Hundreds of new homes; a manufacturing centre; and regeneration projects around five railway stations in Rochdale have been touted in a cash rollout worth almost £200m.

Hundreds of new homes; a manufacturing centre; and regeneration projects around five railway stations in Rochdale have been touted in a cash rollout worth almost £200m. 

The latest town hall meeting saw Rochdale councillors vote to approve their budget for the upcoming financial year. Although the tax rise was the major talking point of the evening on February 25, the council leader was keen to point out the £197.6m to be invested into capital projects across the borough over the next year. 

The local authority has managed to rake in £120m of funding from outside sources to push forward with some of their major development projects. Town hall bosses took the opportunities to list off the plethora of capital projects coming soon.

The borough will soon see the fruit of their £12m invested into the Sustainable Materials and Manufacturing Centre (SMMC) at Kingsway. The construction of the SMMC is already under way, with completion set for later in 2026.

This flagship facility will contain laboratories, flexible workspaces, workshops and design studios as part of the wider Atom Valley project. The project is expected to be a gamechanger, which will create up to 20,000 highly skilled jobs in technology and manufacturing across Rochdale and Bury. 

Some £6m has been earmarked for physical regeneration projects around the borough’s five railway stations. New homes, commercial space, road and public realm improvements are all in the pipeline for Rochdale, Littleborough, Smithy Bridge, Castleton and Mills Hill stations. 

Work on a new square in front of Rochdale railway station is set to get under way this year, with construction of 33 new homes and commercial space also about to start at nearby Station Road.

Children’s services are expected to benefit also. A total of £900,000 will be spent creating four new children’s homes to enable cared for and young people to live closer to home.

In addition, money will be spent improving school buildings across the borough to create additional, much-needed school places, according to the council. More than £5m will be invested into the borough’s highways network, in addition to special projects such as the extension of the Junction 19 link road.

Some £3.4m will be invested at one of the borough’s biggest tourist attractions. Hollingworth Lake will get a new high nets woodland adventure course, improvements to the Cottage and Palatine buildings, picnic tables and signage, alongside an upgrade to the car parks.

Two massive town centre redevelopment schemes are set to benefit from this capital projects cash also. Heywood and Middleton, on the outer edges of the Rochdale borough have long gone underfunded – now things are expected to change.

Heywood’s Pride in Place funding

Major improvements will continue in Heywood, with money from the Government’s Pride in Place funding programme set to start coming through in 2026. The town has seen years of underinvestment, which is why it received £20m Pride in Place funding from the government, previously known as the Long Term Plan for Neighbourhoods.

With the Peine Square and Heywood Civic complete, the next steps will see where the money, to be released over a 10-year period, will be spent. 

The Pride in Place plan was submitted to the government by the Heywood Town Board. Proposals include creating more activities and opportunities for young people; further enhancements to the town centre, including possible shop front improvement schemes; and creating more work and training opportunities.

A decision from the government on the board’s proposal is expected next month. The money is guaranteed, so if initial plans are not approved, the government will work with the board to make any changes needed.

Middleton redevelopment

Actor and comedian Steve Coogan has officially launched the vision for Middleton’s major regeneration at the end of last year. Work on this will continue as a catalyst for the further regeneration of this area, while plans to repurpose and refurbish the Old Grammar School are expected to soon take shape.

The huge revamp will be part of the Middleton ‘mayoral development corporation’ (MDC) – a public body collaboration between Rochdale and Bury councils in conjunction with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). 

At the heart of the plans, which would connect to the massive Atom Valley scheme, are proposals to bring the Metrolink to Middleton; create new homes on brownfield plots; high-quality business premises; and better public areas, roads and pathways.

The MDC will be run on co-operative principles with a board made up of residents, businesses and public leaders. Decisions will be made collectively, with the community, the council and partners working side by side.

What the council says

Coun Neil Emmott, leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said: “I’m incredibly proud that we are continuing to invest in fantastic projects across our borough, while also keeping council tax discount as low as possible via our innovative council tax discount scheme.

“The fact that more than half the money we’ve allocated for capital spending is coming from external sources, including government grants, lottery bids and other vital funding streams, is testament to how hard we‘ve worked to bring investment into our borough.

“These projects, taking place at sites across the whole borough, are an investment into our future. Schemes like the Atom Valley project, which will create thousands of jobs for our residents, the new children’s homes, which will help to give our young people the best start in life, and the continued investment into our town centres, will all create a positive difference which will be felt for many years to come.”