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Rochdale Town Hall

Rochdale, UK

Rochdale Town Hall is a grade I-listed neo-gothic building designed by William Crossland, which opened in 1871 and quickly came to symbolise the town’s rich industrial standing in the textile trade.

Over time the town hall fell into a poor state of repair and its restoration became vital in preserving the building for future generations. In 2021 work began to restore the building to its former glory. Outside, a new Town Hall Square will create a place for the community to come together.

The project will see the grade I-listed town hall restored and its town hall square revitalised.

The new design includes removing the road and parking in front of the town hall to create a large outdoor space and well-conceived public realm.

Our transport and mobility experts developed the plans for the successful stopping-up and pedestrianisation of The Esplanade.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s richly multidisciplinary community of experts worked together to help deliver this technically challenging but critical regeneration project.

Challenge

The vision was to create the new public realm across both a former municipal car park and The Esplanade – one of the town’s key roads, which would need to be decommissioned, with traffic rerouted to provide a vibrant new public space unimpeded by passing vehicles.

The scheme, supported by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, will see the building’s historic rooms and features restored by conservation specialists Donald Insall Associates and its town hall square revitalised through extensive public realm improvements by landscape architects Gillespies.

The ambitious public realm plans encompass the whole of Town Hall Square, as well as an area behind the town hall up to Packer Spout Gardens, and sections to the side, including the island where a new Gracie Fields statue was recently unveiled.

º£½ÇÊÓƵ was engaged to work closely with the landscape architect and wider design team to deliver expert consultancy around civil structures, infrastructure and utilities, lighting, security and transport and mobility.

One of the key challenges was working around an historic building, which had a range of unchartered subterranean features surrounding it, including an historic culvert discovered during initial excavations, which had to be retained and factored into the terracing design.

Solution

The newly designed square will deliver a world-class setting for the town hall and a public space that will rival the best public squares in Europe.

The new design includes new high-quality paving, extensive pockets of greenery, tree planting, and seating areas. The square will be multi-functional and able to stage large-scale events, such as the town’s popular Feel Good festival, as well as establishing a convivial setting for the community and visitors to the town.

The improved public realm will reconnect the town hall with the grade I-listed cenotaph and memorial gardens, and other heritage and cultural points in the town, such as the river and Touchstones museum.

Our transport and mobility experts developed the plans for the successful stopping-up and pedestrianisation of The Esplanade, a busy route through Rochdale town centre. To enable this work, offsite Section 278 works were required to enable the development and ensure traffic flows are maintained through the town centre.

Our team also worked closely with the highway authority and local stakeholders to identify the key areas for improvements, including increased pedestrian crossings and sight lines at junctions, as well as the design of a new mini roundabout.

The project will deliver a significantly improved and increased area of public realm, which includes several sections of greening and sustainable drainage features. We developed these in close collaboration with the landscape architect, to ensure they are fully integrated into the new public realm design.

Our team initially oversaw a number of surveys, which identified several underground constraints, some previously known about, such as the culverted River Roch, and a significant gas main, and some not, including another historic culvert and a degree of ground contamination that would need to be remediated. Identifying these constraints early allowed options to be developed for the works, which sought to balance cost with the design intent.

The strategy was also key, reflecting the multi-functional nature of the area, designed for everyday use and for large scale events. Our lighting experts provided public realm lighting designs to assist with orientation and circulation through the public space. Facade lighting accentuates architectural features, helping to maintain the architectural identity of the historic facade of the town hall.

Our MEP and utilities teams supported with the development of designs for a new low voltage network, our bridges and civil structure engineers provided insight into the structural designs for a raised terrace located at the rear of the town hall, and the seating blocks surrounding the new lawns, while our security experts delivered a video surveillance system strategy.

Value

º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s richly multidisciplinary community of experts worked together to help deliver this technically challenging but critical regeneration project.

The improved public realm will act as a centre point in Rochdale and help connect together a number of parts of the town. The redevelopment will open up the building and its external spaces to its people and visitors and create a vibrant new heart for Rochdale.