Standing proud since the 1960s, they dominate the city skyline against the dramatic hills that surround the city. But uncertainty has hung over the Seven Sisters of Rochdale for almost eight years.
It was November 2016 when the Manchester Evening News reported for the first time that the Grade II listed tower blocks of the College Bank estate were facing an uncertain future. Seven months later, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) unveiled plans to demolish four of the seven towers to make way for up to 120 new homes.
Campaigners and councilors have challenged the project for years, while RBH has spent thousands to leave. But in a new era for RBH, ushered in as its landlord faced mounting pressure following the death of Awaab Ishak, priorities for the College Bank estate changed.
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The MEN revealed last June that the tower blocks could be saved from the bulldozer, before RBH announced it was working with Legal and General on a plan to refurbish the buildings and bring all 700 apartments into use. But 12 months later, the tenants remaining at College Bank are still stuck in limbo, surrounded by hundreds of vacant homes.
It comes as the town hall declared a housing emergency last October. At the time, almost 10,000 households in the Rochdale area were on the waiting list for social housing. It is believed that approximately 400 apartments at Seven Sisters are currently vacant.
Mark Slater moved into his flat at the Seven Sisters in 2015 when his career was at a low ebb. “I had a camp bed and a garden chair from B&Q with a TV on it,” he told the MEN
“It gave me the opportunity to rebuild my life. Now I have a business and a decent life because I had somewhere to go to rebuild my life.
“My flat looks out and I can see the M62, I can see where I was born, where I went to school, where I got my first job. I can see my life in front of me and that is my journey.”
In recent years, Mark has devoted much of his energy to saving the estate, which helped him “turn his life around.” RBH’s potential turnaround on demolition gave tenants hope last year.
But he says there are still “mixed emotions” among the people living there – still with no certainty about the future of their homes. “We don’t know what’s happening and until they say they have the financing in place, there’s still the possibility of these buildings being demolished,” Mark said.
“That’s the worst case scenario and I don’t think anyone wants to talk about that. The sword of Damocles has been hanging over us since 2017 when they proposed this. Until there is a final decision, we are in the same place. “
Although the Seven Sisters are currently around two-thirds empty, around eight of the flats have been made available as temporary accommodation, with RBH supporting Rochdale Council’s homelessness service. Mitchell Hey, Dunkirk Rise, Tentercroft and Town Mill Brow were the four 19-storey blocks slated for demolition.
RBH’s previous leadership team disputed that it would be too expensive to bring these blocks to the condition necessary for 21st century life. Now, with a new team at the helm, the housing association insists it is ‘committed’ to saving College Bank and modernizing it, creating a ‘sustainable community where people want to live’.
It has been working with Legal and General Affordable Homes (LGAH) and Lovell on a plan to renovate and bring all seven blocks back into full use, with an efficient heating system and new outdoor space. But there is a costly caveat.
RBH says it needs to close a funding gap before the dream can become a reality, and is in discussions with public sector partners about how that can be achieved. The MEN understands that one of those partners is the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
RBH had an exclusivity agreement with LGAH from September last year until the end of March, which was extended until the end of June ‘to fully understand the complexities and costs’ – but no further announcement has been made about the position after that. month. If that deal were to proceed, RBH would retain ownership of the blocks until renovations are complete, before ownership is transferred to Legal & General Affordable Homes, making them the new landlord.
The MEN understands that a further announcement could be made in the coming weeks, possibly on the other side of the July 4 general election.
A timetable published earlier this year suggested that RBH would like to make a final decision on the project by the end of 2024. Residents of the first two blocks to be renovated would then be relocated before work begins in spring next year – subject to approval and approval. financing is secured.
‘Many people have been forced to leave’
RBH has previously stated that the cost of the project would be approximately £107 million. It has publicly acknowledged that there is a funding gap that it will need to close, but how big that funding gap is has yet to be said.
Should the plan succeed, RBH wants the future College Bank estate to become ‘a national example’. Opinions differ about the current state of the estate.
Ismael Jooma had been living in his flat in Tentercroft for seven years when the MEN spoke to residents on the estate earlier this year.
“It’s a very nice place to live, everything is close,” he said. “We have the shopping centre, the train and the tram. I’ve lived in London all my life. I came here and it was a lot better. It’s a very friendly area.”
The estate has been home to Marjorie Watson for more than five decades. She moved into the flat with her husband when she was in her twenties.
“They were great,” she said. ‘You had to live or work in Rochdale to get one. We had to pay a month’s rent in advance, which was about £5 a week.’
Marjorie, who lost her husband two years ago, is a leaseholder in the Mitchell Hey block. She told the MEN she expected it to be the first to be renovated.
The tower blocks are now ‘very quiet’, says Marjorie, and she believes RBH has ‘neglected’ the buildings in recent years. Many residents previously accepted the landlord’s compensation offer to live somewhere else.
“A lot of people have been forced to leave,” Marjorie said. “They offered £7,000 to move. We got an offer but we didn’t take it up. We said, ‘How would you feel if you lost your house after 50 years?’
She added: “They think they can put you anywhere, but a lot of the places they’re building now look like doghouses. There’s no room at all. Many people have been forced to move and they say they should never have moved.”
The uncertainty of the past eight years has caused unrest among tenants – and the situation has still not improved. Beverley Clarke, who lives in Holland Rise, described the “insecurity” she faces with her home.
“I need new carpet in my living room and bedroom,” she said. “I could do it all nicely, but then I have to move. I don’t want to move, I don’t have the patience or energy.
‘They don’t know what they’re doing. At one point they took down four of them and we had to move while they were fixing them up. The others were supposed to come down, but they don’t.’
One man, who asked not to be named, told the MEN he had accepted £8,500 to move out of the Seven Sisters last year. “I got the compensation and a week later they turned around and said they weren’t moving anyone,” he said.
But despite the unfortunate timing, he has no regrets, and he disagrees with others who fought to save the site. “They’re falling down,” he said. “I used to drop large pieces from the roof of my balcony.
‘They just don’t care. They were still paying service charges and not providing any service. There used to be three caretakers, now there is only one.’
The man, who has moved to Heywood and now ‘doesn’t miss’ his old home, believes RBH should consider its original proposal. “They just need to take the whole place down,” he added. “It was nice about 20 years ago, but it’s been so******* for about 10 years.”
‘We are working as fast as we can’
If the Seven Sisters is revived, RBH expects six of the blocks will continue as affordable housing, while one block will be earmarked for market rent. The landlord says that the blocks would be completely renovated and modernized, and that the new sustainable heating system would be cheaper to use than the existing one.
The housing association says it recognizes the uncertainty that residents have had to deal with in recent years and wants to find a solution for it. Hannah Fleming, head of regeneration and development at RBH, told the MEN: “We regret that residents of College Bank have been faced with great uncertainty in recent years.
“We are working as quickly as we can, with the goal of creating a community that current and future residents can be proud to call home. Our goal is to bring all of College Bank’s homes back into use, provided we keep the bridge can overcome the current financing gap.
“These plans include external refurbishment, improved outdoor space and internal works modernizing the apartments to create safe, warm and affordable homes. We have extended our exclusivity agreement with LGAH until the end of June 2024, allowing us to continue discussions, including with potential financing providers.
“We will keep our customers informed of the plans as they progress and in the meantime our teams remain on site every day to provide support and assistance to our residents. If customers have any concerns, please contact us immediately so we can put things right.”