Comment: Rochdale Canal should be the jewel in the town's crown

This is a comment article by Steven Parker of the Rochdale Canal Group. The views expressed are his own.

Rochdale Branch Canal

Industrial units will not bring visitors to Rochdale, but a living canal basin filled with boats, a heritage centre, café, independent shops and exhibition space most definitely will.

Our historic canals should be the jewel in Rochdale's crown, but instead they languish neglected and forgotten.

The time is right for real change along the Rochdale Canal corridor, and we must be instrumental in making it happen.

A revitalised canal corridor has the potential to offer far more than an attractive waterside environment. Done properly, regeneration could create environmental improvements, attract visitors, support independent businesses, create employment and reconnect Rochdale with an extraordinary part of its industrial heritage.

A living canal basin would give people a reason to spend time in Rochdale rather than simply pass through it. Boats bring movement and activity. A heritage centre could tell the story of the canal and the industries it once served. Cafés, independent shops and exhibition spaces could provide places for residents and visitors to meet, spend money and experience something distinctive to the town.

Rochdale's industrial history should not simply be something remembered in photographs. The surviving canal corridor provides an opportunity to use that history as part of the borough's future.

Environmental, regenerative and job-creation opportunities will follow if Rochdale is ambitious enough to recognise the potential sitting alongside its historic waterways.

The opportunity is there. The question is whether Rochdale is prepared to take it.

Steven Parker Rochdale Canal Group Originally written 8 September 2024.