What does the future hold for Rochdale?
How a proud town lost its way, and how it is fighting back.
The hum of textile mills once echoed through the streets of Rochdale.
Steam puffed out from factory chimneys, and thousands of workers filed into the mills every morning for long, gruesome hours.
It was their hands and their labour that shaped the cotton trade powering Britain’s industrial revolution. The birthplace of the co-operative movement, Rochdale was a beacon for working-class strength and British industrial power.
But today, the mills and workshops are silent. And the decline of industry has left scars that have struggled to heal.
Economic deprivation
A lost generation.
Where food banks were once a last resort, they have now become a necessity, with parents and children alike going hungry.
Deprivation has shot up in the town - in areas like Milkstone and Deeplish, every other child is growing up in poverty. Unemployment remains above both regional and national averages.
"Rochdale is ranked the 15th most deprived borough in England based on a rank of the average for LSOAs in the area (defined in the Indices of Deprivation). Many of the people in the borough were already significantly disadvantaged when the pandemic struck."
The community, however, tackles this dizzying array of problems head on and has refused to give in. Numerous grassroots initiatives are working to support residents.
Rochdale - the facts and figures. Source: Office for National Statistics
Rochdale - the facts and figures. Source: Office for National Statistics
Source - Rochdale Foodbank, Office for National Statistics
Source - Rochdale Foodbank, Office for National Statistics
The Rochdale AFC Community Trust
Our interview with Ryan Bradley, community director of the Rochdale AFC Community Trust.
“Rochdale is a town that has had its difficulties, it has very high deprivation in certain pockets across the borough, and people just need support.”
“The more funding we get, the more we can play a part in being the solution.”
Grassroots football, grassroots community support.
The Rochdale AFC Community Trust is the local football team’s charity which runs schemes such as their food pantry and educational courses for all ages.
Community director Ryan Bradley spoke about the work that they do in the community and some of the causes of the problems that they help solve.
He said: "There's definitely no one single issue that's causing people to need food pantries and food banks - social factors play a big importance like energy costs going up, cost of living type things.
"Our donations are far outstripped by demand - I certainly see it (demand) increasing in the near future rather than decreasing.”
The trust is far from the only community project providing help in the area.
The Kashmir Youth Project operates a community pantry twice a week, and Rochdale Foodbank provides emergency food supplies. Local churches, Citizens Advice, Action Together and the Food Solutions Network all also play pivotal roles in coordinating support across Rochdale.
However Bradley says without more support and funding, there isn't much more these projects can do.
He told us: “One hot topic in the sector at the moment is our funding and the way things change quite often and cause a bit of instability.
“We are like no other business or organisation - we do find it tough in bringing funding in, covering our core costs and delivering what we deliver. We need a little bit of certainty.
“Rochdale AFC has been in this borough for over a hundred years, we aren't going anywhere. We appreciate that we have a role to play in society and all we ask is that people back us and support us with that funding."
Investment or cuts?
Since the 2008 financial crash and the austerity policies introduced by the Conservative government in 2010, Rochdale has been hit particularly hard.
According to research by the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA), Rochdale Council has faced real-term budget cuts of approximately 28.4% since 2010. Meanwhile, cuts to policing and social care weakened the town’s ability to tackle issues like homelessness, drug addiction, and child exploitation.
There has, however, been some investment in the city centre. Mehek Naseer, 22, is a lifelong resident of Rochdale. She said that whilst the centre had improved, it was still not great for young people culturally.
She said: “Definitely the town centre has gotten better compared to what it was - at the same time, there isn't really a lot of stuff for young people to actually do in the town centre.”
“I never chill in Rochdale to do fun things, I go into Manchester City Centre instead.”
And whilst focussing money on putting it into the town centre may make sense economically, it can lead to other areas being left behind.
Mehek said: “For example in terms of the libraries, the one in the town centre is thriving and has improved, a lot of events are held there, whereas the other one (Smallbridge Library) is completely empty."
Political chaos
Failures such as this have decimated public trust in the system in Rochdale - perhaps best symbolised by the election of controversial political firebrand George Galloway to Rochdale last year, in a campaign where he capitalised off of the economic dissatisfaction in the town, as well as unhappiness amongst Rochdale’s large Muslim population over Labour’s policy on Gaza.
Rochdale’s Labour Party will take comfort from the fact that they had to drop their candidate for that by-election over allegations of antisemitism and therefore could not properly campaign. They also, very narrowly, won back the seat months later at the general election.
But the damage has been done to Labour’s brand in the area, and Rochdale is no longer their territory. It leaves the town with no political identity, and no trust in its leaders.
Politics in turmoil.
The lack of political stability in Rochdale has also hampered the area significantly. Alongside the national government’s cuts, local governance in the area has seen its trust decimated by a string of scandals and debilitating humiliations.
For example, the Rochdale grooming gang scandal was a devastating institutional failure in policing, social services and leadership. For years, vulnerable young girls from care homes or struggling families were prayed upon by gangs of men. As well as being horrific in its own right, this also gave ammunition to racists and the far-right, as the perpetrators were predominantly of Pakistani origin, bringing its own brand of divisiveness and nastiness to Rochdale’s politics.
George Galloway following his victory in Rochdale. Image by Charlie Valentine.
George Galloway following his victory in Rochdale. Image by Charlie Valentine.
The way forward?
Credit: David Dixon, Wikimedia Commons
Credit: David Dixon, Wikimedia Commons
Some will remain hopeful with regard to economic regeneration in the area - alongside the aforementioned investment into the town centre, the stunning Rochdale Town Hall has now reopened with a multi-million pound restoration, restoring it as a cultural landmark to boost visitors to the town and bring back some local pride.
The council’s Rochdale Rail Corridor Strategy is also an ambitious regeneration plan, which aims to build housing along the rail stations in the borough and attract businesses.
But in the face of decline, hardship and turmoil, it is simply not enough. Once a powerhouse of industry, Rochdale has been failed - by national austerity, local leadership failures, and a political and economic system that has left it behind.
Amidst these struggles, the community continues to fight back, and grassroots efforts will always try to fill the gaps that the system leaves behind. However, without serious investment and action to tackle deprivation, Rochdale risks falling further behind.
The fightback is on, but it cannot be won alone.
Image of Rochdale Town Centre from the air. © Copyright Thomas Nugent and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
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