Town Centre News

Council building moves a step closer

Posted on 26/01/2010

Rochdale Borough Council has submitted an outline planning application for the new council offices, customer service centre and library.

Subject to the outcome of any consultation process, it is expected the application will be presented to the Rochdale Planning Sub Committee on 16 March and the Regulatory Committee on 29 March for a final decision.

Mark Widdup, Transformation Programme Director, said: “The development of the building is progressing well and we are confident that the final design will meet the needs of customers, the council and our partners. It will be a great landmark on Rochdale’s horizon.”

The riverside building will provide open plan office accommodation for around 2,000 staff from the council and partner organisations. It will also include a ‘one-stop’ customer service centre and a state-of-the-art public library.

Clearance of the site is well underway and a shortlist of construction companies has been invited to bid for the role of contractor for the new building, which is due to open in 2012.

The development will be a centrepiece of the regeneration of the town centre which will see the creation of a multi-million pound retail development alongside leisure and cultural outlets.

Change is already happening in the town centre. Work on the new sixth form college is well underway – when it welcomes its first students in September it will be the first new sixth form college to be opened in the UK since 2003. Plus, the green light has been given to plans for the new £11.5 million transport interchange which will replace the current bus station and see Metrolink come to the town centre in 2012.