Final phase of Rochdale Town Hall redevelopment tabled

Rochdale Town Hall

Plans for the next phase of Rochdale Town Hall’s redevelopment have been put forward.

Finishing off the overhaul of the western wing of the Grade-I listed building will be the final piece of the jigsaw for the council. The planning application includes the refitting of the council chamber and the mayoral parlour, as well as other reinforcement works.

This is expected to be completed later on in 2025, pending the decision from the planning team at the council.

Rochdale Development Agency has been working with the local authority throughout the £20m scheme. When the town hall officially reopened in spring 2024, hundreds flocked in to see all the dazzling changes made to the icon that has stood in the heart of the town since 1871.

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 had been painstakingly restored and cleaned.

Once the western wing of the building is completed, the council meetings will be held in the old chamber once again.

Ahead of the official reopening last year, council leader, Councillor Neil Emmott, said: “It’s been a long wait for our residents and I’m delighted that they will finally get to see their beautiful town hall, fully restored in all its glory.

“Not only will they see the town hall they know and love, looking as good as it would have when it first opened in 1871, but they will see brand new features, like the Welcome Gallery, which makes it an even better space than it was before.”

George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter