A look inside arts and heritage centre revamp progress

Grade II listed building will become creative and cultural hub

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THE redevelopment of Touchstones Rochdale, the borough’s major arts and heritage venue is moving forward, as councillor Sue Smith, cabinet member for communities and cooperation at Rochdale Borough Council, visited to see the work's progress.

Work on site commenced last year to transform the much-loved Grade II listed building (the original Rochdale Library, more recently the town’s museum and art gallery) into a creative and cultural hub with new flexible performance and studio spaces, meeting rooms, education facilities and improved galleries.

Councillor Smith, and Estelle Rowe, chief executive of Your Trust, the organisation that will be responsible for running the building when it reopens and their chairman David Gelsthorpe were taken on a guided tour by contractors H.H. Smith and Sons to see how the renovations are taking shape.

The impressive walk through began with a look around what will be two new classrooms, quiet space and kitchen which will provide a welcoming environment for children and adult learning on the ground floor.

The building’s ornate features are being preserved, with high ceilings and large windows giving the light and bright areas more of a sense of space.

The guests were shown what will be a digital recording studio for podcast and music recordings, alongside digital co-working space.

The ‘messy studio’ was another highlight complete with a pottery room including a kiln, which will be used for education classes.

Another studio space on the ground floor has been designed with flexibility in mind, enabling it to be used for meetings, conferences and workshops, in different formats.