Midland regeneration steps up with school tenant, scout hut lease and new post office

The Old Grammar School on Boarshaw Road – a heritage building founded in 1582 and previously used as a wedding venue – has been purchased by the council. A feasibility study is now assessing how the structure can be repaired, refurbished and reopened for community use, and council officials expect a new tenant to be confirmed before the end of the year.

Heritage building and new uses

Council representatives also said they are negotiating the acquisition of the long-derelict Warwick Mill together with the adjacent 1960s office block London House. The plan is to bring the mill back into use, possibly as new homes, while London House would be demolished. No final decision on the mill’s future has been announced, but the move forms part of the wider strategy to revitalise the town centre.

Community hub and youth focus

The Middleton Scout Hut on Long Street, vacant for 13 years, will now operate under a long-term lease with the charitable Groundwork Trust. Groundwork intends to turn the venue into a hub for ecology and construction-skills workshops, a base for local environmental projects and a meeting point for community groups tackling social isolation. While the focus will be on young people, the space will also be open to other residents. Work on the improvements is scheduled to be completed before the building reopens sometime in 2027.

More than half of the almost 2,000 people who responded to the ‘Our Town, Our Future’ engagement exercise called for greater provision for young people, reinforcing the council’s decision to prioritise youth-focused activities at the Scout Hut.

Restoring services

Following the closure of the town-centre post office in July, council officials announced that both post office and banking facilities will return to Middleton early next year. Sam Williams, speaking on behalf of the post office, confirmed that a new location has been agreed in principle. The move responds to feedback that 65 % of respondents see the lack of banking services as a pressing issue.

The regeneration drive will be overseen by a newly forming Mayoral Development Corporation, chaired by Steve Coogan and Rose Marley, and will operate on cooperative lines. Councillor Neil Emmott, leader of Rochdale Borough Council, said the council is “serious about Middleton’s continued regeneration” and pledged ongoing support for residents and local groups as the projects progress.