£3.1m fire museum work set to start
WORK on a brand new Greater Manchester Fire Service Museum in Rochdale is due to start in the New Year.
Building firm Casey, which is based on Rydings Road, have been appointed to take forward the £3.1m project, which is set to open before Christmas 2020.
Casey, which has been operating in Rochdale since the early 1970s, will lead on the construction project to transform Rochdale’s former fire station on Maclure Road.
The changes will bring the museum, which currently operates from the rear yard of the fire station, into the main building, creating a new exhibition space which will be more than four times the size of the existing site.
Museum trustee Bob Bonner said: “We are absolutely thrilled that work on this once-in-alifetime project is about to commence and our revitalised museum will open to the public before long.
“The museum has campaigned for some time to save this wonderful Rochdale icon, so we are delighted that, through our partnerships with Rochdale Council and the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, this goal has finally been achieved.”
Part funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the council, it will allow the public to see even more exhibits, including a fire engine from the 1700s, and is expected to increase annual visitor numbers from 5,000 to 15,000.
It will also include the creation of a brand new co-working office space for creative and digital industries on the first floor, with up to 100 desks.
Councillor John Blundell, cabinet member for regeneration at the council, said: “This well-loved attraction has played host to many thousands of visitors since it opened in the early 1980s, thanks to the efforts of the fantastic volunteers, like Bob, who have put their heart and soul into it.
“This first development is part of Rochdale’s Station Gateway masterplan and the ongoing £400m transformation of Rochdale town centre and we’re proud to be part of it.”