Architect appointed to manage restoration of Rochdale Town Hall
Preston and Manchester-based architect, Frank Whittle Partnership (FWP), has been appointed to manage the costs of the £16m restoration of Rochdale’s Grade I-listed town hall.
FWP, whose team has worked and are working on prestigious heritage projects across the North West, beat stiff competition for the restoration of the treasured building, which is one of the best examples of gothic architecture in the country.
The firm will be quantity surveyor and cost manager, working with a team of specialists who have been commissioned to transform the Victorian town hall following a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £8.9m.
Successful ongoing projects for FWP include Carlisle Cathedral, Walton Hall Estate near Warrington, Rivington Terraced Gardens in Bolton, and the Lambert Brothers Printworks in Preston.
The Rochdale project, due for completion in 2023, will restore the famous landmark’s many historic features, including the Magna Carta mural and ceiling panels in the great hall and its extensive stained-glass windows.
The gothic masterpiece, which was once at the heart of civic life in the borough but is now used mainly for functions, will also be brought back into use for the public with new displays and installations telling the story of Rochdale and its people.
The old library on the first floor, which was more recently used as office space, will also be restored and re-opened for community use as the new Bright Hall, in honour of prominent industrialists and radical politicians, the Bright family.
A series of access improvements, including the installation of new lifts and toilets, will open up the spectacular space and make it more accessible to the public than before.
Cllr John Blundell, cabinet member for regeneration at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The town hall is a place of majesty and beauty, which is renowned across the country.
“For that reason, we set the bar extremely high when selecting specialists to lead its restoration. A building so special needs the absolute best and we’re confident we’ve got the calibre here to make this critical project a huge success.”
David Robinson, managing partner at FWP, said: “Rochdale Town Hall is one of the great Victorian civic buildings in the North of England and to be able to give it a new life fit for the 21st century is both a huge challenge and a tremendous honour.
“The team assembled by Rochdale Council has vast experience in working on heritage projects and listed buildings and the public of the town can look forward to the transformation of this historic asset.”
FWP will be working alongside renowned conservation architect Donald Insall Associates and global landscape designers Gillespies to redevelop the space to better frame the town hall by creating a stunning public realm to rival the best public squares in Europe.
The structural engineers will be Price and Myers and Max Fordham has been selected to carry out building services engineering, the 3d scanning and metric survey are being undertaken by the University of Salford, activity planning will be carried out by Link4Life and Focus Consultants and L&R Consulting have been commissioned for business planning.
The exhibition design and interpretation of the town hall will be undertaken by Redman Design.
The restoration of Rochdale Town Hall is part of the regeneration of Rochdale town centre, which has included the river re-opening scheme, the new transport interchange and town centre Metrolink stop, and the Rochdale Riverside retail and leisure development, which will open in 2020.
