Bid to save Rochdale's Seven Sisters from demolition takes step forward

Plans to save Rochdale's landmark Seven Sisters from bulldozers have taken a step forward. Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) announced its intention to demolish four of the seven towers on College Bank back in 2017.

The hugely controversial move was challenged by councillors, residents and campaigners, while many people left their homes on the estate amidst the threat of demolition. But under new leadership following the Awaab Ishak scandal, RBH now hopes to keep the tower blocks and renovate them, the Manchester Evening News revealed on Wednesday.

Following a consultation event with residents, RBH has now confirmed it is working with an affordable housing developer to retain and modernise the iconic towers. Legal and General Affordable Homes (LGAH) could help bring in funding for the project and take ownership of the blocks, while RBH would continue to run the estate, under current proposals.

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But, as both RBH interim chief executive Yvonne Arrowsmith and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have suggested, the project still needs additional funding. In a series of tweets, an RBH spokesperson said: "We have been working in partnership with LGAH to explore alternative options for the blocks.

"One of the options we are looking at is to retain all seven blocks, which would be modernised and refurbished to provide high quality energy efficient homes. We wanted to explore if there was an opportunity to retain all seven blocks to provide a sustainable College Bank for the future.

"By working together with LGAH, we may be able to deliver a viable proposal that allows us to retain all seven blocks. We can’t access all the funding