Rochdale’s regenerated Town Hall Quarter scoops top award

Posted by on 17 Nov 2025

The stunning restoration of Rochdale Town Hall and surrounding square has earned another top honour.

Rochdale Development Agency has been named winner of APM’s Social Project of the Year Award at the APM Project Management Awards at the Park Plaza in London.

The APM Awards celebrate excellence, endorse innovation and highlight the project profession’s social and economic contributions.

The restoration of the Grade 1 listed Rochdale Town Hall presented an opportunity to engage local people with heritage as well as offering conservation training on one of the most significant heritage projects in the borough and the country. The ethos of the project centred on giving the building back to the people of Rochdale.

Starting through the construction phase, local people were able to make a meaningful contribution through employment, volunteering or training and now, for the first time in its history, the building is open to the public, free to enter, allowing everyone to experience it first-hand.

Emma Robinson, senior project manager at Rochdale Development Agency, said: “The objective of the project was always to give the building back to the people of Rochdale.

“Through an extensive community engagement programme, we aimed to create opportunities for local people to make a meaningful contribution to the works, whilst gaining, skills, qualifications and experiences that would change lives. It’s great that the hard work of the team has been recognised with this award and we thank the judges for such positive comments!”

Judges said: “A local initiative that has had wide-reaching social impact. Delivered on time and budget, the project trained volunteers, created jobs, drew 100,000 visitors in its first year, and generated £700,000 in social value.

“Judges praised the team’s bold approach to risks and inclusion, as well as innovative conservation techniques and a bespoke project namagement toolkit. Despite COVID and global disruptions, the team’s passion and vision ensured a lasting legacy, demonstrating how heritage projects can drive real community benefit and set new standards for socially focused regeneration.”

It is the second honour the project has scooped this hear. It won Heritage Project of the Year at the RICS Awards after the £20 million project was delivered on time and on budget, enabling previously unseen spaces to be accessible for the first time.

It created more than 3,600 volunteer, training and job opportunities and established a heritage skills studio.

The reopening of the historic council chamber earlier this year marked the completion of the five-year restoration project.