Kirkholt flats saved from demolition

The four blocks of one bedroom flats on Daventry Road were to go under the bulldozer last year

Four blocks of one bedroom flats on Daventry Road, Kirkholt were to go under the bulldozer last year but Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) scrapped the demolition plans as more smaller flats are now needed due to the government’s Bedroom Tax.

After Kirkholt councillor Richard Farnell took up the case with RBH, instead of being demolished, the 44 flats have just undergone a £750,000 makeover.

Councillor Farnell said: “As part of the long term plans for the estate, the flats were to be demolished because they were quite small and difficult to let. But all that changed with the introduction of the government’s Bedroom Tax. Because hundreds of tenants are having to pay up to £25 a week extra if they have spare bedrooms, smaller houses and flats are now in great demand as people are forced to downsize.

“It seemed pretty illogical to me to bulldoze these one bedroom flats at a time when demand was going through the roof. I took the case to the Board of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, and they agreed with me to save the flats.

“And not only have they been saved, they have just undergone a huge makeover. All the flats have been modernised with new windows and doors, improvements to the communal areas, rewiring and new cladding to the outside.

“They are looking really smart, and with all the other improvements now planned for Kirkholt, they are a real credit to the estate.

“What’s more, RBH have more one bedroom flats which are desperately needed as tenants are forced to move out of their homes because of the government’s hated Bedroom Tax.”

Gemma Glossop, Development Project Manager at RBH, said: “We have carried out a full programme of internal and external refurbishments to four blocks of flats at Daventry Road, Kirkholt at a cost of approximately £750,000.

“This will provide our tenants with much improved homes and enhance the local environment for the benefit of all residents.

“These properties were previously earmarked for demolition under the Vision for Kirkholt Masterplan, but we lifted the demolition notices last summer as the demolition of the blocks was no longer within our planned areas of potential regeneration and development.”