Vistry latest to take on Rochdale AzkoNobel revamp 

The developer wants to build 169 homes on the 19-acre site following failed attempts to redevelop the plot from Bellway, Woodford Group and Countryside since the chemical processing plant closed in 2004. 

Homes England, which bought the site for £10m 2017, has selected Vistry Partnerships to deliver the long-awaited redevelopment of the Littleborough plot. 

The former AzkoNobel site is located off Hollingworth Road next to the Rochdale Canal. The factory buildings were demolished in 2008. 

However, plans to deliver housing on the site have failed to materialise in the intervening years. 

In 2005, housebuilder Bellway Homes withdrew its plans to develop 280 homes on the site amid contamination fears.  

Woodford Group proposed 164 homes in 2006 but that scheme did not progress either.  

In 2015, Countryside Properties won approval for a 174-home development, but that project also hit the buffers, prompting Homes England to step in. 

Vistry’s proposals for the site include a mix of two-, three-, four-, and five-bedroom homes. There will be a 15% affordable provision. 

Barton Willmore is the planning consultant for the scheme and the architect is Leeds-based Watson Batty.