Rochdale Borough Council has maintained Township Committees across the Borough for over thirty years. An integral part of the council’s decision-making process, the Township Committees empower elected members to take ownership over the local delivery of some council services.
Background
Rochdale’s People, Place and Planet Corporate Plan sets out the council’s ambitions for the Borough to 2028. It is centred on the belief that the council will ‘work cooperatively to reduce inequalities and deliver sustainable opportunities and services that will benefit our people, place and planet.’
The plan sets out how Rochdale will ‘empower our communities’ and outlines that the council will ‘give more power to local communities’ through the use of co-production and service design.
Rochdale is the home of the modern co-operative movement, and the council has sought to embed the values of self-help and self-responsibility, equity and equality, and democracy and solidarity into its practice.
Structure
The system of Township Committees has existed in Rochdale since 1992, reflecting the diverse range of communities that exist across the Borough. There are five townships:
- Heywood
- Middleton
- Rochdale North
- Rochdale South
- Pennines.
The decision was taken in 2019 to split the Rochdale Township into two following a cross-party review alongside the LGA.
All elected members within the boundaries take part in the Township Committee, regardless of political party. The number of elected members ranges from nine to 15. Each Township Committee meets four times per municipal year, and there is a Chair and Vice Chair. Outside of meetings, lead members are able to take decisions on a delegated authority basis.
The Township Committees have each established their own Sub-Committee arrangements and terms of reference for dealing with devolved services and the expenditure of devolved funds and budgets. All Townships has established Devolved Funding Sub-Committees.
Funding and resources
The Township Committees are supported by township officers, who are the day-to-day and first point of contact for elected members.
In addition, the council has identified £400,000 capital and £418,000 revenue funding that is split between the Township Committees according to population. This is used to support local community initiatives, and elected members have decision-making powers over how it is utilised.
How they work
Each meeting of the Township Committee begins with an open forum. This allows members of the public to attend the meeting for the first thirty minutes and raise issues of local concern.
Township Committees are responsible for a range of devolved services. This includes environmental management and highways and engineering, they also have a consultative role in relation to community centres, libraries, and the commissioning of leisure services.
Township Committees align their work in a manner consistent with the Council’s People, Place and Planet Corporate Plan.
For instance, the Rochdale North Township Committee most recently met in June 2025. Alongside Open Forum, the Committee considered items on the Township based Welfare Advice Model in Public Health, potential sites of biological interest in Rochdale North, delegation arrangements and appointments for the upcoming municipal year, and a review of the Rochdale North funds.
Lessons learnt
- It is important to build neighbourhood governance structures into the council’s wider decision-making process. The Township Committees provide a valuable forum for proposals to be tested against local insight.
- Priorities vary across different areas, and the Township model empowers Elected Members to address the specific concerns that matter most to their local constituents.
Useful links
Township Committees and Sub-Committees | How we make decisions | Rochdale Borough Council
More information
Contact: [email protected]