Demolition: The changing face of Rochdale town centre

Date published: 03 March 2014

The demolition of the Black Box (the old municipal offices) and bus station is well under way with the ramp to the old bus station/Wheatsheaf Centre car park gone and a gaping hole torn into lower floors of the Black Box.

The car park and bus station will be the next area to be demolished followed by the Black Box.

The demolition of the old black box will be a delicate task for the contractors, Connell Brothers, because of its the proximity to Metrolink and other buildings in the town centre, as well as pavements and roads. Having stripped out the internal of the building, Connells will soon cover it with scaffolding and dismantle it from the top down.

The raffle to decide who will start the official demolition of the old bus station and Black Box has been drawn today (3 March) and the lucky winner will climb aboard the high reach machine for a photo, before handing the controls to a demolition contractor who will take the first chunk out of the old bus station once signalled to do so by the winner sounding the klaxon.

Once the demolition is complete, work will also soon begin on a new entrance for The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre on Baillie Street, which is expected to be completed by the end of November 2014.

The space left by the demolition of the buildings is earmarked for a major new retail and leisure development. However, it is understood part of the space will temporarily be used for car parking for the Wheatsheaf Centre.