Church and surroundings designated as a conservation area

St Edmund's Church, Falinge

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St Edmund’s Church on Clement Royds Street and the surrounding area has been designated as a Conservation Area.

The move comes as part of a bid to preserve the Church, which is currently not used, and therefore maintain standards in the area.

The designation has been approved as a matter of urgency in response to a threat to the character and appearance of the area from a planning application to build five new dwellings on land adjacent to the Church.

So far no formal consultation has been carried out. The council will inform residents of the decision and at a later date will consider if the boundary should be extended.

A report presented to Councillors who made the decision suggested that delaying the decision to undertake consultation would mean the appearance and character of the area would be permanently harmed.

The Church is a Grade 1 listed building and is of high national importance. It is the main reason for the conservation area.

St Edmund’s is the last of a group of five churches built in Rochdale, one now lies within the Rossendale borough, by celebrated architects James Medland and Henry Taylor.

The church was built in 1873 and is considered to be England’s best Masonic Church and an outstanding monument to the nineteenth century expression of Freemasonry.

The boundary surrounding the Church can be viewed in the image gallery.