Rochdale Fire Station

Rochdale Fire Station is an art deco gem from the 1930s, and one of the town’s historic landmarks. The RDA was instrumental in securing £3.7m of funding for the scheme. The much-loved building is now a new museum space for the Greater Manchester Fire Service with a co-working office, Fire Up, for digital and creative start-ups.

Upstairs, the old ballroom has been transformed into Fire Up, ran by GM Business Growth Hub, the space is a vibrant new co-working space for start-up businesses. Historic features in the space, including the stained glass on the ceiling, has been carefully restored.

The RDA helped secure a £1m grant from the government’s Town’s Fund acceleration fund along with a £699,774 investment from the European Regional Development Fund.

The bigger picture

The project is at the heart of the Station Gateway area, part of the council and RDA’s new rail strategy, which aims to revitalise land around the borough’s five railway stations: Rochdale, Castleton, Littleborough, Smithy Bridge and Mills Hill. Long term, the strategy aims to create 7,000 new homes along the Rochdale rail corridor alongside new business space, enhanced public realm and other community facilities.