Rochdale AFC is set to revolutionise its training facilities with the proposed development of the Bowlee Playing Fields. The project, currently in the pre-planning consultation stage, aims to transform the site into a modern, managed sports and community facility. The proposed Bowlee Football and Community Wellbeing Hub will bring together community football, health and fitness, community use, and elite sports facilities within one coordinated hub. The Football Hub will host Rochdale AFC's First Team while also serving the wider community through Rochdale AFC Community Trust. Plans for this area include a two-storey building providing community offices, changing and social space, alongside first team and elite changing facilities, gym, media, offices, and recreation facilities. One full-size 3G artificial grass pitch will be dedicated to Rochdale AFC Community Trust teams and programmes, while a grass training area will be reserved for Rochdale AFC elite use. A retained and improved community grass football pitch will also be maintained. The remaining half of the site will be operated by Your Trust, focusing on community wellbeing and wider sports provision. This will include a new community sports pavilion, a 40-station health and fitness gym, a community room, café/social space, and kitchen. Retained cricket provision through new cricket nets will also be available, along with two full-size community 3G artificial grass pitches and changing rooms and officials' facilities. The development will deliver landscape and biodiversity improvements, improved access, parking, and internal circulation, an outdoor play area, and improvements to shared outdoor spaces. The aim is not only to replace existing facilities but to significantly improve the quality, reliability, and capacity of sports provision at Bowlee. Artificial grass pitches can be used much more intensively than grass pitches, including during evenings and periods of poor weather, helping to reduce cancellations and expand participation opportunities for children, young people, adults, women, and girls, disability football, schools, clubs, and community users. The development will establish Bowlee as a more active and welcoming community destination, with a dual approach allowing for both dedicated football provision and broader health and wellbeing activities. Your Trust, a local charity delivering leisure, health, and culture services across Rochdale borough, will operate the new pavilion, gym, café, and community space, supporting a wider programme of health and wellbeing initiatives beyond organised football. This aligns with ongoing efforts from partners working across the borough to increase physical activity levels, reduce inequality, and promote healthy lifestyles.