Campaigners fighting to save Rochdale’s Seven Sisters backed by Rochdale Council and local MP

Campaigners fighting to save Rochdale’s iconic Seven Sisters tower blocks from the bulldozers have been backed by Rochdale Council and the local MP.

The Seven Sisters campaign group celebrated after councillors voted to back calls for the blocks to be protected from demolition.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH), which owns and operates the flats – actually named College Bank – has refused to rule out razing them to the ground.

The housing association faced a backlash from the group in 2017 after plans were submitted to the council to replace four of the high-rises with new accommodation.

Last summer, an ‘exclusivity agreement’ between RBH and Legal & General Affordable Homes (LGAH) was created to explore refurbishment options.

But in the following 16 months, the management structure of RBH changed and the ‘exclusivity agreement’ ended.
 

Read more: Future of the Seven Sisters tower blocks up in the airPublished: 22 October 2024

There is still no definitive answer. It is understood around two thirds of the flats at Seven Sisters are unoccupied. RBH has vowed to improve them and get them filled.

Councillor Danny Meredith tabled a motion at the borough’s latest full council meeting calling for the blocks to be protected. It unanimously passed.

The council has offered to create a joint working group and invited RBH’s chief executive to present refurbishment plans.

 

 

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh has also offered his support. He said: "I’ll never support plans to demolish the Seven Sisters blocks – it’s not an option when so many families in Rochdale urgently need secure, affordable homes.

"I fully back the Save College Bank campaign, their collaboration with the Greater Manchester Tenants Union, and the Council’s unanimous motion opposing demolition. Together, we’re standing up for this community and these vital homes.

"I’m also focused on finding solutions, including working with RBH and ministers to explore funding opportunities that could help refurbish and future-proof these flats for generations to come."

 

 

Amanda Newton, chief executive at Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, said: “RBH is equally committed to working to address the housing crisis and we already work closely with partners including the council to address housing need. 

“We need to ensure all the 28,000 people who live in our homes have safe, warm and affordable places to live, now and for the future. This means it’s critical we make sound financial decisions that balance the investment across all of our homes across the borough of Rochdale.

“We are undertaking detailed surveys and ground investigations to inform the options for College Bank. Until we have this information, all options must remain on the table to ensure that we arrive at a sustainable and affordable solution.

“Alongside our own investigations, the work that the council is doing to determine long term housing need and the types of homes required will also need to be considered in determining the way forward.

“Once more information is available from our survey work, we will be inviting partners to join a task force to explore the available funding options.  The council is a key partner and will be invited to join this.

“We know that our customers have been waiting too long for a way forward to be confirmed and for this we are sorry. We have been working with them over the past year and have made a commitment that we will invest in improvements to the tower blocks and surrounding space at College Bank, based on their feedback.

“This improvement work has started, and we will continue to engage with all those who live in College Bank as plans for the future develop.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter