Spinning Point update

by Councillor Andy MacNae, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure

As part of keeping residents and businesses up to date about the Spinning Point development, I have committed to writing a monthly blog of progress. This is the first one.

December has been an exciting month in terms of progress on the redevelopment of Rawtenstall Town Centre.

I am pleased to say a planning application for the second phase of Spinning Point has been submitted. The application is for development of two buildings which would incorporate a mix of uses including leisure, hotel, housing and commercial uses.

We have listened carefully to residents about the importance of the open space so I am delighted the scheme now includes a large area of public open space similar in size to the beautiful St Ann’s Square in Manchester.

The new scheme will bring new investment in the town centre while also creating new jobs.

The Local Planning Authority have notified over 1000 residents and businesses directly of the application however all comments on the proposals are welcomed and the full details can be viewed at Rossendale’s planning portal  using reference 2017/0617. It is envisaged that the application will be considered at Development Control Committee in February/ March next year.

In terms of phase one, the refurbishment of the former town hall is well underway. I am pleased to say work on the development continues at pace and people will see the site is a hive of activity.

With any old building issues are being uncovered on a daily basis which have been addressed by temporary structural propping within the building.

These issues mean there has been a slight delay in completing the town hall work but such delays are always inevitable when delivering such a huge project. Overall, the work is more or less on track.

The architects and Local Planning Authority have worked up designs of the end gable feature which obtained planning permission earlier this year and will provide an impressive gateway into the Town Centre as you can see from the picture in the slider.

Finally, we have been making a lot of progress on addressing concerns around the stopping up order of roads so the new bus station can be built.

We are working with our partners and we remain confident of reaching a solution which everyone will be happy with.

The intention is to submit the Stopping Up Order within the next few weeks.