The building has been empty since 2020 and has fallen to wrack and ruin
(Image: Copyright Unknown)
The brutalist building that looms over Middleton’s memorial gardens will be demolished and replaced by a care home and new housing.
Parkfield House, on Manchester Old Road, used to be Middleton’s town hall before the local government shake up of 1974 put the town under rochdale-council>Rochdale council’s administration. The 1960s building was later bought by the North West Water Authority, but has sat empty since being vacated by security firm Chubb in 2020.
It has been subjected to vandalism and consistent trespassing in recent years, Rochdale council’s planning committee was told on November 27.
Plans include razing the old town hall building to the ground and building 20 four-bedroom houses as well as an 80-bed care home.
(Image: Copyright Unknown)
Very few objections were submitted regarding this application, with concerns raised about potential impact on the nearby roads and people wanting to protect the mature trees on the site.
Josephine, who lives opposite the site, told the committee that the heritage asset was lined up for demolition ‘without proper justification’.
“There is no demonstrated need for another care home in this area,” the objector added. “There are already seven care homes in the area. This presents an over-concentration of care homes in Middleton.
“I am not opposed to development on this site, but given its sensitivity it must be the right development.”
Proposed care home with garden, Parkfield House site, Middleton(Image: Copyright Unknown)
The planning agent on behalf of developer Muller Properties, Jamie Lynch, explained that by 2030 demand for care service in the area will increase by 50 per cent.
He told the committee: “We have worked for three years to bring a high quality scheme to regenerate this site. It has been left vacant for five years and has fallen into a state of disrepair.”
The committee meeting in Rochdale’s Number One Riverside ultimately granted planning permission to knock down the concrete structure and build the care home and houses.
Coun Carol Wardle backed the plans, saying she was glad to see it used for something because ‘it has been an eyesore for some time’.
Current view of Parkfield House in Middleton from the Garden of Remembrance(Image: Muller Properties)
The site, overlooking Middleton Cenotaph, would see a care home built in a ‘T’ shape, with a 27-space car park created to the north of the Garden of Remembrance. An outdoor garden area to the southeast of the building will also be delivered.
The care home would deliver a form of specialist housing that is able to support the diversified housing needs of older people, which has been deemed in critical demand by the local authority, according to planning papers.
The 20 family homes would surround the care facility, each having private gardens and off-street parking.