The former RBS bank in Middleton will be converted into a new church.
The old Royal Bank of Scotland building will become a place of worship following planning approval for the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Like many other banks in the town, the building in the heart of Middleton has long sat vacant after closing down in 2018.
The site on Market Place will be given a new lease of life for 25-30 worshippers, but very few material changes will be made to the building.
Obsidian Design & Build Ltd, the planning agent on behalf of the church, say the new church would be open on Wednesday evening and Sunday morning.
The old RBS has been at the centre of controversy since it closed down almost a decade ago. Controversial plans to transform the site into a nightclub sparked outrage locally back in 2020.
Those proposals were eventually thrown out, but a revised proposal for a nightclub and a cafe was eventually approved by Rochdale council in 2023. Despite this, those plans never came to fruition.
These latest approved plans are a symbol of high street change in Middleton, which will lose its last bank at the beginning of next year.
Halifax was the last holdout after Natwest on Long Street closed its doors for the last time in April. But bank bosses have announced that January 8, 2026 is the date Halifax will cease to have a physical presence in the Greater Manchester town.
Customers changing the way in which they do their banking is cited as the main reason for the closure of the Middleton Gardens branch. This is the end of an era for in-person banking for Middleton.
However, a pop-up Barclays local is still available to locals, three days a week, at the Lighthouse Project Community Hub within Middleton Shopping Centre.
Much like the old RBS bank, since its closure back in spring, a plan to convert the vacant Natwest on Long Street into a church has also been submitted.
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