The developments set to change the face of the borough in 2025

Date published: 31 December 2024

Huge change is coming to the borough Rochdale in 2025 – with key infrastructure projects set to transform the landscape of the borough.

With the demand for housing growing and pressure from the government to build more homes, planning projects are going to be turbo-charged in the new year.

The onus is on local authorities to spark the projects to breathe new life into areas that have become unused, unloved or fallen derelict.

The core centre of economic development will take place right in the heart of the borough, in Rochdale town centre. Although housing is a high priority, there are ambitious plans in the area to boost the leisure and culture sector.

There is a growing sense of optimism that projects such as Station Square, the land around the train station, can finally see lift off.

Going further afield, the Atom Valley project to create thousands of new jobs, homes, and employment space is set to materialise with the new Innovation Centre recently getting the green light.

Here is a closer look at the key projects that are expecting to progress in 2025:

Regeneration of land around Rochdale station

The multi-million pound plan to regenerate the town centre is connected by three major projects: Upperbanks, Station Gardens and Station Square. Upperbanks is a large 242-home project that was completed earlier this year.

The same can’t be said for the former home of Central Retail Park, off Drake Street. The site is earmarked for 142 apartments and a further 81 town houses, but the project has stalled due to lack of investment.

 

 

There is still hope from the council that the scheme can get going, despite losing out on Levelling Up funding with £20 million in capital funding and £250,000 in revenue funding recently being awarded to Rochdale Council under the Community Regeneration Partnerships programme to create jobs, homes, and improved public spaces.

The funding has been awarded to redevelop the area around Rochdale station and other local projects. Details of Rochdale’s package are being finalised, with the first payments expected early next year.

Given the project was approved in 2022, the developers have three years to commence building work. They may need to get renewed planning permission if they don’t start work before December 2025.

The final part of the town centre regeneration is Station Square. Plans for a new public square outside Rochdale train station were approved in July 2023, under a scheme aiming to provide a pedestrianised gateway to the town. It aims to create “pedestrian prioritised routes” and be “traffic calmed through design”, transforming the area with a multi-million pound design.

 

 

Rochdale Town Hall – final phase

The iconic Rochdale Town Hall finally reopened in spring after shutting its doors back in 2020. 

The long awaited return of the Grade I listed building, which has stood in the heart of the town since 1871, saw thousands flock in to see all the dazzling changes made. Local volunteers had put in thousands of hours into the £20m project which saw the public building brought back into use.

A number of the historic features the building is so well known for, including the decorative ceiling panels and angels in the Great Hall, the Magna Carta mural, the extensive stained glass, painted surfaces and stonework have been painstakingly restored and cleaned.

The final phase is due to be completed in 2025, with the western wing of the hall set to be finalised. It is expected that this year will see the council finally host a meeting in the chamber after years of it being out of action.

Broadfield Slopes

The historic Broadfield Slopes in the centre of Rochdale will soon be transformed after £1.6m plans were given the green light in July.

The site, which forms part of the Grade-II listed park which runs behind the town hall, is currently seen as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘hive of anti-social behaviour’.

 

 

Proposals include plans for a new platform for event space with seating at the centre of the transformation.

In addition to the stage, new footways will be lined with trees and planters designed to spruce up the area leading to the historic Packer Spout feature.

The existing pool at the top will be cleaned up and expanded to create an ecological pond which can be used by the local school and community for education.

Better lighting and an expanded CCTV network are also included to deter crime and anti-social behaviour in the area.

 

 

Atom Valley’s Innovation Centre

The plan for a manufacturing hub at the Atom Valley Innovation Centre – at Kingsway Business Park – was approved in October.

The ‘sustainable materials and manufacturing centre’ (SMMC) will boast 2,724 sq m of space and will have laboratory space; workshops; metrology space; and design and analysis studios.

A lecture theatre; meeting rooms; flexible workspace for start-ups; office space for manufacturers; and a café are also included in the plans.

Atom Valley is one of six growth locations in Greater Manchester and includes significant parts of Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.

It is a vast area of 17 million sq ft employment space, with the potential to offer 20,000 ‘highly-skilled’ roles in the technology and manufacturing sectors.

 

Heywood Civic Centre

The transformation of Heywood Civic Centre began just before Christmas 2024 and is set to be completed by autumn 2025.

The multi-million pound scheme is set to deliver major improvements to extend and modernise the venue, which has delivered events in the heart of Heywood for decades.

 

 

Included in the plan is a glazed frontage onto Peine Square; a new café and bar area; and upgrades to the performance space to boost lighting and sound.

Retractable seating in the auditorium to allow flexible use of the space and accessible lifts and toilets are also proposed.

Proposals to redevelop Peine Square, just outside the civic centre, are also in the works. These changes include areas with green spaces, a variety of seating, performance spaces and planting.

 

Warwick Mill

Almost 300 new apartments, restaurant space and a rooftop garden are all part of an approved rejuvenation of the historic cotton mill in Middleton.

Warwick Mill has towered over the town that sits between Manchester and Rochdale since 1907 – but has been subject to continuous vandalism after being ravaged by a fire back in 2018.

It has been vacant for a number of years, but now the Grade-II listed building will be transformed into 135 apartments with up to 6,500 sq m of commercial ‘floorspace’ up for grabs.

Developers Kam Lei Fong (UK) Ltd will also demolish the neighbouring six-storey office block, known as London House, and replace it with a 146 apartment building.

Whether work will actually start on this plan is still unknown currently, but planning permission was granted in September.

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter