Middleton can be a blueprint for good growth, says Craig
Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig has thrown her support behind efforts to use Middleton as a test bed for delivering the kind of regeneration that prioritises benefits for existing residents.
Craig was speaking at an event hosted by the Middleton Mayoral Development Corporation at the town’s arena last night. During the event, the results of a community conversation asking residents for their views on how Middleton should be regenerated were discussed and priorities were set out.
The meeting was attended by 500 stakeholders – most of them local residents – and was facilitated by actor Steve Coogan and Rose Marley, chief executive of Co-operatives UK, who are the co-chairs of the MDC, which, once formally established, is to be grounded in Co-operative principles.
This means the MDC will “try to do things differently” by listening to the concerns of Middletonians, acting in their best interests, and seeking to deliver regeneration that benefits locals first, Marley said.
Craig is giving her “full backing” to the MDC and the Co-operative values that underpin the thinking around Middleton’s future.
“To be Co-operative in what we do means that it isn’t just people from a combined authority [and it] isn’t just developers coming into a place and telling you what you need,” she said.
“For too long, communities have felt like power and wealth isn’t going into their hands. So there has to be a different way of rebuilding a high street and a town centre that works for everybody.”
Craig said Middleton could be a “blueprint for how you can invest and regenerate a working-class Northern town”.
“If we can nail it here in Middleton, I tell you, across the North of England, all eyes are going to be on us.”
The mayor acknowledged that previous efforts to improve the town had failed and that a fresh approach to bettering the lives of locals was needed.
“You’ve had it time and time again over the years, where people have come and promised you things, and it’s never really materialised.
“I see it as our job to convince you through action that actually this isn’t just some fancy words of a mayoral development corporation that’s going to come and fix all your problems.”
Warwick Mill is a symbol of Middleton’s decline, according to the co-chair of the town’s MDC. Credit: via Rochdale Council
An illustration of the council and MDC’s desire to show it means business came with the highlight of the event; the announcement of Rochdale Council’s intention to acquire Warwick Mill, seen by many as a symbol of the town’s decline.
The huge former cotton mill casts a shadow over Middleton and has fallen into “rack and ruin” following years of underinvestment, according to Rochdale Council Leader Cllr Neil Emmott.
Of the nearly 2,000 people who participated in the public consultation regarding Middleton’s future, more than 800 said bringing the mill back into use should be top of the priority list.
“We’ve had a lot of false dawns and many people in Middleton have become frustrated about this, and I’ve certainly become frustrated about it,” Emmott said.
“So a few months back, I told the council officers that it was time to grab the bull by the horns. That we had to do something about Warwick Mill.”
While Rochdale has not yet formally completed the acquisition, Emmott was unequivocal about his administration’s intentions.
“Rochdale Council is purchasing Warwick Mill. We are buying it on behalf of the people of Middleton,” he said, telling those in attendance that the deal could complete in “two to three weeks”.
Capital&Centric has been appointed to draw up options for the building, which is expected to be converted into apartments. The developer had been working on its own deal to acquire the asset from Macau-based owner Kam Lei Fong before the council expressed its interest in buying the site.
London House, located next door, also forms part of the deal and is due to be demolished before the end of the year, Emmott said.
“For many, many years, people in Middleton have said to us, ‘You never spend any money in Middleton, it’s all spent in Rochdale.
“Well, this is prime evidence that we are spending money in Middleton and that we’re actually doing things for Middleton.”
