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Plans for town are revealed
7/ 3/2008
A £250M TRANSFORMATION of Rochdale town centre will deliver major department stores and apartments, a new arts centre, a major food store and an iconic sculpture.
Wilson Bowden was chosen to deliver the multi-million pound redevelopment on Thursday night.
Their proposals are part of a wider masterplan for the area that will involve building a new transport interchange and the creation of new state-of-the-art civic offices and public facilities.
The designs, which local people were consulted on in December 2007, also include a new retail area called John Bright Circle, named after the successful Rochdale-born cotton manufacturer.
The team, given unanimous backing at Thursday night’s special meeting of the performance scrutiny committee, wants to put an iconic sculpture at the heart of the circle, which will become a symbol of Rochdale.
The council's Black Box would be flattened. And Baillie Square is another proposal, which would sit between Baillie Street and Smith Street, a short distance from John Bright Circle.
The scheme also includes new bars and restaurants and 1,200 new car parking spaces in a multi-storey car park.
During lengthy public consultation Will Robinson, retail director for Wilson Bowden said: “Bars and restaurants will overlook the main square and we want to bring The Butts to life.”
The proposals will now be developed into a detailed plan for the area and further public consultation will take place early in 2009 with construction likely to start in 2010.
The Town Centre Committee selected Wilson Bowden, which is also heading up the Kingsway Business Park development, at a meeting on Monday 11 February.
The firm competed with Ask Developments with Sultan Properties and Valad Property Group for the project.
Councillor Alan Taylor, leader of Rochdale Council said: “This is great news and is a major step forward in transforming the town centre into something distinctive."
Click here to see the plans in more detail ...
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13/03/2008 at 19:27
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