| Title: | Rochdale Town Hall, Rochdale, UK |
| Markets: | Public Realm, Cultural |
| Client: | Rochdale Council |
| Services: | Landscape architecture |
| Region: | United Kingdom |
| Date: | 2023 |
| Team: | Gillespies | Donald Insall Architects |
Rochdale Council has ambitious plans to restore the town’s neo-gothic Town Hall and its setting, giving it back to the people. We are delivering a public square fronting the Town Hall that will provide a new distinctive address for the listed building and a civic plaza and meeting place for all the community to enjoy.
The £16m redevelopment of the gothic town hall for Rochdale Council will open up the building and its external spaces to its people and visitors. The scheme, supported by an £8.9m grant from the national lottery heritage fund, will see the grade II-listed 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 Gillespies.
The ambitious public realm plans encompass the whole of Town Hall Square, including the esplanade, the area behind the town hall up to Packer Spout Gardens, and sections to the side, including the island where the new Gracie Fields statue was recently unveiled.
Our emerging proposals include removing the road and parking in front of the town hall to create a large outdoor space and well-conceived public realm, with new high-quality paving, extensive pockets of greenery, tree planting, and seating areas. The newly designed square will be multi-functional and designed to stage large-scale events, such as the town’s hugely successful Feel Good festival and establish a convivial setting for the town’s community and visitors.
The improved public realm will re-connect the Town Hall with the grade one-listed cenotaph and memorial gardens, and other heritage and cultural points in the town, such as the river re-opening and Touchstones museum.
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 entire town hall project is due for completion in 2023.
