The multi-million pound retail and leisure redevelopment of Rochdale town centre has been delayed.
Planning permission for the £150m scheme will now not be given until later this year at the earliest – nearly a year later than originally planned.
Development chiefs have still to put forward an application for the project which is seen as a central part of the wider regeneration of the area.
John Hudson, chief executive of Rochdale Development Agency, said: "We’ll be signing a development agreement shortly and expect a planning application for the retail and leisure development in Rochdale town centre to be made later in the year.
"We are working closely with our partner Genr8 to progress this exciting scheme which is a central element of the £250m regeneration programme that is transforming the town."
Developer Genr8 is in charge of the scheme after being approved by the council at the end of 2009.
They had originally hoped to receive planning permission by the end of 2011 with work starting in 2013. The first shops would then open in 2014.
Layout plans for the scheme, which were revealed in May, propose pedestrianising Baillie Street and turning into a main shopping high street.
There would be a multi-storey car park above a new large supermarket and two-storey department store.
A cinema could be built above a proposed new row of shops, cafes and restaurants, next to a hotel.
The plans also include a new entrance into the Wheatsheaf Centre from Baillie Street to help open up Yorkshire Street.
Rochdale Simon Danczuk MP is concerned that the scheme has been delayed and has urged the council to change its plans. He said: "The fact that plans to regenerate our town centre have been put on hold yet again is extremely disappointing,
"But it should be an opportunity for the council to change course and look at improving support for existing retailers and attracting more independents and small business start-ups.
"I warned council officers in 2008 that they had missed the boat on big regeneration schemes and that the market had changed."
He added: "I do not want to see council officers taking huge gambles with taxpayers' money in buying up commercial properties and bending over backwards to help a developer that has so far failed to deliver.
"Regeneration is not just about bricks and mortar; it's about retaining and developing talent, and supporting entrepreneurial flair.
"We need to do a lot more in this area to help improve our town."
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towns like ramsbottom need to be looked at and we need to take an example of what they offer, however without the crazy high speed road going through the centre of what could be a better shopping experiance. a nice selection of local shops and even a micro brewery. We are not Bury, or Oldham and dont have the surrounding area to get the numbers into our town.
Ideally it would be great but if you want that kind of thing the we would move to Bury i guess. We need to be thinking local produce, as we cant all have a trafford centre in each local town can we
Who cares anyway. It's a huge white elephant. A complete waste of time and money.
The Town is dead! Long Live Bury and Oldham Town centres!!
Just gives the developer a longer time period to screw the council or pull out of the project when it sees the state of the economy in a years time,watch this space.
Not over distinctive is it, so what exactly are we getting for our money, a street where it always shines, and everybody happily shopping?
This could be any town in the UK Yawn.....
there probably would be no shops in this shopping centre the way the one we have now is looking
Get a grip council, if you can't fill the exisiting premises why build more?
It's another debacle by RMBC, John Hudson - why can't you fill the 2 centres at the moment? Why will this improve the situation, it's just another waste of millions of pounds yet again surely.
Who (Companies) do you anticipate filling the units - more £1 shops, mobile phone shops? loan sharks? charity shops?
You are all deluded and its good money after bad, just fix the current centre please.
They just dont get it do they?Where is all this money going to come from ,even MORE PFI schemes that will still be being paid for by our children and grandchildren ?
I thought that we had no money,it will be just another expensive white elephant. The council leader,who claims that He cannot cancel any of the projects already in the pipeline COULD cancel this one ,where no work has started and even plans have not been submitted.
So cancel it now ,and at least try to do something with the dismal state of Rochdale.The empty shops need filling ,not more millions wasted on more empty shops. This will never be Bury or Manchester,but public transport can take people to these places though....
What a joke Rochdale is. The top of drake street is an absolute disgrace - school lane is like a patchwork quilt - RMBC have lots of money to dig holes then dig the same hole again. This has been going on for over a year on the same street. Why nobody knows ? probably for the new tram service which people will be jumping on to get out of this godforsaken town to go and spend their money in Bury or Manchester. Ridiculous !!!!!
Surprise ,surprise,IS IT NOT TIME FOR A COMPLETE RETHINK ABOUT ROCHDALE.
CLOSE IT DOWN AND FLATTEN THE LOT,STARTING WITH THE OVERPAID ,UNDERWORKED TOWN HALL MUPPITS.
More space for charity, pawnbrokers and money lending shops for the Dale's hard of thinking! !Result!