Rochdale: a thriving place to live and work

Rochdale Sixth Form College

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A bus tour of the Rochdale borough, designed to be an eye opener, showed that there are good points about Rochdale and that work is under way to make Rochdale a sustainable and thriving place to live and work.

Some residents may be oblivious as to how Rochdale is changing, and this bus tour was to show that developments are already well underway, Rochdale is rapidly improving, the example of the Kingsway development explicitly shows this. John Hudson, of Rochdale Development Agency said: “It shows that the council have put their money were there mouth is.”

Those viewing Rochdale in a fresh perspective on the bus tour included community champions Karan Buller and Simon Johnson, Cllr Jean Hornby and Cllr Terry Linden, Kitsa Efthymiadis from Molesworth solicitors, Trevor Joiner of Deployment and Hopwood student representatives.

An important aim is to create a successful, stable and vibrant town and this will be done by bringing different dimensions together, such as shopping, leisure, transport and housing. Trevor Joiner, of Deployment, said: “It’s good that it is about bringing all of Rochdale together.”

Family oriented leisure facilities within the town will be brought to the fore, so that the town centre doesn’t only come alive after midnight, primarily with drinkers. John Hudson stated that it is about “expansion, extension, enhancement” for the town centre, not replacement of what it already has. The new leisure centre next to the old swimming baths is due to open later this week; this £11.3m investment will be a momentous change to Rochdale’s leisure.

Alternatives to shopping in Rochdale town centre are many. Littleborough, for example, features a large range of independent retailers and restaurants. In the year of the Co-operative, the Heywood Magic Market is an example of a co-operative market, businesses working together to create a vibrant shopping experience.

Rochdale Council’s Chief Executive, Jim Taylor said: “Since joining Rochdale Council in May I’ve enjoyed learning more about what our borough is really like by getting out and about and visiting as many people and places as I can.

“I’ve been extremely impressed by the amount of investment and regeneration that is underway. We are also fortunate to have some of the best countryside, parks, leisure and cultural amenities in the country right here on our doorstep.

“There are many misconceptions about our borough and reality tells a very different story.”

John Hudson described the current 1970s designed bus station as a “monstrosity” and said that it is “falling down” and hence looking forwards towards the new development of the bus station and Metrolink interchange. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, this interchange aims to bring custom into Rochdale.

As the tour initially left the Town Hall, it began by following the Olympic Torch route. This brought many visitors into the town centre over the weekend (23 June), for a momentous, once in a lifetime event.

Views were available of education facilities: The new Sixth Form and Hopwood College, which has recently undergone an eye-catching face lift and managed to update its exterior décor.

Matthew Moss High School was an exemplar of the results of the money which has been ploughed into schools. It is part of the “Building School’s for the Future Programme” in which this existing school was taken and rebuilt completely. St Anne’s Academy and Cardinal Langley are further examples of “remodelled, refurbished schools.” Cardinal Langley now has an ETFE roof - this atrium space is covered, but translucent, allowing light to enter the building.

It is said that Rochdale needs to make use of their close proximity to the countryside, for tourism. Hollingworth Lake is a fine example of how Rochdale does this with one of its amenities. It is a popular visitor attraction at the weekends, one of the reasons being the watersports which are offered by the councils' partner, Link4Life. The Lake itself is owned by United Utilities and was built in 1804 in order to supply water to Rochdale Canal.

Springfield Park was used as an example of one of the three green flag parks which Rochdale is home to.

Rochdale Canal is another excellent amenity. It runs from Calderdale to Manchester; however some boat movements are limited in certain areas due to scientific interest.

Rochdale has five motorway junctions, which Penny Sharp, of RMBC said: “is the most nationwide, making it well connected.” This gives the industrial parks a strategic location, for example, Pilsworth off the M62. The Yearsley Group situated at Heywood Industrial Park is going to undergo a £20m investment, growing and expanding their business and creating 150 new jobs for local people.

The Kingsway site is newly home to businesses such as Vindon Scientific and C.R. Laurence of Europe, the latter is American owned and the European headquarters. The Asda distribution and recycling facility is currently under construction here.

Rochdale competed with the rest of the North West for Asda; however the Kingsway location was appealing enough to land Rochdale the deal. Eventually, 1,000 jobs will be available in this development. As well as being an ideal location, the view from the top of the Kingsway estate is idyllic, with hills wrapped around and the town’s landscape in the distance below.

Due to open in December 2012 is a Metrolink stop devoted to Kingsway. This will allow the work force to have a public transport alternative to cars. Local residents are beginning to make use of the cycleways and walkways which have recently been added to the Kingsway area.

Lots of Home Improvement Programmes were shown, an example being the renovation of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) at Freehold. The Darnhill new housing development scheme has also proved popular. Langley has become another success story with regards to housing, since Manchester City Council handed it over to the Rochdale Borough.

A Starbucks under construction on Manchester Road will be a boost of energy for caffeine lovers, showing that this huge chain is another who want their business within Rochdale.

Kitsa Efthymiadis of Molesworth Solicitors said that: “The regeneration of Rochdale can only be good for our business.”

Jim Taylor spoke about the tour: “We wanted to show Rochdale in a new light and show all of the positive aspects, which seem to get forgotten about because of the bad press Rochdale has had recently. We want to change that bad press.

“There are so many good facilities and developments, for example, the regeneration of various schools and the development of Kingsway. The Asda facility which is currently being built will be the greenest Walmart in the world. Already, lots of people have been to visit the site.”