
The work involved the demolition of Telegraph
Increasing footfall was key to bring more House, the Black Box and amalgamating staff from
investment and the best way to achieve this was thirty three buildings into a new building, Number
to cut parking charges, then introduce ‘Free After One Riverside.
Three’. This proved very popular and after I was
invited to discuss the initiative on BBC Breakfast It was felt the original design lacked imagination,
TV, it paved the way for free parking. and I proposed for the building to be more fluid, to
follow the contours of the river, and the resultant
The next piece of the jigsaw was the refurbishment curve is beautiful.
of the police station - the cladding was retained to
harmonise with the old Post Office building across The building has solar panels to generate the hot
the gardens. water, photo voltaic for electricity, a biomass boiler
to generate heat and rainwater is collected on the
Next was the importance of improving our health, roof to be recycled for the flushing of toilets.
and three new sports and leisure centres were
opened in the borough. Bringing 1,700 staff into the building has
substantially increased town centre footfall.

REAL ROCHDALE - WINTER 2018 14 15 REAL ROCHDALE - WINTER 2018