Arrivals raise hopes of high street boom
TWENTY one new businesses have opened in the town centre in the last two years, latest figures show.
Cafes, shops, restaurants and a gastro-pub are among the firms which have launched since 2015.
And town hall chiefs hope the influx is a sign that the town centre is undergoing a resurgence.
They say a combination of council-funded busi- ness rates discounts and property renovation grants have made Rochdale an attractive place for new businesses.
And in the process the proportion of the empty shops in the area where the incentives are on offer operating has fallen to below one in six.
Council leader Richard Farnell said: “We’ve invested almost £250,000 in small business support for Rochdale town centre to boost our high street in the last two years, and, with 21 new businesses in the town centre since we started, it’s clearly having a big impact.
“At the same time, we’re working towards a new shopping and leisure development, as part of our longer-term £250m regeneration package. With all this going on, we’re now finding that a number of new businesses are opening without any council support because they want to be part of what we’re doing here.
“Our next task is to look at reviving streets outside the core retail area, such as Drake Street, and we’re already working with the private sector on a number of options for this important part of our town centre.”
And while the schemes have given the high street a short-term boost, the longer term £250m regeneration of the town centre, which includes the £100m shopping and leisure development, Rochdale Riverside, set to create around 1,000 permanent jobs, has also been encouraging companies to set up shop.
As the Observer has reported two of the most recent companies to take advantage of the council’s support are the Wellington Hotel, which has just re-opened as a gastro pub in Drake Street, and Marnie’s hairdressers in Smith Street.
Both of the buildings are owned by Millerbrook properties.
Millerbrook director Richard Ward, said: “There’s no magic bullet solution to regenerating a town centre; it’s about a mix of different things, like you have here in Rochdale. Both of our new businesses benefitted from the shop renovation grant, but our tenants also cite the ongoing £250m regeneration as a major reason they’ve come. They’re right next to the new town centre Metrolink stop and transport interchange and will be opposite the new shopping and leisure development when it opens, so they know they will benefit from that footfall.
“Private developers are investing in Rochdale again. They see that the private sector is investing huge sums of money into projects like Rochdale Riverside and know that they wouldn’t do that if there wasn’t potential here.
“Once things like that happen, investors start to take notice. The fact that the council is also leading on this regeneration means they’re really proactive and supportive of new businesses who want to invest.”
The unit next door to Marnie’s hairdressers is set to open as another new shop before the end of the year, with plans for flats above the shops, due go on the market early next year.
Richard Ward added: “Once we’ve renovated these two final units, that will be a total of £2m spent on these historic properties, which total 20,000 square feet and are right in the heart of the town centre. There’s been a massive shift in our town centre from where we were five years ago and we want to be involved.”