Seven Sisters tenants reaction to the news they could soon be removed

Billy Jackson has called Rochdale’s Seven Sisters home for 40 years. But shock decision means 2025 will be his final year in the iconic tower blocks.

The 72-year-old army veteran lives in one of 229 households issued with a  ‘devastating’ letter yesterday (October 22), effectively telling them they would be evicted before Christmas.

Officially named College Bank, the tower blocks that have dominated the Rochdale skyline since the 1960s.

But Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has now explained a number of safety issues flagged in a recent building survey mean they will be empty by the new year.

“We got the letter through yesterday afternoon,” Billy told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“RBH are basically saying we’ve got to be out by Christmas because they’re structurally unsafe… These flats when I first moved in were absolutely spectacular. They had professionals living here like teachers, nurses, actors – Don Estelle lived here. RBH took them over and ran them down. 

“I’m devastated and I’m frightened because I’m 72, where am I going to be living in two months time? I don’t want to move to somewhere like Middleton or Heywood, I want to live in College Bank.

“I found out yesterday and I couldn’t sleep last night because of the news. It’s just horrible.

“This has been hanging over us for seven years now. 

“It’s a worrying time for everyone on College Bank, and most people here are elderly like me.

“When you’re 72 years old and have lived here for so long, you expect that when you leave, it’s in a box.”

Looking out the window over his balcony, Billy points out the view of the Asda on Dane Street, saying that when he moved in it used to be a cricket pitch.

A whole town centre has transformed during his years in College Bank. He moved to the area in the 1960s from Preston and was mesmerised by the tower blocks – thinking they would be a fantastic place to live. 

Soon his wish came true and he moved in and has stayed put ever since. For the first three years he lived in the Holland Rise block, but for the other 37 Billy has been in Tentercroft.

Soon those four decades may come to a premature end. The pensioner continued: “I’ve got to admit last year – I’m a pensioner at 72 – I just got so fed up I just thought I can’t wait to get out. This is the way it’s getting to people’s heads that they need to move. 

“Then I thought about it, and I won’t be forced out. It’s going to take a lot to get me out.

“I think this is a bit extreme. I believe there are 229 occupied flats, that is over 300 people –  where are they going to put us all?

“It was such a shock, I couldn’t believe it. My neighbour phoned me up and said ‘I can’t believe this’ then went on to say ‘they’re not throwing me out’.

“We need to fight back. It’s time to put the boxing gloves on again.”

Answering the question of where he would go if he was forced out, Billy added: “At the end of the day it would be wherever they put me. It’s up to them.

“I believe you only get three choices, and if you don’t accept them you could be on the streets. It’s just frightening.

“I don’t think RBH has compassion, I don’t think they care. This is where we live, this is our home.”

RBH say independent experts have been undertaking safety and structural surveys to each of the seven buildings, which will inform a decision on the future of the blocks by the end of the year.

Structural and electrical issues; problems with the water pumping system; roof damage; and the ever-increasing costs for customers to heat and light their homes were all raised in the surveys.

The group added that all tenants are being told of the decision and will be supported to move over the coming months, with financial support offered by the social housing landlord.

Leaseholders who own their own homes will have their flats bought at market value, RBH says.

Amanda Newton, chief executive of RBH, said: “We understand many of our customers are worried, and are genuinely sorry for the uncertainty and delays they have experienced over a number of years. 

“This was a very difficult decision for our board to make, and is wholly focused on ensuring the long-term safety of the customers in College Bank.

“We are also aware that some people have been given the impression that they must leave their homes immediately. We’d like to reassure them that this is not the case.

“Nobody is being evicted.

“We have been in College Bank all day today, and will be there this week and next, speaking to all our customers, offering help and support and answering their questions.

“It is also important to say that a decision has not been made on the future regeneration plans for College Bank.

“However, all of the scenarios being explored, which range from refurbishment to building new homes, will require customers to move out of their homes. This will be done gradually and, during the process, we will be supporting all our customers and providing tailored help to find a new safe, warm, home suitable for their needs.”

In 2017, RBH revealed plans to demolish four of the high-rises and redevelop them. This sparked local backlash, with local campaigners fighting to stop the plans. 

Although demolition was eventually ruled out in 2023, a twist in the tale came last October when RBH put ‘all options back on the table’.

After coming out of an ‘exclusivity agreement’ with Legal and General, which looked into a cost-effective way to refurbish Mitchell Hey, Dunkirk Rise, Tentercroft and Town Mill Brow tower blocks, the social housing operator refused to rule out razing them to the ground.

Now, RBH says no decision on the potential demolition of the tower blocks has been made.

The regeneration of College Bank is expected to be decided before the end of the year by the RBH board, following discussions with the College Bank Task Force.

But ‘Save the Seven Sisters’ group (ST7S) say if they are to be moved, they’ll need to be dragged out kicking and screaming.

Speaking on this latest blow, Mark Slater, chair of ST7S, said: “This certainly feels like a step back. But as a campaign group we’ll do what we’ve always done, and that is recroup. 

“I don’t accept that we all have to move out. It’s not a reality I am considering.

“RBH, overnight have made a decision to inform tenants that there are some safety issues. No matter how they qualify it by saying they’re not immediate, they’ve now put the fox in the hen house because people will panic.

“We’re talking about older people here. One woman is 90-years-old – if you use the words ‘safety issues’ to her, what do you expect to happen? 

“They try to qualify it by saying it’s not immediate but we need to clear the blocks.”

Mark went on to give examples of his neighbour with COPD and another tenant who is blind that would be hugely impacted by this sudden uprooting of their lives. 

“RBH make these decisions unilaterally without any real consultation,” the 74-year-old added. “They give their own spurious reasons with confusing messages. 

“At the moment they are mounting a campaign of social vandalism. It’s demolition by the back door.

“Suggesting the blocks need to be clear ‘before they make a decision’, that would suggest the decision has already been made. With no activity on the site, demolition becomes more of a probability than it does with people living here.

“Personally I think it’s a calculated move, it’s a strategy. Ever since the original proposal there has been a desire from the organisation to demolish some or all of Seven Sisters, but we won’t let it happen.”

With support from the Greater Manchester Tenant Union (GMTU), tenants consulted with social architects Unit 38 to create a proposal for reviving the estates which offers to alleviate aspects of the social housing crisis in Rochdale. The Community Plan is said to include kitchen, heating, glazing, bathroom and walkway refurbishments – plus much more. 

According to ST7S, the plan would cost ‘considerably less’ than the £100m estimate put forward by RBH executives for the redevelopment back in 2017.

RBH boss Amanda Newton continued: “Our customers’ safety and wellbeing is our absolute priority. Our RBH colleagues, myself included, will be at College Bank speaking to our residents, answering their questions, and ensuring they are aware of all the help and support available to them.

“We will work with our customers to ensure that they have certainty for the future, while providing them with new safe, warm affordable homes.”

A spokesperson for Rochdale council said: “On October 22 the council was made aware of the decision to decant residents from the College Bank flats.

“We have asked Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to ensure that all affected residents are treated with dignity and respect and supported as they navigate this difficult process.

“It is the council’s view that the flats should be preserved and brought back into full use, and we will continue to press for that to happen.”

Paul Waugh, MP for Rochdale, said: “I am incredibly concerned at this news, which will be very unsettling for those tenants who already feel they have spent years in a state of limbo and that they are being pushed out of their community.

“I understand there is no immediate need for them to vacate their property, although they and I will want reassurances about where they will be rehoused, if they really do need to leave at all.

“Safety is of course important, but tenants have been waiting for RBH to come up with a proper refurbishment plan for the future of their homes.

“I am meeting RBH as a matter of urgency to find out more about this new development.”