Former care home in Middleton could become community centre with links to religious TV station and academy

Plans have been shared to turn a former care home in Rochdale into a new community centre which will collaborate with a religious TV station and academy.

A planning application submitted to Rochdale Council has outlined plans to transform the former Briarmede Care Home in Middleton into a community hub with classrooms, five guest bedrooms designated for students, and offices.

A report submitted as part of the application states: “The development is proposed to have 14 classrooms, male and female toilets, two receptions, three offices, storage rooms, kitchen, funeral room, main hall, five guest rooms and a library over two floors.”

The centre is set to work ‘in correlation’ with Hidayat TV, a station with programmes on religion, current affairs, and entertainment which describes itself as “the first Muslim channel in the United Kingdom and Europe.”

It will also work with Al Sadiq Academy, an education and research centre for the Muslim community. In total, around 40 to 60 students will use the site at any given time.

If approved, the site would host four to six members of admin staff and four to five teachers. The school would be used as an Islamic school from Monday to Friday, with wedding functions taking place over weekend, according to one report submitted as part of the plans.

However, 94 objections have been made against the proposal on the council’s planning portal ahead of the determination deadline on Wednesday 27 December.

The vacant site on Rochdale Road was formerly a home to elderly residents who were left needing to find urgent accommodation when it announced its closure in 2019, entering voluntary liquidation.

 

Read more: Elderly care home residents need to be urgently rehomed after shock closure announcementPublished: 16 October 2019

 

The last inspection of the site by the Care Quality Commission, which was published in September 2019, rated the care home as “requiring improvement” after the care provision fell short in a number of areas including a lack of repairs making the building unsafe for residents.

The outcome of the application is currently awaiting a decision.

Declan Carey, Local Democracy Reporting Service