Go-ahead for Hopwood Hall College refresh

The Benjamin Rudd Building is due to be demolished – but only after its slightly larger replacement is built.

Rochdale Council has approved Hopwood Hall College & University Centre’s application to replace an out-of-date 74,200 sq ft teaching block with a modern 76,000 sq ft facility.

The new building will be capable of accommodating between 800 and 900 students and staff members, providing a mixture of workshops, studios, labs, and staff facilities. There would also be a catering school, lecture hall, and nursery on the 2.5-acre site.

This new facility, designed by Sheppard Robson, would be constructed on the school’s current car park. Once contractor Willmott Dixon has finished building the teaching block, work will commence on razing its predecessor. That portion of the site will become open space designed by ARES Landscape Architects.

To learn more about the project, search reference 25/00541/FUL on Rochdale Council’s planning portal.