Muse, Oldham progress 2,000-home town centre transformation
A development framework to guide a 15-year, residential-led regeneration effort has been drawn up in a bid to “deliver a local solution to the national housing crisis”.
Oldham Council and its regeneration partner Muse will be seeking feedback on the framework over the next seven weeks.
Have your say – www.oldhamtownliving.co.uk
A series of events will take place from today [Wednesday 24 July] until Wednesday 11 September, during which the local community can have a say on the plans.
The first event takes place on Monday 29 July at the Spindles Shopping Centre, a site that forms a key part of the council’s regeneration efforts. The authority bought the complex in 2020 and has set about transforming vacant retail space into offices and relocating the Tommyfield Market into the centre in a bid to increase footfall.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, said the framework would help inform the creation of a “new-look town centre”.
“By partnering with an internationally-renowned developer in Muse we are building up to 2,000 new homes – an essential part of our work to deliver a local solution to the national housing crisis created over the past 14 years.”
She added: “[The residential plan] sits alongside the leisure and culture attractions, retail, and business facilities coming on stream. We are creating new town centre living options, helping to make us one of the most exciting and dynamic places in Greater Manchester once again.”
The framework sets out plans for homes providing a range of types and tenures.
Following the consultation, the development framework will go before cabinet for adoption. Once adopted, it will be used Oldham Council’s planning committee when considering planning applications brought forward in the five character areas set out in the framework.
These are:
- The Civic and Residential Quarter
- The Retail Core
- The Cultural & Creative Quarter
- Eastern Edge and Oldham Mumps, and
- Western Edge and Educational Quarter
The masterplan splits the town centre into five character areas. Credit: via development framework
Phil Mayall, managing director at Muse, added: “We want Oldham to be a hub for successful local businesses, a destination characterised by quality homes, leisure and outdoor spaces, and a family-friendly place that reflects its heritage as a thriving northern town.
“Working together with residents, businesses, local community groups, educational institutions, regional partners and charitable organisations will be fundamental to unlocking a framework that captures the essence of the town and its local community in order to deliver the new homes Oldham needs.”
Mayall spoke to Place North West earlier this year about why this particular project is important to him and the need for national intervention to raise aspirations and the quality of the built environment in Oldham.
The project team advising on the 2,000-home masterplan comprises:
- Hawkins Brown
- Planit
- Donald Install Associates
- Turley
- Social Value Portal
- CBRE
- Arcadis
- Max Fordham
- WSP
- Civic Engineers
Is the Civic centre going to be demolished? If so, why has so much money been spent on landscaping all around it
By Tony mulherin
The current majority (still) of the Greater Oldham residents who live outside of the town centre today view the town centre as a place to be avoided not visited, and certainly not a place to aspire to live in. On the contrary, people want to get out, not get in. The new sixth form college to be run by the particularly aligned Star Academies with Eton college involvement is to be slap bang in the town centre on the site of the old Tommyfield market. This will further add to the change and polarisation of the town centre that has happened over the last 20 to 30 years or more. Any investors or businesses thinking of becoming involved to produce something for the people of Oldham outside of the greater town centre area would be well advised to think twice, you need to know the nature of this particular beast before you put a foot in the cage!
By K. W.
The area around the parish church is actually quite grand. This looks fine. The emphasis on greenery is what all our town centres need, so well done for that. I believe the Elizabeth Park will be,where the current car park for the Queen Elizabeth Hall is. That is a sloping big space, so with some imagination, that could be pretty impressive. Oldham is luckier than its neighbours because it is on a hill. There is a lot to do but with the saving of the Coliseum, there is hope.
By Elephant
I believe the new Elizabeth Park, is to be built on the sloping Car Park near the Civic. That could be pretty impressive if they get the right designer. Oldham is good at greenery from past history, so a little bit of optimism wouldn’t go amiss on here. One of the things I noticed about Oldham,last time I visited was how clean the centre was,there seemed to be street cleaners walking about constantly, so different from Bolton, where I work.
By Elephant