Empty housing blocks set for demolition

Wednesday, 2 April 2025 12:45

By George Lythgoe, Local Democracy Reporter

Six empty housing blocks on a deprived housing estate in Rochdale are one step closer to being demolished.

Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) wants to regenerate the Lower Falinge estate, and has determined bulldozing all the blocks is the only affordable option.

The maisonette blocks set to be flattened are Zedburgh, Ollerton, Newstead, Romsey, Quinton, Ullesthorpe, and Vaynor.

If planning permission is granted by the council, RBH intends to level the empty blocks within the next 12 months.

In 2013, the Lower Falinge was named the most deprived area in England for the fifth successive year.

Since then there have been ambitions to redevelop the area to improve standards for residents. Millions has already been invested into newer housing in the area, and social housing landlord RBH intends to continue on that path once the blocks are gone.

In a letter sent to residents, RBH said:

“We aim to complete the demolition of the six empty blocks and the commercial buildings within the next 12 months and will be seeking planning permission in the coming weeks.

“We plan to carry out preparation work soon, so you will see some increased activity around the blocks. Once we have appointed a contractor, we will provide another update which will give you more specific timescales for this work.

“After demolition, these sites will be temporarily grassed while we work with the community and our partners to consider the next projects in the regeneration.

“We have some more work to do before we can share the next stage, and we will make sure that we let you know as soon as we can about how you can get involved in the design of these projects.

“The things you told us in December have been helpful, including your preference for more housing in the area, making Lower Falinge a safer place to live and more community projects.

“We look forward to working with you in the coming years to design and deliver these projects.”