A vibrant Middleton town centre

Construction started in August 2007 on a new £13 million leisure and civic centre in the heart of Middleton town centre.

The 7,300 sq m Middleton Arena will provide state-of-the art sports and entertainment facilities for the area  including two swimming pools, sports hall, exercise and fitness studios as well as a performance and concert hall.

This exciting new development is the result of a deal negotiated by Rochdale Development Agency and Rochdale Council with supermarket firm Tesco. Delivery of the new facilities will be followed by the construction of a Tesco Extra store in the town centre that will create around 220 new local jobs. The project has received extensive support from the local community and follows more than two years of community consultation. Construction of the Arena is being managed by Barr and is expected to take around 18 months.

The Arena is part of a whole package of plans to reinvigorate Middleton, breathing life back into the town centre and creating jobs to boost the local economy.

The Arena and store form part of masterplans created by Rochdale Development Agency to revive the town centre and follows the £4.5 million replacement of the town’s bus station. Over the coming years other improvements will see a new post office and retail development, improved office space, relocation of the market and creation of a new public square and modern new housing.