The Mancunian Way: The town with a huge hole in it
manchestereveningnews.co.ukThere's a great big hole in the middle of Radcliffe town centre. And Tim and Sue Jones couldn't be happier about it. "They've been talking about it for years and it kept getting cancelled and cancelled, so it's good to finally see it happening," says Sue, over the din of builders laying the foundations for what will become Radcliffe's new £40m Civic Hub. "I can't wait for it to be finished," adds husband Tim. "It's good to see it happening here." The feeling that Radcliffe had been neglected and left in the shadow of its neighbours had been building for years.
As its engineering works and paper mills shut down, hundreds of jobs were lost, while cuts to public services saw the closure of its civic hall, leisure centre and secondary schools.
But now things are changing. Work is well underway on the Civic Hub, which will include a swimming pool, library café and offices.
Radcliffe's new high school will welcome its first pupils in September and hundreds of new homes are also planned for the outskirts of the town centre. "Radcliffe used to be self-sufficient," said butcher Kevin McDermott, behind the counter of his stall on Radcliffe Market. "It had its own town hall, but when they amalgamated everything it ended up a poor relation. "A lot of the shops have disappeared.
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