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Changes to car parks and roads to make way for Rochdale Riverside development

Visitors to Rochdale town centre are being advised to get ready for a number of changes to the car parks and road layouts as work on the new shopping and leisure development, Rochdale Riverside, gets under way. 

Oldham-based construction giant Willmott Dixon, who won the contract to build the £80m development, will take possession of the site on 26 February, with Rochdale Riverside expected to open to the public in summer 2020. 

To enable work to take place, the following car parks will close permanently at midnight on 25 February: 

• Milton Street West – (opposite Number One Riverside, next to the town centre Metrolink stop) 
• Baillie Street 
• Milton Street East (opposite Mecca Bingo) 
• Penn Street (partial closure) 

Some of the road layouts around the site will also change. Constantine Road, which runs beside the Regal Moon, will close on 5 March for around nine months to enable construction work to begin. The bollards directly outside the Wheatsheaf shopping centre will be moved, to allow vehicles to exit this area via Baillie Street East and John Street. 

Smith Street will also close on 12 March until mid April for essential drainage works. During this time drivers wanting to get to the Mecca bingo car park and Number One Riverside will need to travel down Penn Street and Milton Street. All vehicles will need to exit the area via Baillie Street east and then travel northwards up John Street 

Councillor John Blundell, cabinet member for regeneration at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It’s great to see work starting on this exciting development, which will bring 24 new shops, leisure facilities and a six screen cinema to the heart of Rochdale town centre 

“We will have to make some changes to the roads and parking while this important work takes place and have been working hard to make sure people are aware. We will still have more than 1,000 parking spaces across Rochdale town centre, including council car parks, which are still offering three hours free every day, and 800 in the Exchange Shopping Centre, as well as 160 in the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre.” 

People who would like more information about regeneration in Rochdale and how to get around during the Rochdale Riverside build can visit: rochdaletowncentre.com 
 

16 Feb 2018