Council leader's column: regeneration plans for Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale

Neil Emmott is the leader of Rochdale Council and a councillor for West Middleton.

This month he dedicates his column to discussing regeneration plans for Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale.

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Many challenges await us this year, locally and nationally, but through our ambitious borough-wide regeneration plans, investment in the community and innovative service delivery, I am optimistic that our borough will continue to grow and prosper.

My priorities for 2023 are driving forward regeneration plans, ensuring residents continue to be supported with their cost of living, and the ongoing provision of good quality, value-for-money services.

The development of Middleton and Heywood town centres continues. In Middleton, we will drive forward the town centre masterplan, and continue to campaign for levelling up funds to boost the economy and keep our plans on track for improved transport connectivity, including a new tram link.

Last autumn, I was proud to officially open the Queen Elizabeth II way link road in Heywood. The £25 million investment connects the M62 to Pilsworth Road, helping to boost the local economy, create new jobs and improve transport links for residents, businesses and visitors.

Heywood’s town centre masterplan will be at the centre of further investment in the town over the coming months. We are also about to start our renovation of the Civic Centre, bringing it up to date and securing its future for years to come.

Our £400 million investment in Rochdale is transforming the town centre. Much has already been achieved, such as the Riverside Retail and Leisure Scheme. There is still much to look forward to, including our transformative £60 million Upper Banks scheme, which will provide 242 new flats and a 146 room hotel.

In addition, our visionary Rochdale Town Hall regeneration scheme is due for completion later in the year. This will transform the interior and exterior of our Grade-I listed jewel in the crown, including a new welcome gallery, exhibitions, event space and a beautifully designed paved outdoor area.

Our cost of living support package remains in place. This includes our food voucher scheme, which supports over 12,000 families during the school holidays; further assistance to reduce energy bills and maintaining our warm space venues.

We now have over 40 warm spaces in the borough, offering free hot and cold drinks, warm showers, water and a place for people to socialise and keep warm during the winter months.

Our cost of living campaign - Helping Hand - will continue to help residents offset their cost of living and reduce the chance of our residents having to choose between heating and eating.

The news that our levelling-up bids have been turned down by the government was disappointing but, sadly, hardly surprising. Time and time again they have failed to match words with action and this was another bitter blow for our area.

Perhaps the levelling up fund should be renamed the kicking areas when they are down fund.

The government has made kicking the can down the road into an art form. Our borough was considered to be the highest priority yet we have received absolutely nothing. Both our bids were very strong, investment ready and had the support of our local MPs.

Our residents can be assured that we will keep fighting tooth and nail for this funding, which will help drive forward our ambitious regeneration plans for the Middleton, Heywood and Rochdale areas.

I am seeking urgent answers as to why our bids were turned down but residents can be reassured we will be re-submitting them as our campaign to make our borough an even better place to live, work and grow up in continues.