Restoring Rochdale Branch Canal could be "once in lifetime opportunity"

Restoring the infilled Rochdale Branch Canal could be ‘a once in a lifetime opportunity to create regenerative opportunities,’ says a new group with ambitious proposals for the area.

Formed in May 2020 by Steven Parker, 50, the Rochdale Branch Canal Group aims to protect and ultimately restore Rochdale's Branch Canal for multi-purpose leisure pursuits.

The Rochdale Branch Canal was in use from the 1790s and officially abandoned in 1952. It originally left the main line of the Rochdale Canal before Lock 50, ran parallel with Oldham Road (under what is now Halfpenny Bridge Industrial Estate) to where it terminated in wharves near Drake Street, where Central Retail Park now sits, formerly occupied by MFI and currently occupied by Halfords, Argos, Matalan and Poundstretcher.

 

 

Rarely used after the 1920s, the branch declined with the main canal and was filled in during the 1960s. Just one small section remains, between Lock 50 at Oldham Road to Durham Street, a memory of the now-demolished mills the branch canal used to serve.

Steven said: “I founded the group because I felt sorry for this neglected branch canal, and thought it deserved a better fate than being left to rot into obscurity. I work long shifts and have family responsibilities, but give up my time freely because I love canals and want to see real change in neglected areas.”

“The stonework survives in good condition beneath the infill and it would be relatively easy to dig out the old canal. Remains of old wooden barges in the infilled basins could also be uncovered, photographed and recorded for educational purposes and this would make a fascinating exhibition.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring the Rochdale Canal home to its ancestral birthplace and create a new waterside development, like Castlefield Basin in Manchester, near neglected Drake Street creating regenerative opportunities, environmental improvements, new businesses and jobs."

Part of the historical five-acre site was put forward in 2018 to be redeveloped for up to 150 homes and apartments as part of a major residential scheme by Rochdale Borough Council, which bought Central Retail Park in 2018.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/124923/rochdale-council-pushes-forward-residential-strategy-for-town-centre-following-acquisition

Steven added: “This proposal does not incorporate any elements of a waterside development that would bring environmental, regenerative, economic and job creation opportunities to this neglected area.

“We need to convince the council of the merits of restoring the historic canal basins with developments surrounding it, not build on it. By allowing the building of industrial units on council-owned land near Durham Street Canal Bridge, it makes restoration more difficult and expensive to achieve.”

 

 

Council leader Allen Brett, said: “Although this is a nice idea, it’s difficult to see how this could be delivered, given that the council doesn’t own all the land in question [a plot between Durham Street and Oldham Road is council-owned along with Central Retail Park], and developers would need to invest significant sums to make any such development viable.

“The council is working hard to attract investment into the area around Rochdale station, including the canal corridor. The Central Retail Park is a very small section of land within this area which has unique potential for redevelopment for housing and is attractive to external funders. However, any funding we can attract is directly linked to delivering new homes and jobs.”

The patch of land near Durham Street Canal Bridge has been proposed by the group as “the Brian Holden Marina”, in memory of the late Brian Holden, a founder of the Rochdale Canal Society, to create a new marina and safe haven for visiting boats.

“We owe Brian such a debt of gratitude for everything he did to further the campaign to ultimately reopen this historic waterway. It’s unlikely this magnificent canal would ever have reopened without his guidance and leadership,” Steven continued.

This land, Steven believes, would be ideal for boaters’ facilities, exhibition space, cafés and independent shops.

He added: “The more people using the canal and towpath would help reduce incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour. Hopefully, what we achieve will improve the reputation of this historic canal and create a lasting legacy for Rochdale.”

Members of the Facebook group have also been encouraged to lobby councillors, council officers and the MP to restore the basin.

A petition has also been started by the group to reopen the Rochdale Branch Canal, provide a safe overnight mooring basin for boats travelling on the canal, and develop houses and shops around a marina.

To sign the petition, please visit:

• www.change.org/p/rochdale-metropolitan-borough-council-save-the-rochdale-branch-canal