The two housing estates have slowly been emptied over the course of eight years
The Town Mill Brow building, one of the iconic Seven Sisters tower blocks in Rochdale(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A decade-long wait has stirred up anxiety and frustration amongst residents from two of Rochdale’s biggest housing estates – now they’ve taken matters into their own hands.
Despite fighting for years to stop their homes being demolished, the threat of the bulldozer still looms for the iconic Seven Sisters tower blocks. The estate, officially named College Bank, has been a constant on Rochdale’s skyline since the 1960s.
Their neighbouring estate, Lower Falinge, has been battling the same fate in recent months.
Lower Falinge campaigners have just delayed the wrecking ball from swooping in on six blocks of flats following a successful legal challenge.
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This is a similar story to the Save the Seven Sisters group (ST7S). In 2017, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) revealed plans to demolish four of the high-rises and redevelop them.
This sparked local backlash, with local campaigners fighting to stop the plans. Although demolition was eventually ruled out in 2023, a shocking twist in the tale came last October when RBH put ‘all options back on the table’.
The Lower Falinge estate in Rochdale – which is earmarked for yet more demolition(Image: Jake Lindley / Manchester Evening News)
RBH own both College Bank and Lower Falinge sites and have an ambition to create a redevelopment plan for both estates. The social housing landlord has apologised for the uncertainty around the tower blocks, but has insisted they need more time to do surveys before they can publish their redevelopment plan.
This has yet to materialise – so the campaigners from both estates have joined forces to create their own vision.
With support from the Greater Manchester Tenant Union (GMTU), tenants consulted with social architects Unit 38 to create a proposal for reviving the estates which offers to alleviate aspects of the social housing crisis in Rochdale.
New imagery and designs have been released by the group. It’s simply called the Community Plan.
Mark Slater, chair of the Save the Seven Sisters group, said: “Housing is in crisis nationally, in Rochdale that means there are 22,000 individuals, families and children in temporary accommodation tonight, bed and breakfasts, hostels, sofa surfing and simply homeless.
“The loss of these homes would have been completely unacceptable. In understanding the critical state of social housing in the borough, the two communities on Lower Falinge and College Bank worked for two years with the architectural practice Unit38.
Mark Slater(Image: Manchester Evening News)
“We have produced a valid, radical, detailed and costed alternative to demolition. Now is the time for this proposal to be taken seriously and introduced as a plan for the future of the estates.
“We are disappointed that we find ourselves in conflict and opposition to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, an organization that espouses to ‘listen to the community’.
“We hope that this is the first of many examples that the community, with council support and also strong support from Greater Manchester Tenants Union, can support social housing and continue the fight to challenge and maintain, build the numbers of homes so badly needed across our borough.”
College Bank
CGI of the vision for College Bank in Rochdale, created by campaigners and social architects Unit 38(Image: Unit 38)
Retrofit of the blocks includes new windows, heating and ventilation systems with external wall insulation. The draughty windows, open vents by the stairwells and poorly insulated walls make the flats too expensive to keep College Bank flats warm, according to ST7S.
Sprinklers in the flats to increase fire safety, new public green space to push out car parking issues. Where the garages are would be opened up for surface level parking under the planes.
The vision reads: “External wall insulation wrapped around the towers would keep them warm and dry, new windows would reduce heat loss and make the homes more airtight. Enclosing balconies to form winter gardens would improve the thermal envelope of each tower, while also making them safer for families with young children.
CGI of the vision for College Bank in Rochdale, created by campaigners and social architects Unit 38(Image: Unit 38)
“New heating and ventilation systems could be installed to each flat to replace the expensive electric storage heaters. Infra-red heating panels could be installed immediately to replace the storage heaters.
“Heating panels could be installed and vents insulated before larger retrofit works are carried out to stop residents going through another cold winter.”
Lower Falinge
CGI of the vision for Lower Falinge, created by campaigners and social architects Unit 38(Image: Unit 38)
Similarly to College Bank, retrofitting the 126 vacant homes in the vacant blocks of flats is the first priority for the Lower Falinge vision. The current flats in Ollerton, Newstead, Romsey, Quinton, Ullesthorpe, and Vaynor blocks have issues with damp and water ingress, according to campaigners.
They believe new windows, heating and ventilation systems with external wall insulation and an enclosed walkway make the homes warm and easy to heat. There are also plans to widen public footpaths throughout the estate, improve green spaces and create bin stores to reduce waste visibility in the area.
CGI of the vision for Lower Falinge, created by campaigners and social architects Unit 38(Image: Unit 38)
A total of 60 new homes are proposed along Sheriff Street where the garages once stood. It is claimed this can be done without any need for demolition.
The vision read: “The gardens for ground floor flats are important to residents across Lower Falinge, but the other green spaces have been neglected and many of the footpaths are narrow, poorly lit and feel unsafe.
“The demolition of blocks and garages along Sheriff Street has damaged the urban grain.”
What RBH says
Hannah Fleming, RBH Director of Regeneration and Development, said: “We are very happy to look at the community plan as we consider all options for a sustainable future at College Bank.
“Detailed work is ongoing, in partnership with the College Bank task force, and we know that only by working together can we deliver high-quality, safe, warm homes that meet the needs of Rochdale people.
“We have been clear that our in-depth surveys, which have been taking place over a number of months, will enable us to make a fully informed decision about the future of the seven tower blocks.
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“We will share this information with residents as soon as we are able to do so, and we plan to provide a full update before the end of this year.
“We know that this has been a long process and that our customers are keen to get information and clarity as soon as possible.
“This is a complex, large-scale project and we need to make sure that we get this right, for the benefit of our customers now and into the future.”