Agreement is reached on apartments
THE council has entered into an agreement with a leading property company to manage the rental of a brand new, high quality apartment complex which recently completed in Rochdale town centre.
The move means that the apartments, which are a mixture of studio, one and two beds, will hit the rental market within days.
Manchester-based urbanbubble has been taken on to let and manage the 242 apartments, which are part of the £60m Upperbanks development.
The game changing development has created a new offer for the borough, which doesn’t currently have high quality private rental accommodation of this size and scale.
The apartment complex includes high quality communal areas, a concierge service and landscaped gardens. It sits alongside a 146 room Hampton by Hilton Hotel, which opened in September this year.
The development is steps away from the Rochdale Riverside retail and leisure complex in the heart of Rochdale town centre, which opened in 2020 as part of a wider £400m regeneration programme.
It is also close to the Metrolink network and Rochdale train station, which operates six trains an hour into Manchester.
Councillor Danny Meredith, cabinet member for regeneration and housing said: “These fantastic apartments offer something brand new for Rochdale and demonstrate the really high quality of developments which are being delivered as part of our regeneration programme.
“A thriving borough needs a mix of different types of housing to cater for different people and lifestyles and these homes are a really important part of that wider offer.
“I’m delighted urbanbubble is now on board. The apartments not only look fantastic, but they’re right in the heart of our newly regenerated Rochdale town centre, which
has a great retail and leisure offer, as well as fantastic transport links. I’m confident that they’ll prove popular.”
Michael Howard, managing director and owner of urbanbubble, said: “The Upperbanks scheme has created high quality build to rent accommodation in the heart of Rochdale, which easily compares to the best on offer in Manchester, but at more accessible prices.
“This fantastic development really adds something new to the market here, creating even more choice for people looking to make Rochdale their home or for those who already live here and want something a bit different.
“We will be marketing these properties very soon
and we expect levels of interest to be high.” The apartments are expected to appear on Rightmove in the coming days and the urbanbubble team have plans to create an Upperbanks website in the new year, which will contain more information on the apartments and how people can find out more and register their interest.
The Upperbanks scheme has attracted more than £20m of external funding, with over £17m from the government’s Future High Streets Fund and over £3m from the GMCA Brownfield Development Fund.
It was delivered by RDA on behalf of Rochdale Borough Council, with Willmott Dixon acting as the main contractors.
GO on an epic journey to the South Pole as a boy tries to take a wandering penguin home, in this heart-warming adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ awardwinning children’s story.
‘Once there was a boy and one day, he found a penguin at his door…’
But everyone knows penguins don’t belong in sleepy seaside towns, so what’s the boy to do? Find out where the lost penguin came from and take it home, of course.
Together they embark on an epic journey across the high seas all the way to the South Pole. Encountering many obstacles along the way, the boy realises what he’s really lost… and found.
This magical stage show of Oliver Jeffers’ Lost and Found has been adapted by renowned children’s TV and theatre producer Will Brenton.
Original music composed by Gruff Rhys – who many will know as the guitarist and vocalist of Super Furry Animals as well as for his awardwinning film and theatre scores – adds another layer to this moving story.
Featuring puppetry and video projections, a cast of characters that charm and delight, not to mention a gang of rowdy seagulls – expect to laugh and be moved by this touching tale.
Full of surprises, you might even be called on to help out from time to time. What will you find?
A combination of rod puppets, hand puppets and full body costume puppets, led by renowned puppetry director and puppeteer, Olly Taylor
(Star Wars, Asteroid City), bring the characters from the story to life.
The puppets are operated by actors and puppeteers whose costumes, designed by Set and Costume
Designer Jean Chan, embody the lost and found elements of the sea, merging, and emerging from the piles of flotsam and jetsam that make up the set.
To watch a trailer visit: Visit: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v= QTAB3MFIQ4G
Lost and Found
Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Until 6 January 2024
Standard Tickets £15, £20, £25 Affordable Tickets £7.50, £10, £12.50 Suitable for all ages
Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult over 18.
Visit: https://factoryinternational. org/whats-on/lost-and-found/
Factory International is the organisation that runs and programmes Manchester International Festival and the landmark new cultural venue, Aviva Studios, a global destination for arts, music, and culture in the heart of Manchester.
Built with flexibility in mind, the building is based around large, open, adaptable spaces that can be constantly reconfigured, enabling artists to develop and create largescale work of invention and ambition of a kind not seen anywhere else in the world.
The venue’s development was led by Manchester City Council, with backing of £99.05m from HM Government and £7m National Lottery funding from Arts Council England.
Visit: Visit: https://factory international.org/