Public given exclusive tour of the new Riverside development

Date published: 22 March 2019

The new Rochdale Riverside development was opened to the public for two days this week to celebrate 'Open Doors Week' across the construction industry.

Throughout Wednesday and Friday (20 and 22 March), constructors Willmott Dixon offered residents the chance of a behind-the-scenes tour of the new Riverside shopping complex with Willmott Dixon's Senior Building Manager, Joshua Heavens.

A talk on ‘Your routes into Willmott Dixon’ was also provided for those interested to find out more about careers in construction like quantity surverying, estimating and site management.

Joshua said: “We’re here in Rochdale to make a good, positive impact on the community.

“We’re currently in partnership with Hopwood Hall College offering work experience to students who are keen to learn.

Having a total £40m investment altogether, Riverside will host a leisure unit on Constantine Road, next to the Regal Moon, with four restaurants, a REEL Cinema with six screens, plus additional entertainment. 

There will also be a retail unit parallel to the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre with around 20 spaces for retailers. To date, confirmed retailers are Boots, JD Sports, Next, River Island and M&S.

Located across from Mecca Bingo, Marks and Spencer is described as the ‘main retailer’ with the shop covering two floors.

The final part of Riverside to be built will be a three-storey car park, nearest to John Street.

The leisure unit was the first of the three buildings to go up and is now undergoing works such as cladding of the copper-coloured panels on the outside and glazing, as well as internal electrical and mechanical installations.

Joshua continued: “Up to now, we’ve spent £15m with suppliers within a ten-mile radius, and another £15m with suppliers within a 25-mile radius.”

Developed by a joint venture of Genr8 and Kajima in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, Rochdale Riverside will provide 200,000 square foot of retail and leisure accommodation. The Riverside regeneration is one of the most important schemes in Rochdale town centre to date.

The site is currently one of the largest retail developments under construction in the north.

Work on Riverside began in February 2017 and is due to be finished by April 2020.