Milkstone Road Vision

Year | 2024

Location | Rochdale, Greater Manchester

Client | Rochdale Development Agency

Amplifying local voices to create a collective vision for the future of Milkstone Road, celebrating its unique character and enhancing its appeal.

The Rochdale Development Agency (RDA), in collaboration with local partners, is setting the stage for a transformative project to revitalise Milkstone Road, a key local high street known for its vibrant mix of businesses. This ambitious place based vision aims to the potential of Milkstone Road as a lively, accessible, and visually realise compelling outside Rochdale's town destination for all of Rochdale's communities. Located just centre, Milkstone Road is more than just a street-it's a social, leisure, and retail hub that reflects the diversity of the town.

Despite a challenging economic context for town centres, the potential most units are occupied. However, the area's visual appearance detracts from to celebrate and promote its distinct identity and support growth of the surrounding businesses. Recognising this, this project wants to give back to the community. A series of modest, phased-based approaches in their space was therefore suggested to mitigate against engagement fatigue that stemmed from previous larger-scale engagements.

To realise this vison, RDA has joined forces with the Live Projects Programme, leveraging the expertise of architecture students and local community members to explore innovative improvements. Following the success of previous collaborations, such as the Rochdale Maker's Mile Live Project in 2023, RDA sees immense potential in partners, engaging fresh perspectives and creative approaches in the project. Local partners, including Rochdale's Culture Co-op, are set to play a pivotal role, ensuring the project aligns with broader cultural and community initiatives. Together, we aim to identify specific interventions - from murals and artwork to facade improvements and streetscape enhancements - that can bring vibrancy and relevance to Milkstone Road.

Crucially, RDA's vision for Milkstone Road emphasises community-led engagement. Reflecting on past feedback, the agency is committed to making public involvement a meaningful, enjoyable that go beyond traditional experience. To that end, they have allocated funds for unique engagement sessions workshops, incorporating elements such as food, interactive activities, and event-style gatherings to genuine encourage input from local residents and business owners. This approach acknowledges that lasting impact; it's about creating a space that fostering community ownership is essential for feels reflective of and integral to the lives of those who use it daily.

An essential outcome of this project will be the development of a Future Design Guide and Activity Pack. This toolkit will serve as a collaborative resource at engagement events, allowing local residents and business owners to suggest colour palettes, artwork styles, and design ideas they envision for Milkstone Road. The design guide will offer curated suggestions and examples to spark activity pack will facilitate hands-on input from the community, collating ideas ideas, while the that reflect the collective vision for the street's future. Together, these tools will help to ensure that community preferences and identity are embedded in every aspect of the project.

Credits

Student Team: 

Larisa Tiriplic, Owen Lewis, Hannah Chin, Elizabeth Hardie, Will Marchant, Zarin Tasneem Mir, Madiha Rahman, Samuel Harris, Ella Freeman, Bing Li

Mentor:

Stuart Mckenzie