EXCLUSIVE: Rochdale’s Touchstones cultural heart is being rebuilt for everyone

Sunday, 26 October 2025 18:45

By David Murphy

Roch Valley Radio was given exclusive access to the extensive renovation of Touchstones Rochdale, where scaffolding and sawdust are giving way to a bold new vision for the borough’s cultural future.

Work is well underway to reopen Touchstones as a dynamic, accessible and inclusive space for art, performance, learning and community use, and Roch Valley Radio went behind the scenes to see the transformation in progress.

Though the museum has been closed since summer 2023, plans for its rebirth are anything but quiet. Every corner of the building is being reimagined with Rochdale’s people in mind, not just traditional museumgoers.

At the heart of the new layout is the ground floor live studio space, a flexible venue for small performances, spoken word, acoustic gigs and community events. It’s an intimate room with retractable bleacher seating that can be rolled away or brought forward, depending on the event. It’s also fully accessible and has been acoustically treated.

Credit: David Murphy

Estelle Rowe, the Chief Executive of Your Trust Rochdale, is shown the new recording booth with Councillor Sue Smith and contractor HH Smith and Sons.

Credit: David Murphy

“This is something we’ve never had in Touchstones before,” explained Estelle Rowe, chief executive of Your Trust, during the tour. “We always said Rochdale needed something smaller than the town hall but bigger than a meeting room, and now we’ve got it.”

Next to it is the new communal dining area, which will double as a café and exhibition space. There are plans for a large table where groups can cook and eat together, supported by a brand new commercial kitchen. “It’s not just about serving food,” Estelle explained, “it’s about creating experiences, from growing it in the garden to serving it in here.”

The collections that once filled traditional galleries will now also appear in unexpected places, including bespoke display cases in the dining room, filled with items curated around themes of food, family, and local history. There will even be commissioned artworks on the windows, co-designed with the community and local artists.

Further inside, a new podcast studio and digital recording room has been created, complete with soundproofing, specialist ventilation, and high-end acoustic doors weighing over 65kg. The room is suitable for podcasting, solo music recording or audio storytelling. “You could even do a full EP in here,” Mark from HH Smith and Sons, the contractor, said with a smile.

Renovated classrooms have been designed with flexibility in mind, with adapted lighting and accessible layouts. “We’ve worked with Pink College and schools to make sure it meets the needs of kids who don’t thrive in mainstream settings,” explained Estelle. “This is for them too.”

Rather than fix a rigid programme from day one, the Touchstones team say they are taking a more collaborative approach. “We’ve not pinned the whole timetable down because we want people to feel they can be part of shaping it,” Estelle said. “We’re leaving space for people to book, explore and propose new uses, not just fill every slot.”

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Credit: David Murphy

Outside, a new community garden is planned, developed with support charity Petrus.

The plan is to move plants and infrastructure from their existing site and build a space filled with edible herbs, flowers and learning features. “It’ll go way beyond flowerbeds,” the team said. “This will feed into our kitchen, our art workshops, our nature studies, it’s a living resource.”

The renovation hasn’t been without setbacks. Delays due to roof issues pushed back the start of garden work, and archaeological discoveries in the basement have required careful handling. “We uncovered old foundations and unexpected features,” said Mark. “Some of it has heritage value, so we’ve worked with planners to decide what stays.” Throughout the tour, one theme kept resurfacing: accessibility.

From the design of signage and seating to the layout of the performance space and garden, the building is being built not just to serve everyone, but to welcome them in. “Too many people still don’t know what goes on in here,” Estelle said candidly. “So we’re doing everything we can to make it feel like this place is for them, whether it’s their first visit or their fiftieth.”

The project is expected to finish in 2027, with pop-up events and community previews planned in the lead-up. A phased reopening will begin once safety works are complete, with public-facing activities returning room by room.