page_title: Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Radcliffe, Greater Manchester / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Looking west along Dale Street in the town centre of Radcliffe, this image shows the Timpson shoe shop, and a nearby Dewhurst Butcher shop. The shoe shop was closed around 1984 (from Timpsons archive dept).
context_page_description: Radcliffe is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies in the Irwell Valley 2.5 miles south-west of Bury and 6.5 miles north-northwest of Manchester and is contiguous with Whitefield to the south. The disused Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal bisects the town.
  Evidence of Mesolithic, Roman and Norman activity has been found in Radcliffe and its surroundings. A Roman road passes through the area, along the border between Radcliffe and Bury. Radcliffe appears in an entry of the Domesday Book as "Radeclive" and in the High Middle Ages formed a small parish and township centred on the Church of St Mary and the manorial Radcliffe Tower, both of which are Grade I listed buildings.
  Plentiful coal in the area facilitated the Industrial Revolution, providing fuel for the cotton spinning and papermaking industries. By the mid-19th century, Radcliffe was an important mill town with cotton mills, bleachworks and a road, canal and railway network.
  At the 2011 Census, Radcliffe had a population of 29,950.
context_section_description: Radcliffe's first market was built by the Earl of Wilton and opened in 1851.  The town was home to twelve Co-op stores, the largest of which was on Stand Lane.  The four storey structure, built in 1877, had shops and offices on the ground floor, and a large area for public meetings on the second floor.  The building was truncated to two stories in June 1971, and eventually demolished.  Two more Co-op stores were located on Bury Street and Cross Lane.  The current market hall, built in 1937 on a different site to the old market, suffered a devastating fire in 1980 but was later restored.  Radcliffe was once served by several banks including the Lancashire and Yorkshire Bank, the Manchester and Liverpool District Bank, the Union Bank of Manchester, and Parr's Bank ltd.  As of 4 May 2019 the Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax bank have closed or are in the process of closing in the town. The Halifax branch on Blackburn street is to close on 28 May 2019. These closures will leave only the TSB on the Market Place (M26 1PN) as the only bank in the town
  Radcliffe has two weekly newspapers, the Radcliffe Times, based at the Bury Times offices, in Bury, and the Salford-based The Advertiser, which also covers the neighbouring areas of Prestwich and Whitefield. The main gates to the East Lancashire Paper mill (mill closed in 2001) were, in May 2018, installed in the centre of Radcliffe's Festival Gardens off Church Street.
  The construction in the 1980s of the A665 Pilkington Way Bypass relieved traffic congestion along the traditional route through the town, Blackburn Street. A new bridge across the Irwell was constructed for the road, and part of Blackburn Street was pedestrianised.  The road has attracted developments along former industrial land to the west of the town, including a large Asda superstore and petrol filling station which opened in May 1997, when Asda moved out of their town centre store in Green Street, although it has exacerbated the decline of the retail outlets in the town centre.  The bypass has created problems for cyclists and pedestrians who appear reluctant to cross the road and visit the town centre.  One solution presently under consideration would involve a partial reopening of the pedestrianised section of Blackburn Street to traffic.
  The closure of the East Lancashire and Radcliffe Paper Mills, both of which employed thousands of people, has left a large gap in the town's local economy.  Along with the decline of local industry the town's shopping centre has suffered a severe loss of trade and is now barely viable as a retail outlet.  Radcliffe's market hall compares poorly with the neighbouring Bury Market.  Amongst other shops, the town's central shopping precinct retains a Boots.  A Dunelm Group, formerly known as Dunelm Mill, home and soft furnishings store now occupies the former site of the town's Asda supermarket on Green Street. In February 2018 a new Lidl store opened its doors on the site of the old bus station employing around forty people.
  "Re-inventing Radcliffe" is the name given on a report of a proposed improvement scheme.  The report envisages several initiatives, and includes the creation of new housing both to the north and south of the town.  Existing industry to the west of the town and along Milltown Street would be retained and improved, along with sections of the former Radcliffe Paper Mill and Pioneer Mill.  The market would be redeveloped along with the Kwik Save site and bus station, and the town could become a centre for the arts.  To improve transport links, new crossings of the Irwell and canal are proposed. Plans for a new secondary school in Radcliffe are now in doubt, however a new build at Castlebrook High School Parr Lane,Bury BL9 8LP began in January.  Finally, the report suggests improving the image of Radcliffe within the Bury area. On 27 June 2018, due to very hot weather, a fire started on the exterior of the complex of shops adjoining the precinct as roofing tar caught alight.
  "Newlands" is a regeneration programme run by the Forestry Commission.  One site unde
caption: Dale Street in 1966. Trade within the town's shopping centre has declined in recent years.
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