Regeneration - Rochdale Town Centre East
Rochdale Town Centre - A New Beginning
Rochdale town centre is to be the focus of major modernisation
with hundreds of millions of pounds of investment going into
creating a new retail heart that will also boast new offices,
homes, restaurants, cafes and bars.
The £250 million development in the eastern part of the town
centre, mainly on the site of the existing bus station and council
offices, will include:
- The formation of a new retail circuit with attractive squares
connecting the Exchange and Wheatsheaf shopping centres and
Yorkshire Street
- Up to 350,000 sq ft of new retail floor space
- A new central area and open space
- Improvements to the Butts
- A possible new arts centre
- A major food store
- Around 1,200 new car parking spaces in a multi-storey car
park
The proposals are part of plans for the wider area that will
involve building a new transport interchange and the creation of
new civic offices next to the river, other employment uses and
public facilities.
The Rochdale Town Centre East Area Framework SPD was adopted in
December 2007 that set out these proposals. For more
information please see the link below:
At the same time a masterplan is being prepared for the
regeneration of the rest of the town centre.
The process of selecting a development partner, along with
further public consultation, will take place in 2009.
£12 million of funding has been secured for the new bus station
at Smith Street with detailed designs being prepared for
construction to start in 2010. The redevelopment will be
complemented in a few years by the arrival of Metrolink at the
railway station, providing a fast efficient light rail link to
Manchester city centre and beyond, with the possibility of a
further link to the town centre interchange being investigated.
The national housing and regeneration agency, the Homes and
Communities Agency is an active partner with Rochdale Borough
Council and is providing expertise and support.