At Rochdale Folk Festival we are thrilled to hear that Rochdale has been successful in their bid to the DCMS/ACE Cultural Development Fund Round 2. We are excited that this funding will help to increase cultural activity in the town.

The Rochdale bid was submitted by a partnership of Rochdale Borough Council, Rochdale Development Agency and Your Trust Rochdale and will deliver three priority elements from their Creative and Cultural Asset Strategy:

• Establish a Rochdale town-centre Cultural Improvement District;
• Reconfigure and refurbish Touchstones;
• Invest in development and delivery of a Borough Cultural Compact.

Councillor Sue Smith, Cabinet Member for Communities and Cooperation said:

“We are delighted to be offered funding from DCMS and Arts Council England. It’s a really significant step demonstrating the quality and strength of our ambition for culture in the Borough. The CDF funding means we can take forward our exciting plans for a new Rochdale Cultural District, bringing together our outstanding heritage and cultural assets to attract more visitors, create new opportunities for residents and to complement the growing town centre retail, food and leisure offer. We will also be creating a new cultural partnership to develop and deliver more projects across the borough, increasing opportunities for residents, creatives and creative businesses”.  Councillor Sue Smith, Cabinet Member for Communities and Cooperation.