Plans take £60m step into future
THE regeneration of Rochdale town centre has taken another major leap forward.
A detailed planning application for the flagship retail and leisure development - Rochdale Riverside - has been submitted to the council.
The £60m scheme includes a six-screen Reel cinema, 24 shops and restaurants, with high street chains M&S and Next already signed up, and 350 new car parking spaces. It is part of a wider £100m regeneration of the town centre, with a further £40m expected to be spent around the Penn Street and John Street areas.
Details of the second phase of the scheme are yet to be decided, but it may include offices, a hotel with up to 120 bedrooms and 100 new apartments.
Rochdale council leader Richard Farnell said: “This is a hugely important milestone for the regeneration of our town centre. The new stores and high street names will attract new shoppers back to town and give a massive boost to all retailers. It’s a unique mix of retail and leisure which will create 1,000 new jobs and boost the local economy by £17m. This is a red letter day for Rochdale and yet more evidence in the turnaround of the fortunes of our town centre.
“Rochdale Riverside is an important part of our £250m regeneration programme, which has transformed Rochdale beyond all recognition since 2010, and includes the re-opening of the River Roch and the construction of Rochdale council’s award winning customer service centre, library and office building, Number One Riverside.”
The shops and Reel cinema will be located around Baillie Street, with the demolition of Telegraph House, the last remaining building on the site, expected to be completed before Christmas.
As the Observer went to press, Rochdale’s planning department was starting to process the various planning documents, which should be available for the public to view from Monday, November 21.
The application is expected to be considered early in the new year, with construction planned by late summer 2017.
More details on the plans, by developers Genr8, will be available in a two-week exhibition starting at Number One Riverside on Monday, November 28. On the opening day, from 11am to 7pm, residents will be able to speak to the design team about the plans.