From the beginning, we have explored how we could make College Bank a place where people from all generations want to live and are proud to call home. We need to make sure that all our homes are kept safe and decent for the long term and sometimes this means difficult decisions about our investment. As we have continued to carry out work on the blocks in College Bank it is clear that the investment needs of the blocks is very high. This issue has affected high rise of blocks of similar age and construction across many areas of the country. We want to make sure that our investment is best used to provide a good mix of different types of housing to suit people at all stages of their life.
From our work so far, we think there are some great opportunities that our investment in College Bank could result in, such as refurbishing some homes in the neighbourhood, which would be fully modernised to provide great quality, high-rise homes in the town centre. However, as we have looked at the detail of the extent of work needed to keep high rise homes at College Bank safe and decent for the future we know that there is no prospect of finding the level of funding required across all seven blocks. That is why we have taken the decision to issue demolition notices to four of the blocks and to support people to move from these.
We do not yet have detailed plans for replacement homes at College Bank but we do know there is scope for around 160 – 650 new homes on the site of the blocks where we have issued demolition notices, depending on the density of new homes built. We would also look to make improvements for pedestrians at St Mary’s Gate; introduce more open and shared spaces; improve parking for residents and improve connections into the town centre, making it easier to access the new shops and facilities there.
As we have further developed proposals for refurbishment we have let residents in Mardyke, Underwood, and Holland Rise blocks that the level of works mean the blocks would need to be empty for the duration of works being carried out and we would seek to provide temporary homes within these three blocks to accommodate this work being carried out.
We still have a long way to go to develop the detail of the proposals for College Bank and we will do this together with the community.
Above all, we always want to ensure we are considering our existing and future residents and to support our residents to have the best opportunities.
You can download information from our consultations and workshops here:
- December 2017: Community Workshop Display Boards 131217
- June 2017: College Bank Exhibition Boards June 2017
- May 2017: College Bank and Lower Falinge Update May 2017
- March 2017: Community Workshop Consultation Feedback
- March 2017: College Bank Workshop Information March 2017
- March 2017: College Bank Workshop Leaflet March 2017
- February 2017: College Bank Workshop Display Boards 060217
- January 2017: College Bank January 2017
- November 2016: Lower Falinge and College Bank Information 2016
The Vision
Supporting the wider regeneration of Rochdale with significant investment.
