Flats above pub in bid to breathe life into centre
FLATS are being built above one of Rochdale’s most historic pubs in a move which the council hopes will kickstart a town centre housing boom.
Seven one-bedroom apartments are being created above the Wellington pub on Smith Street.
Built in the 1760s as a mill owner’s property, before being used as a coaching inn during the Victorian period, it was recently re-opened as a gastro pub.
Developers Millerbrook Properties, who own the building, have spent more than £1.6m renovating it and received a listed building grant from the council to help fund the creation of the apartments.
The properties, which are expected to be complete in summer 2018, will be available for private rent and will help kickstart the regeneration of Drake Street and the surrounding area, which was recently named a Heritage Action Zone by Historic England.
It means £1.5m could be spent over the next five years bringing Drake Street’s historic buildings back into use.
Richard Ward, from Millerbrook Properties, said: “A year ago, this entire building, which was an important historical site in the centre of Rochdale, was completely empty. Now we have a thriving gastro pub, Marnie’s hairdressers and, by the summer, we will have seven new apartments here, the first private residential development in Rochdale for a number of years.
“These apartments will cost less than half what someone would pay to live in Manchester city centre, yet you’re so close to the transport links, you could be in the city centre in less than half an hour, as well as enjoying all the new restaurants and shops which will be built on your doorstep as part of the Rochdale Riverside development. As this regeneration continues, other developers will sit up and take notice and the private sector investment will continue to pour in. If these apartments prove popular, we will look at trying to create a housing development on the former Iveson’s site in Drake Street, which we also own.”
Coun John Blundell, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “By working with the private sector and giving support where we can, we are creating the conditions for investment to pour in and breathe new life into our town centres.
“This development not only brings part of an ●●Inspecting the work are, from the left, David Bancroft from Bancroft Construction Ltd, Alan Bennett from Millerbrook Properties and Coun John Blundell, cabinet member for regeneration important historic building back into use, it also supports the next phase of regeneration in Rochdale town centre, which will focus on creating good quality housing around the new developments and shops. This, combined with plans to create new housing at College Bank, Falinge and along Drake Street and its surrounding areas, will also help us address the acute housing shortage which councils up and down the country are facing.”