RBH boss says Lower Falinge estate has been branded unfairly

Wendy Cocks, Gareth Swarbrick and Rev Mark Coleman at the public meeting at Rochdale Pioneer’s Museum

The Chief Executive of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, Gareth Swarbrick, has said that Lower Falinge has been branded unfairly.

Speaking at a public meeting at Rochdale Pioneer’s Museum on Wednesday (17 February), the housing boss gave his views on how he thinks the estate has been pigeonholed as part of David Cameron’s desire to make his legacy through social reform.

The media, he says, has caused a “national storm” which has led to a nationwide stereotype and cast a shadow on the estate and also Rochdale as a borough.

Addressing the crowd, Mr Swarbrick said: “There is no denying that Lower Falinge is a deprived area, we are not trying to say otherwise. What we are saying is that it has been branded by the media as the ultimate sink estate, and is even used now as a stock image for Rochdale on articles that aren’t even connected to Falinge. Because of this, the last six or seven weeks has seen some of the worst labelling it has ever had.”

Mr Swarbrick pointed out that although the estate is one of the most deprived area in England and Wales, there are other places in the country which are being overlooked. He added: “Look at Blackpool, for example. It has eight more deprived estates than in Rochdale, and there is no media coverage there.

“The Prime Minister’s TV appearance on the Andrew Marr show kicked all of this off, along with all the articles labelling lower Falinge as a sink estate.

"What we want to do is improve the image of Falinge and be as open as possible with the people that live there about what is going on there.”

Local man Chris Houston accused Mr Swarbrick of “evading the issue” that Falinge is in dire need of improvement. He said: “The problems on Lower Falinge exist and I think they have to be addressed, not evaded. There has to be some sort of redevelopment.”

Mr Swarbrick responded: “It is not the greatest designed estate, but there are places in other parts of the country that are much worse. The point is not that Falinge needs improvements, it’s that it has had more negative attention than it deserves.

“Because of the bedroom tax, we are now struggling to let out the three-bed flats there, we’ve looked into whether or not we can convert them and we can’t. Redevelopment is not being ruled out, but we are certainly not bulldozing the place to the ground.”

He concluded: “The Government sees social housing as part of the problem, not part of the solution. We are in desperate need of social housing but it is under attack from all angles. Unfortunately, I do think social housing will shrink, but it won’t disappear completely.”

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has written to the Rt Hon Lord Michael Heseltine about Lower Falinge and is currently awaiting a response.