Middleton Gardens landscaping scheme launched

The Middleton Gardens landscaping launch has been officially launched.

Representatives form Rochdale Council, Rochdale Development Agency and Impact Partnership met with contractors, Balfour Beatty, this week to discuss the final details of the scheme before the work on site starts next week.

The Deputy Leader of Rochdale Council, Councillor Peter Williams, said: “It is fantastic to see the plans finally getting to this advanced stage.

“Middleton Gardens has seen a lot of change over the years but many local residents have fond memories of when Middleton Gardens was a greener, more attractive space.

“This new scheme is inspired by the Central Gardens of the 1930s with much larger areas of planting, lawns, trees and seating. I’m sure residents will be pleased with the end result”.

The scheme is a key component of the Middleton Town Centre Spatial Masterplan, which will bring a coordinated approach to the development of the town centre.

Around £57 million has been invested in the town centre since 2005 and will increase by a further £4 million because of the Middleton Gardens scheme and the recently confirmed Middleton and Edgar Wood Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) which will improve the Middleton Town Centre Conservation Area.

John Hudson, Chief Executive of Rochdale Development Agency, said: “These works are a vital step in the continued development of the town centre.

“It will provide a more attractive link between new developments such as Tesco and the Arena and the existing town centre and Conservation Area.

“It will create a more enjoyable experience for shoppers coming into Middleton Town Centre and hopefully persuade even more people to visit”.

Roger Wood from Balfour Beatty, added: “We are delighted to be working with Impact and RDA to deliver this high quality project in Middleton. As a business we have delivered many of these high quality public realm schemes and will endeavour to minimise the impact of the works on the local community and businesses.”

All of the businesses in the town centre will be trading as usual and the pedestrian access to shop units will be maintained during the works, which are scheduled to be completed this November.

The Contact Centre number for any enquiries during the works is 0845 121 2979.