Huge contracts for local firms as milestones are reached
FIRMS close to home have been boosted to the tune of tens of millions of pounds after being invited to work on the Rochdale Riverside redevelopment.
A number of key contracts on site have been awarded locally, with more than 80 per cent of the spend so far by contractors Willmott Dixon on the £80M leisure and retail units being committed within Greater Manchester.
The figures were released as the project, which is projected to be worth £17M a year to the local economy once complete, passed a number of construction milestones.
Work on the multi-storey car park at the John Street end of the site will finish early in 2019, and piling for the M&S unit is under way.
The shops are also emerging, with metal frames for most of the retail units now in place and work to put their roofs in place starting in the new year.
The leisure block at the Baillie Street end of the site, which will feature a six screen cinema, is also progressing well, with concrete floors in place and the contractors starting to build out the cladding.
Willmott Dixon have awarded contracts amounting to 40pc of their total spend so far with companies in Rochdale, with Chichester Street-based Hovington’s securing a contract worth around £7M to carry out the groundworks on site earlier this year.
A further 42pc of spend has gone to companies based within Greater Manchester, with Irlam’s Cara Brickwork and Bolton’s Network Scaffolding recently winning contracts worth close to £2M.
The figures also show the effect on local employment, with more than 60 per cent of the 80 people who are currently employed on site living within 20 miles of the development.
Anthony Dillon, managing director of Willmott Dixon in the North, said: “We believe in delivering projects that leave a lasting community legacy far beyond bricks and mortar, and that all can be proud of. This project will be a fantastic new addition to Rochdale and is already proving an exciting catalyst to encourage new inward investment.
“Working with local supply chain partners wherever possible and creating local employment opportunities are a hugely important way in which we support our communities, as is empowering local causes and organisations that directly change the lives of those in need.”