Rochdale Civic Society Awards 2004

Rochdale Civic Society Awards 2004 winners

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The Rochdale Civic Society proudly presented this years awards at Rochdale Town Hall, on Monday 25 October 2004.

The awards are presented annually and recognise notable contributions to the improvement of the environment of Rochdale. Rochdale MP Lorna Fitzsimons was there to announce the winners and the Mayor of Rochdale Angela Coric presented the awards. Dorothy Greaves, Chairman of Rochdale Civic Society gave a report on the Societies activities for the past year.

St. Martin’s Church of Castleton, Rochdale, was the winner of the Heritage Plaque for its wonderful restoration, thanks to the financial help from the English Heritage and the Lottery. The building has now been altered to include a worship area and community rooms, which are used regularly by various groups and are available for hire.

The church congregation now feel they have been given back their church after spending 13 years in the church hall whilst waiting for funding and the restoration work to be carried out. The church is now seen as a valuable asset by a wider community, and Church Warden Gerald Parker is especially proud of this, "The church was such a mess before, but after the restoration it’s clear that it has been a great success". Dorothy Greaves added, "God meant for the restoration of St. Martin’s Church to happen".

East Lancs. Railway was next in line to win an award. The safe running of the railway relies on a very small full time work force along with volunteers from various trades. Graham Vevers from the East Lancs. Railway was congratulated on the latest station located in Heywood, and for all the hard work that he and others associated with the railway have put in, in recent times.

The third award went to Castle Mill House, a place with an interesting Saxon history with earthworks surrounded by a deep trench. The house was built in 1820 by the Steward to the Lord of the Manor of Rochdale, Samuel Lomax. Then, some four years ago it looked empty and derelict. The property and the surrounding land has since been restored, and is said to look more impressive than ever before. This was probably one of the most deserved awards from the Rochdale Civic Society.

United Cooperative moved to Sandbrook Park, Rochdale following the merger of United Cooperative and Yorkshire Cooperatives in September 2002. The new building on was opened in July 2003. The award was presented to Derek Fogg and Keith Maloney for the high standard and "good design" of the new head office. The building has taken energy conservation to new levels, with tinted glass to minimise solar heating gain in the summer months, lights with presence detectors that control and dim the lights to maximise natural day light, and a unique water recycling system.

Rochdale is the original home of the Coop Movement and as United Cooperatives is the successor Society to the original Rochdale Pioneers the Civic Society are delighted that they chose Rochdale to relocate too.

Last but definitely not least an award was presented to the Sergeant Paula Watson, for the opening of Heywood Police Station. Paula Watson said "This is one of 17 stations being built in Greater Manchester due to a funding scheme being given to the community, but we are still very proud and very grateful to receive this award".

Mayor Angela Coric said in her address, "We need to be reminded of the good things that we have here in Rochdale".

This was evident from the quality, once again, from the winning projects, from new building such as the coop, to the restoration of old buildings within the borough. Once again, the evening was a roaring success.