Rochdale secures £8.3m Heritage funding for town hall revamp that will ‘give it back to the people’
The council has already been granted planning permission for the major restoration project, which is expected to cost around £14m in total - with the hopes that it is to reopen to the public one again in 2023.
Rochdale Borough Council has secured £8.3 million from the National Lottery’s Heritage Fund towards an upcoming town hall revamp.
Rochdale Town Hall is classed as one of the most historically significant buildings in the country, with features which have been described by Historic England as being rivalled in importance only by those contained within the Palace of Westminster.
The council has already been granted planning permission for the major restoration project – which is expected to cost around £14m in total – with the hopes that it is to reopen to the public one again in 2023.
This new funding boost – which made possible thank to National Lottery players – will support “ambitious plans” led by the council and Rochdale Development Agency (RDA) to restore the building’s many historic features.
The council intends to fund the remaining cost of the project.
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The leader of Rochdale Borough Council has said that the restoration of the town hall will “give this wonderful building back to the people”.
We've been awarded £8.3m from @HeritageFundUK to redevelop your grade I listed town hall. We'll be restoring historic features, creating brand new spaces for community use, improving access & creating 100s of training & volunteering opportunities @InvestRochdale@JEMsocpic.twitter.com/9tT5GP8Zgz
As part of the revamp, precious parts of the building’s 149-year-old structure are set to be restored, which include the magna-carta mural and ornate ceiling panels in the Great Hall, as well as the building’s historic rooms, including the Mayor’s Parlour.
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The project will also bring neglected parts of the building into public use for the first time in many years, with a new ‘Bright Hall’ being created in the old library. This brand new facility – with capacity for 150 people – will complement the great hall by offering a smaller area which can be used as a community, educational or commercial space.
Ground floor areas previously used as meeting rooms will be turned into a brand new exhibition area, with interpretation set to tell the story of Rochdale, its people and its history.
Access will also be dramatically improved, with new lifts and terracing making it much easier for people to get in and around the building.
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A brand new Heritage Conservation ‘Skills Studio’ will be created in the basement to enable ongoing restoration works to take place once the project is complete and training opportunities in highly-specialised areas such as stained glass and antique furniture restoration will also be created in collaboration with local training providers.
Rochdale Borough Council
The redevelopment will also create a number of additional benefits through jobs, training and volunteering opportunities, which will be delivered as part of the project.
Allen Brett – Leader of Rochdale Borough Council – said: “Quite simply, the town hall is part of Rochdale’s DNA. It has played a major role in our past, detailing through its intricate features both our radical political traditions and our role in the global cotton industry which have shaped the borough we see today.
“This project means it will now also play as big a part in our future.
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“By creating brand new spaces for community use and making it easier for more people to move around the town hall, to understand it and to enjoy it, this project will give this wonderful building back to the people of Rochdale, to whom it always has and always will belong.
“I’m really grateful to the National Lottery for their support and to the team here who have worked so hard over a number of years to make this happen.”
You can find more information via the Invest in Rochdale website here.
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The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see
Danny Jones
The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.
The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.
While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.
Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.
The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.
Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.
Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.
And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.
It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.
At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.
Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.
Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.
We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style
Emily Sergeant
A warning has been issued to tailgaters and motorway middle lane hoggers urging them to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style.
Do you find yourself guilty of two of the biggest driving sins from time to time?
Well, according to the latest figures released by National Highways, one in three motorists have admitted to middle lane hogging in their lives, while one in four have committed acts of tailgating on some of the UK’s fastest roads.
These shocking survey findings – which were released back in early March as the Government-owned road management company launched a new campaign – showed that lane hogging was among the behaviours that are most likely to cause motorists and passengers to feel ‘frustrated’, and tailgating was most likely to cause feelings of unease, stress, and anxiety.
Nearly a third (32%) of drivers admitted to lane hogging ‘at least occasionally’ while driving on England’s motorways and major A roads, according to the survey – which polled 2,500 adults between the ages of 16-75.
On top of this, almost seven in ten adults in England (67%) said close following or tailgating is a ‘serious problem’ on these types of roads, but nearly a quarter (23%) admitted to doing it from time to time.
Tut-tut.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers have been warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style (Credit: IPTC/Ronald Hudson)
It’s these very statistics which have led National Highways to issue an urgent warning that calls on these motorists to “carefully consider” their driving habits, as “little changes can change everything”.
Lane hogging and tailgating both fall under the offence of ‘careless driving’ in England, with the country’s police forces having the power to hand out on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points to those who commit such offences.
“Middle lane hogging and tailgating are far more than mere annoyances for drivers,” warned RAC road safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis, adding that these actions “put everyone on the roads at risk.”
If you’re too close to the vehicle in front, you’re tailgating. This is very dangerous and could lead to a collision. Always leave at least a two-second gap and make sure you follow the advice from The Highway Code.
He continued in his reaction to the release of the latest National Highways figures: “Closely following another motorist could easily result in a serious collision should the driver ahead need to brake sharply for any reason, so the fact nearly one in four drivers admitted to doing so on some of England’s fastest and busiest roads is frightening”.
Mr Dennis said he understands that offenders “might find these habits hard to kick”, but that’s why the urgent calls for motorists to make changes are “so important”.
“By understanding that how we choose to drive affects others, we can each make a real difference to the safety of our roads,” he concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
20th October 2020 
