Ambitious plans to refurbish Grade II listed Warwick Mill have created

Posted by on 26 Mar 2022

Ambitious plans to refurbish Grade II listed Warwick Mill to create new homes and breathe life into an important building and part of Middleton’s history have been drawn up.

The plans will form the cornerstone of a new masterplan for Middleton town centre focusing on delivering new homes, business space, highway and environmental improvements, new walking and cycle routes to pave the way for the planned extension of the Metrolink into Middleton Town Centre.

After years of council lobbying to create a new line to the town, the plan to link Middleton with Greater Manchester’s Metrolink system was included in the GM Transport Strategy 2040.

Leader of Rochdale Borough Council, Councillor Neil Emmott, said: “This marks a key moment in the masterplan for Middleton. It’s an announcement of more development into the area to further strength Middleton’s offer and complement the new jobs and public transport connections we want to deliver around the Northern Gateway. We’ve been steadfast in our commitment to investing in Middleton and ensuring it has development opportunities and it’s great to see that businesses are on board with us to achieve this. We also see that Middleton is playing a key role in wider plans for the north of Greater Manchester with the Mayoral Development Zone, Atom Valley, and that is a testament to the areas strength and opportunity. Plans for the mill and the wider town centre redevelopment are going to be great additions to what had already been invested in Middleton.”

Chair of Middleton Township Committee and East Middleton Councillor June West, said: “It’s exciting to see this work progress and the start of plans that the local community can engage with. Warwick Mill is an iconic landmark in Middleton and it’s good to see that whilst it’s history and heritage are being restored and celebrated, that it also plays a key role in Middleton’s vibrant future development.”

The mill’s owners have been working with us and Historic England, to create a scheme which sympathetically restores the mill and delivers new development. This work has informed designs which will go out for public consultation soon.

This announcement is the latest investment into Middleton, which has also benefitted from the multi-million pound regeneration of many of its historic sites in recent years, including a series of properties designed by the late architect Edgar Wood, the exedra in Jubilee Park, the Sam Bamford monument and the Long Street Methodist School. Earlier in the year a £220,000 project to create a brand new cycling and walking facility in the Middleton conservation area started.