Notice served on Better Together community hub

The local good causes and charities in the Better Together building in Rochdale centre have been told to leave by 17 March due to ‘numerous’ problems with the building's infrastructure.

The former M&S on Yorkshire Street was transformed into a community hub in 2021, providing free space for charities and community groups through an organisation called ASTOP, which works to give vacant buildings a new purpose.
 

Read more: Charity and community hub in Rochdale town centre opened by Nazir AfzalPublished: 29 July 2021

ASTOP is able to operate the way it does due to the tax break benefits a landlord gets for letting its space be used by registered charities or groups for public benefit.

The only downside to its modus vivendi is occupiers can be given as little as four weeks' notice by the building's owner before having to leave.

The building itself is owned by Rochdale Borough Council, which bought the premises in 2016 for £4.5 million. With the leasehold held by M&S, it is the retailer which has served notice.

It is understood that there has been no running water at the site since last Christmas, resulting in no toilet facilities, with no heating and minimal electricity whilst other unoccupied parts of the building contain asbestos.

 

 

M&S says there are 'several health and safety breaches' whilst ASTOP says that the problems are so severe, that repair is not possible due to the age of the site.

Shaylesh Patel, a director of ASTOP, said: “With helpful input from Rochdale Borough Council, freeholders of the site, as well as Marks & Spencer who are still the council’s tenant and responsible for the premises, we have together kept the ‘Better Together’ building active for the last two years, for the teams at GET Free Books charity and the Temporary Use Aid charity's Rainbow Rising initiative.

“Sadly, now there are problems so severe in this decades-old site, that our combined efforts simply cannot overcome them. Availability of parts for old boiler systems, and asbestos in the fabric of the building that would need to be disturbed to repair damage caused by the frozen pipe in the recent cold snaps are just two examples of why this is simply not possible anymore.

“The ASTOP team pass a heartfelt thank you to all those named above and other parties, including all the charities and building experts, who have come up with workarounds and undertaken repairs to keep the building going for the last two years, including M&S' engineers who are responsible for and still trying to keep the goods lift operational, which will allow the charities to remove their goods from the retail and storage areas.

“Although we currently do not have another local base in our care to offer to the charities and Better Together community, I hope the nearby compassionate commercial landlords, shopping centres and agents will come forward to help concerned councillors and the charities to relocate or store their stock.

“Helping the charities will feed the souls of the more ethical landlords and reduce their empty building costs as well as support the residents that their premises rely on. If you know of unused or underused space, please contact me, shaylesh@astop.org.uk or 07880 788865."

An M&S spokesperson said: “The freehold on this site is owned by Rochdale Borough Council, but as we had a few years remaining on the leasehold we opened up part of the building to help support the local community.

“However, due to several health and safety breaches by the occupiers, we had no choice but to issue a notice to end the existing licence on the building.

“Our managing agents have attempted over a number of weeks to work with Astop, the business that works with the site occupier, to ensure that essential fire, electrical and other safety measures are complied with, but this has unfortunately not been possible.

“We very much regret any disruption caused to any groups that have arrangements with the current occupier to operate from the site.

“However, as a responsible business, we have no choice but to take these steps to ensure essential health and safety measures are followed.”