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 nearly eight years.
It was November 2016 when Manchester Evening News first announced that the dominant tower blocks of the College Bank headquarters were facing an uncertain future. Seven months later, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) revealed plans to demolish four of the seven towers to make way for up to 120 new homes.
Campaigners and councilors spent years challenging the project – while RBH spent thousands paying people to leave. But in a new era for RBH, ushered in with the landlord facing mounting pressure following the death of Awaab Ishaq, priorities have changed for the College Bank estate.
READ MORE: “I’m working two jobs and I still find it hard – can George Galloway really turn things around?”
The MEN revealed last June that the block of flats could be saved from being bulldozed, before RBH announced it was working with Legal and General on a plan to refurbish the buildings and bring all 700 flats into use. Yet 12 months on, the tenants who remain at College Bank are still trapped in limbo, surrounded by hundreds of empty homes.
It comes at a time when City Hall declared a housing emergency last October. At the time, almost 10,000 households were on the waiting list for social housing across the Rochdale borough. There are currently approximately 400 apartments unoccupied at Seven Sisters.
Mark Slater moved into his Seven Sisters flat in 2015 when he was down. “I had a camp bed and a B&Q lawn chair was resting on it with a TV,” he told the MEN.
“It gave me the opportunity to rebuild my life. Now I have a business and a decent life and it’s 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’s my path.”
In recent years, Mark has spent much of his energy fighting to save the estate, which has helped him ‘turn his life around’. The potential demolition of RBH gave tenants hope last year.
But he says there remain “mixed emotions” among the people who live there – they are still unsure about the future of their homes. “We don’t know what’s going on, and until they say they have the funding secured, there’s still the possibility of demolishing these buildings,” Mark said.
“That’s the worst possible scenario and I don’t think anyone wants to talk about it. We’ve had the sword of Damocles hanging over us since 2017 when they proposed it. Until there’s a final decision, we’re in the same place.” “
While Seven Sisters is currently around two-thirds empty, it is believed that around eight 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 earmarked for demolition.
The previous management team at RBH argued that it would be too expensive to repair these blocks to the condition required for 21st century living. Now, with a new team at the helm, the housing association insists it is “committed” to saving College Bank and modernizing it to create a “sustainable community where people want to live”.
It is working with Legal and General Affordable Homes (LGAH) and Lovell on a plan to refurbish all seven blocks and bring them back to full use, with an efficient heating system and new outdoor space. But there is a costly caveat.
RBH says it needs to meet the funding gap to make the dream a reality and is in talks with public sector partners on how to achieve this. The MEN understands that one of these partners is the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
RBH had an exclusivity deal with LGAH from September last year until the end of March, which was extended until the end of June “so we fully understand the complexities and costs” – but no further announcement has yet been made about the position. Moon. If this deal were to go ahead, RBH would retain ownership of the blocks until renovations are completed before ownership is transferred to Legal & General Affordable Homes, becoming the new owner.
The MEN understands that a further announcement could be made in the coming weeks, potentially on the other side of the July 4 general election.
A timetable published earlier this year indicated that RBH would aim to make a final decision on the project by the end of 2024. Residents of the first two blocks to be refurbished would then be relocated before work starts next spring – subject to approval and financing secured.
“Many people were driven out”
RBH previously said the cost of the project would be around £107m. She has publicly acknowledged that there is a funding gap that she will need to overcome – but it is not yet known how big that funding gap is.
If the plan succeeds, RBH says it wants College Bank’s future headquarters to be a “national example.” Opinions on the current state of the estate vary.
Ismael Jooma had lived in his Tentercroft flat for seven years when MEN spoke to residents of the estate earlier this year.
“It’s a very nice place to live, everything is close,” he said. “We’ve got a shopping centre, a train and a tram. I’ve lived in London all my life. I came here and it was so much better. It’s a very friendly area.”
The estate has been home to Marjorie Watson for more than five decades. She moved into the apartments with her husband when she was 20 years old.
“They were great,” she said. “You had to live or work in Rochdale to get it. We had to pay a month’s rent in advance, it was about £5 a week.”
Marjorie, who lost her husband two years ago, is a tenant in the Mitchell Hey Block. She told MEN that she expected to be the first to be renovated.
The tower blocks are now “very quiet”, says Marjorie, and she feels RBH has “neglected” the buildings in recent years. Many residents have previously taken advantage of landlord compensation offers to find somewhere else to live.
“A lot of people were kicked out,” Marjorie said. “They were offering £7,000 to move out. We were offered but we didn’t take it. We said how would you feel if you lost your home after 50 odd years?”
She added: “They think they can put you anywhere, but a lot of the places they’re building now are like kennels. There’s no room at all. A lot of people have been evicted and say they should never have moved.” .”
The uncertainty of the past eight years has caused tenants to worry – and this situation has yet to ease. Beverley Clarke, who lives in Holland Rise, described the ‘uncertainty’ she faces with her home.
“I need a new carpet for the living room and bedroom,” she said. “I could do all that well, but then I have to move out. I don’t want to move out, I don’t have the patience or the energy.
“They don’t know what they’re doing. One minute they were taking four down and we had to move out while they were getting them out. The others were supposed to be getting off, but they’re not.”
One man, who did not want to be named, told MEN he accepted £8,500 to move out of Seven Sisters last year. “I got compensation and a week later they turned around and said they weren’t moving anyone,” he said.
Despite the unfortunate timing, however, he has no regrets and disagrees with others who fought to save the site. “They’re falling,” he said. “I used to have large pieces falling from the roof of my balcony.
“They just don’t care. They kept raising service charges and not providing any of the services. There used to be three gatekeepers, now there’s only one.”
A man who moved to Heywood and now “doesn’t miss” his old home believes RBH should reconsider its original proposal. “They just need to knock the whole lot down,” he added. “It was nice 20 years ago, but about ten years ago it’s like******.”
‘We are working as fast as we can’
If the Seven Sisters were to be revived, RBH expects six of the blocks to remain as affordable housing, with one block earmarked for market rent. The owner says the blocks will be completely renovated and modernized and that the new sustainable heating system would be cheaper to run than the existing one.
The housing association says it recognizes the limbo residents have faced in recent years and wants to resolve it. Hannah Fleming, head of regeneration and development at RBH, told the MEN: “We are sorry that the residents of College Bank have faced significant uncertainty in recent years.
“We are working as fast as we can to create a community that current and future residents can be proud to call home. Our goal is to bring all the homes in College Bank back into service, provided we can bridge the current funding gap.
“These plans include external refurbishment, outdoor space improvements and internal works which would allow the flats to be upgraded to create safe, warm and affordable homes. We have extended our exclusivity agreement with LGAH until the end of June 2024, which will allow 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. can make things right.”