New housing development on old school grounds approved

Friday, 5 September 2025 14:20

By George Lythgoe

CGI of how new housing development off Bury Road, Rochdale could look

A new housing development will be built on the former grounds of a primary school in Rochdale.

Hallmark Developments (NW) Ltd say they want to create a ‘diverse community’ of 52 homes that would ‘blend the urban into the natural’.

The mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom homes would be targeted at a range of buyers – from young professionals to families.

The site off Bury Road was once occupied by Oakenrod Primary School, which closed in 2008.

The school building was demolished a few years later and now lies vacant with overgrown vegetation. All the new homes would have off-street parking as well as private gardens.

Planning papers read: “It is the development teams aim to create a diverse community within the scheme as such there are 52 dwellings proposed with a range of house types in order to offer to a wide collective of people including young professionals and families.

“The units have all been positioned to provide natural surveillance through the scheme with corner plots having windows in the gables and sufficient planting to blend the urban into the natural.

“The site topography allows for most plots to have a view towards the River Roche and wildlife areas to the South.”

No affordable housing is included in the scheme, as the developer claims it would not be financially viable to do this.

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