Rawtenstall Town Square blooms
Improvements to Rawtenstall Town Square have this week been completed and open to the public once again.
The £300k scheme jointly funded by Rossendale Council and Lancashire County Council (LCC), has seen the whole area undergo a huge re-vamp. The plans follow on from the council’s earlier decision not to progress with future phases of Spinning Point in order to create a new public area.
The scheme, delivered by Rossendale Council and LCC, has revitalised the town square, creating an outside meeting point, and has transformed the whole area into a unique town square. The square now offers a variety of amenity spaces including hard landscape areas, allowing for leisure and pop-up event opportunities to stimulate further investment in the town.
Cllr Alyson Barnes said: “I am absolutely delighted with how the new town square area is now looking. Seeing the plans and drawings on paper come to life and take shape is fantastic and this is a terrific addition to what has become an excellent town centre.
“The Labour group took the decision to remove the old Valley Centre, refurbish the old town hall and create a new bus station, and the town square is the latest addition to the development.
“I hope that the area will be enjoyed by all, and I’m excited to see some of the new activities that are planned in the town centre. It’s important that we have a useable space and the opportunity to put on events in Rawtenstall, creating footfall for our excellent town centre businesses that were hit so hard by successive lockdowns during the pandemic.”
The scheme to revitalise the town square now complements the adjacent Spinning Point development, connecting the bus station, refurbished town hall and the rest of the main shopping area through paving design and outdoor seating providing an attractive meeting area.
The town centre improvement work includes funding from Lancashire County Council’s £12.8m Economic Recovery Growth Fund, which supports projects to help local economies to bounce back from the impacts of Covid-19. The aim is to kickstart the development of transformational schemes that will make a major economic recovery contribution and create jobs in parts of Lancashire which have been hardest hit, stimulating growth and unlocking further investment.
Lancashire County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for economic development and growth, said: “The improvements to Rawtenstall Town Square have transformed the whole area and made it a more attractive community space for people to visit.
“We’ve been able make these improvements happen for Rawtenstall by working in partnership with our colleagues at Rossendale Council to bring to together this vital funding.
“The Rawtenstall Town Square Project will support existing businesses by creating more footfall and stimulate further investment in the town.”
Business owner Michele Pillitteri who runs popular Italian restaurant A’Vucciria on Bank Street, will be opening another premises, Pizzaman situated in the new town square said: “We are really pleased with the improvements to the town square. It’s now a much more social space where people can meet up with friends to enjoy a pizza.
“Pizzaman’s is going to be a great addition to Rawtenstall, and we can’t wait to start welcoming people through our doors.”