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Beetham Tower, 301-303 Deansgate, 2004-2007.

By Ian Simpson Architects.

The Beetham Tower is a 47-storey residential skyscraper named after the developers, Beetham Organization. At a height of 168m, it is the tallest skyscraper in the UK outside of London and is the tallest residential building in the country.

The Rochdale Canal runs for 33 miles between Manchester and Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire. In Sowerby Bridge it connects with the Calder and Hebble Navigation. In Manchester it connects with the Ashton and Bridgewater Canals.

The canal opened through to Manchester in 1804. This made it the first trans-Pennine canal route. It remained profitable for some time but by the 20th century the tonnage being carried was in sharp decline. In 1937 the last boat made the through journey across the Pennines on the Rochdale Canal.

In 1952, the canal was closed apart from the short section between Castlefield and the Ashton Canal junction at Piccadilly. The Ashton was abandoned in 1962 and by 1965 the nine locks on the Rochdale through Manchester city centre were almost unusable. Enthusiastic supporters re-opened the Ashton in 1974 and the Rochdale Canal in Manchester was made good.

The Rochdale Canal Society was formed to promote the restoration of the canal and in the 1980s and 1990s small scale work began to re-open stretches of the canal between Todmorden and Sowerby Bridge. This involved restoring bridges and locks to navigable condition.

The most major project was the construction of the new Tuel Lane lock and tunnel in Sowerby Bridge. The lock replaced two locks in an infilled section and, with a fall of almost 20 feet, is the deepest lock on the inland waterways system. In 1996 the canal was opened to navigation once again between Sowerby Bridge and the summit level.

The canal was re-opened to navigation along its entire length in July 2002 and forms part of the South Pennine Ring.