MCI to start on 98 affordable homes in Oldham

Demolished in 1989, the former Hartshead Power Station and surrounding land is to be redeveloped into a 58-acre park and 164 homes under plans lodged with Tameside Council.

Work is underway on the scheme now that Rochdale has formalised its appointment of Willmott Dixon as main contractor.

The £25m redevelopment of the Sale Magistrates’ Court site and a £30m Carrington highway scheme have inched forward following approvals at the executive level.

The contractor is to build a total 116 affordable homes across two projects in Salford and Bury. 

The housing provider wants to create around 400 homes a year in the city, entering a market in which affordable accommodation is often hard to stack up financially.

The housebuilder is being forced back to the drawing board after its plans for 135 homes on the site of the former British Vita factory on Seaford Road were rejected over flooding concerns. 

Images have been released showing how the area around Rochdale’s railway station could look as the council looks to revive the area.

The Secretary of State said that changes to policy would mean developers will have “no way to wriggle out of” affordable housing obligations. 

Outline proposals from Hollins Strategic Land have been lodged for the site off Styal Road in the Stockport suburb.