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Rochdale redevelopment shelved

Catherine Deshayes

European Union ruling forces £250 million town centre scheme to be postponed

Rochdale Council has been forced to shelve its £250 million agreement with Wilson Bowden for the redevelopment of the town centre of Rochdale, in Greater Manchester, as a result of an EU ruling.

The council will have to re-tender for a developer for the much-needed makeover following a European procurement test case decision on a Greek Council project.

Plans for the town included 350,000 sq ft of new retail floor space, squares connecting into the Exchange Centre and Yorkshire Street, the creation of a central area with an iconic sculpture, an arts centre, a food store and car park.

Chief Executive Roger Ellis said, "This has been a difficult decision for the council to make, but it has been taken with the best interests of the town centre's regeneration and the people of Rochdale in mind.

"A drawn out legal dispute would have led to significant delays to the town centre redevelopment as well as substantial costs to the public purse.

"This way we can re-run the process with the minimum delay and with the benefit of knowing the implications of recent case law.

"The decision would mean a month's delay to the retail element of the development, as work can only start when the new interchange and civic centre are complete.

These development of these elements are underway but will not be completed until 2011," he said.