Middleton buildings get £2m repair boost

The legacy of architect Edgar Wood is to be preserved with the help of a £2m lottery grant.

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) cash will help repair a host of Wood-designed buildings around Middleton.

Wood, who was born in Middleton, was renowned for his buildings designed in the arts and crafts style.

The architect, who died in 1935, concentrated on smaller domestic projects but also designed a number of churches.

He came to prominence around the turn of the 20th Century and played a part in the emergence of International Modernism in the 1920s.

Examples of his work are mainly found in the former cotton mill towns around Greater Manchester and over the Pennines in West Yorkshire.

The HLF said Middleton had a "number buildings of major heritage value including several designed by Edgar Wood".

As well as repairs to his buildings, the £2,025,800 grant for Rochdale Council will help place Middleton on the heritage map through the creation of an Edgar Wood Architecture Trail and a conservation skills training scheme.

In awarding the grants, the HLF money will help restore traditional shop fronts, buildings and key architectural features.

Carole Souter, chief executive of the HLF, said: "This investment will help support local authorities and residents to transform their towns, making essential improvements and repairs that will encourage local businesses and visitors back into these historically vibrant areas."

The funding has been initially set aside for the schemes, which must now submit a further, fully-developed application to secure the award.

In Middleton, the money will be used to improve access to a number of important buildings in the town centre, including the parish church and Long Street Chapel.

Peter Rowlinson, of Rochdale Council, said: "What we want to do is join the town centre and the major heritage area together, improve the surroundings of these major listed buildings and make the whole area look and work a bit better."