Rochdale Hive plan still buzzing

Rochdale’s plans for a social and entertainment Hive in the town centre remain alive as more towns are set to be named Portas Pilots in July.

Rochdale was not amongst the first 12 towns to be chosen but it’s not the end of the bid as those towns that were not named in this first phase will automatically be considered for the second round.

Debbie O’Brien, Town Centre Manager and head of the bid team, said: “We believe we have a strong bid which responds to the challenges all town centres are facing.

"This is just the first round of announcements. 15 more towns will be announced later this summer so we’re still very much in the running.”

Council Leader Colin Lambert said: “We’re still optimistic that we’ll be successful in the second round."