Flowing along nicely: work to reopen the river on course to start within days

Photograph by Andrew Brookes

The transformation of a key part of Rochdale town centre gets underway next week, with contractors set to start uncovering Rochdale’s River Roch and reveal its stunning medieval bridge.

Plans to uncover the 800-year-old bridge, which has been hidden from view for over 100 years, were given the green light in December last year when the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) granted £1.2m to the scheme.

Now the project, which is also backed by the Environment Agency and the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee, is taking shape, with hoardings set to be erected around the Butts area from Monday. (March 16th)

VBA Ltd has been appointed to carry out the painstaking work. The contractor is a joint venture of three well-known companies who have combined to undertake works under the “Water and Environment Management” framework. Between them they have worked on major projects including the Lancaster Flood Defence system, Metrolink and Heysham Power Station.

They will spend next week clearing the site, before breaking ground on Monday 23 March. This work will see them cutting through just over half a metre of concrete to remove the culvert, which acts like a roof for the river. The team are hoping to have the river bed and three-metre high walls exposed by June, depending on river levels.

Stage two of the work, which will start in the summer, will see extensive work on the bridge itself, with the erection of new parapets in traditional york stone, surface repaving and improvements to the stonework.    

The final stage of work, to uncover the section of the river on the other side of the bridge in front of Barclays Bank, will then begin.

Council Leader Richard Farnell, said: “Rochdale town centre is changing fast and it’s great to see another important project getting underway. We already have a beautiful historic attraction in our Grade 1 Listed Town Hall, and revealing our medieval bridge will be a further boost to our wonderful heritage offer. This will create a visitor attraction in the town and help make Rochdale a much more attractive place for the people who live and work here.”

Residents and visitors will be given a unique prospective on the scheme throughout the works, with viewing windows set to be placed along the section of hoardings running from the bottom of Yorkshire Street up to The Walk.

The scheme, which is a key part of Rochdale town centre’s ongoing £250m regeneration programme, will help to reduce flood risk in the town centre and create educational opportunities for the borough’s school and college students.

As well as uncovering and restoring the bridge, the project also includes measures to enhance the natural heritage of the river by introducing features that encourage river vegetation and creatures to re-establish themselves.

Mark Widdup, Director of Economy and Environment at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The river opening is a very exciting development for the borough and it’s great to see this project getting underway. We’re working closely with businesses to minimise disruption and people should still be able to move around the town centre in much the same way for most of the construction period. At some point during the scheme, the roundabout which links Yorkshire Street, The Esplanade and South Parade, will be removed, but this will be managed through occasional lane closures.” 

Recoviner the River - photography supplied by Touchstones Rochdale

Women in Business Event

Friday 06 March, 10am - 2pm, Hopwood Hall College, Middleton Campus

Blue Orchid is proud to be working with Rochdale Council to celebrate International Women's week with a special networking event.

The event will include presentations from three inspirational women speakers who will talk about their experiences of setting up in business.

This is an informal event which will allow ladies to promote thier own businesses on the day and learn from other succesful business women.

The day will include:

• Registration and coffee
• Introduction from Blue Orchid
• The Importance of Health & Well Being
• Warm up activity
• Presentation from Gillian Bishop - Chief Executive of Link 4 Life
• Presentation from Julie Bowmer - 2014 Rochdale Business Woman of the Year
• Presentation from Ruth Yasmeen - SpiderVision Productions and 2015 BAFTA nominee
• Liz McInnes - MP for Heywood & Middleton
• Lunch & Networking
• Exhibitions
• A Blue Orchid Masterclass

To book a place on this fantastic free event please click here

Views sought on Rochdale’s retail and leisure development

Residents will be given their first glimpse of early plans for Rochdale’s proposed retail and leisure development at a public consultation event next week.

Visitors to the town centre exhibition will be able to comment on the development framework, which covers aspects of the scheme such as layout, access and general design.

The development framework and the feedback received at the consultation will help to guide a more detailed planning application, which will be submitted later this year.

The public consultation will be run by Rochdale Borough Council and Rochdale Development Agency in collaboration with their development partner, Genr8 Developments LLP.

Council Chief Executive Steve Rumbelow said: “This is an important next step in the council’s commitment to rejuvenate Rochdale town centre. There is still a lot of work ahead but this consultation will help Genr8 our development partner bring forward detailed proposals and submit a planning application later in the year.”

Mike Smith, partner at Genr8 Developments said: “We are now in the position of negotiating with potential occupiers with real confidence about the development timetable. This is a prime site right in the heart of the town centre and immediately next to the new transport interchange, the town centre Metrolink stop and the iconic new council offices and library. We are really excited about this opportunity and believe others will be as well.”

Following the consultation, Genr8 will start work on a detailed design, with a view to submitting a detailed planning application, comprising retail, cinema, bars, restaurants and other uses, as well as car parking.

The Genr8 development forms part of a £250m regeneration of Rochdale town centre, which has included the award winning customer service centre, council office and library at Number One Riverside, the arrival of Metrolink into the town centre and the new transport interchange.

The consultation event will take place at the following times and locations:

Bar 5 on South Parade, Rochdale 

• Tuesday 10 February from 11am until 7pm  
• Wednesday 11 February from 10am until 5pm

 

Number One Riverside

• Thursday 12 February from 10am until 5pm

 

More information about the consultation and the town centre regeneration can be found at www.rochdaletowncentre.com or on Twitter @RochdaleCentre

Top M&S model Rosie Huntington Whiteley could be on her way to Rochdale...

A selection of beauty products are on offer now for one week only in the Rochdale M&S store including buy one get one half price on the Nature’s Extract and La Maison beauty ranges.

Purchasing any one of these products contributes towards the stores overall performance to give Rochdale M&S a chance of bringing one of the UK’s  top model’s - Rosie Huntington Whiteley to the town on Saturday 31 January.

M&S Stores up and down the country are competing against each other for the biggest uplift in beauty sales. The store with the biggest uplift in sales will receive a personal visit from the model to kick start the launch of her new perfume “Rosie for Autograph” next Saturday.

Help increase the store’s chances of winning by purchasing any M&S beauty product. Pick up an early an Valentine’s present or Mother’s Day gift for your loved one and help bring Rosie to Rochdale!

Rochdale's New Market Open for Business

Rochdale's brand new market opens for business today (Thursday 22 January) with 37 traders selling a host of products including fruit and vegetables, jewellery, clothing, footwear and haberdashery.

Handily located on the old municipal offices site on the doorstep of Number One Riverside, shoppers can enjoy a traditional market experience and pick up fresh food as well as one-off items.

Most stalls will be open five days a week, with some traders, including a fishmonger, coming in just on Saturdays.

The opening hours for the market are 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday. The flea market will operate as usual on Tuesdays.

In the longer term, the market will be moved to the Butts to sit alongside the reopened River Roch as part of a multi-million regeneration of that area.

Long standing trader in the market for move to former municipal offices site

Peter Jordan's family have been trading on Rochdale market for over 90 years.

 

A farmer whose family have been trading on Rochdale market for over 90 years is looking forward to a fresh new start when the market reopens on the former municipal office site next Thursday.

Peter Jordan (70) has Rochdale market in his blood, having sold his farm produce on his stall since he was a teenager back in 1959.

The Jordan family’s history is part of the market’s heritage, with Peter’s grandfather, Patrick, setting up the family’s stall on Yorkshire Street back in 1919. The family have moved with the market ever since and retained their loyal customer base.

Peter, who now sells eggs and plants which he produces on his smallholding and nursery, said: “It feels like a new dawn for the market and that’s an exciting prospect.  We have always managed to retain our customer base, but the markets have suffered with the advent of supermarkets and discount stores and the people who managed the market before didn’t have much interest in developing it.

“Putting the market next to the car parks, bus station and metrolink will be a great boost. Stalls, particularly ones selling heavier items like fruit and vegetables, have suffered as a result of being too far away from the transport links. This will be a shot in the arm for the market.”

The council is set to open the market on the former municipal offices site next Thursday (22), weeks ahead of the planned opening date in February.

Over 40 traders have expressed an interest in moving to the new site, with greengrocers, fishmongers, footwear, clothing, electrical stalls and more, all set to have a place in one of the cabin style units which have been provided by the council.

Council Leader Richard Farnell said: “This is an exciting time for the market we’re really pleased that so many of our existing stallholders are on board and see the huge potential it has.

“Peter’s story shows that the market is an important part of Rochdale’s past and the council sees it is an equally important part of its future.

“The council has laid the foundations for a really successful market by placing it in quality units in a prime location, with plans to move it to the Butts when the River Roch is reopened and to find a dynamic operator to attract new traders and help it achieve its full potential.

“Peter’s family have been trading in Rochdale for over 90 years and I’m sure they will still be trading successfully here in Rochdale in 90 years time.”

Peter added: “We have an enthusiastic council which wants to regenerate the town centre and open the river and this can only be a good thing for Rochdale and bring more people in. The market can be a big part of that.”  

The new market will open at 9am on Thursday 22 January.  It will be open initially for six days a week, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm, with the flea market operating on Tuesdays.

Rochdale retailers thank festive shoppers for December sales boost

Local retailers thank shoppers for supporting the town over the festive period and boosting trade.

Rochdale town centre retailers report that for most, sales over Christmas were better than the previous year.

Mark Foxley of Rochdale Town Centre Management Company said: “The verbal feedback I’ve had from retailers is that Christmas for most was well up on last year.  Some retailers have cited upturns of between 10% and 20% in sales compared to the previous Christmas, with one reporting a sales lift of over 20%.”

Lorenzo O’Reilly, Centre manager of Rochdale Exchange said: “Overall in the main it’s been very positive with retailers reporting year on year growth.”

Debbie Hernon echoed these comments for the Wheatsheaf Centre retailers and would like to thank shoppers for their continued support.

Lorenzo added: “Trade picked up following Black Friday and continued well for businesses, by far the majority of retailers are happier this year than they have been in previous years.

Graeme Fitchett, Marks and Spencer store manager said: “There has been a real buzz about the town centre over the Christmas period and this has been reflected in our footfall and sales on last year.”

Beales department store director Keith Rudman stated: “The department store has returned healthy December sales of double figure growth on last year.”

Boots store manager Mike Webster also reported a boost in Christmas sales: “Boots has had a fabulous Christmas, with double digit growth on Christmas gift sales. We have invested in the Rochdale store with a new digital photo department and contemporary fixtures and fittings.”

Leading independent retailer Chantilly reported sales up on December last year. Owner Marjorie Thompson said: “I wish to thank all of our loyal customers for their continued support.”

Mark Foxley added: “The season started with the very well attended Christmas lights switch on and lantern parade, and I join all businesses in saying a big thanks!  Rochdale Town Centre has over 60 household names and 80 fabulous independent shops and venues, thanks to everyone for shopping locally and supporting your town centre.”

2015 is set to be an exciting year for the town centre, starting with the re-opening of the river Roch and the council initiatives including introducing the first 3 hours free car parking from April and a business rates reduction pilot scheme to attract new retailers into the town.  The new entrance to the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre will be completed before the summer and new retailers including Morrisons Local and Java Coffee Shop are both opening early 2015.”