Oldham Council snaps up Spindles 

The local authority has acquired the 450,000 sq ft Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre for an undisclosed sum to “kick-start” the town’s £306m regeneration, said council leader Sean Fielding.

The acquisition of Spindles, from investor Kennedy Wilson, will “unlock brownfield sites” to bring forward up to 2,500 homes and employment space under a 10-year strategy called Creating a Better Place, according to the Council.

Fielding, said: “Acquiring [the shopping centre] is a fantastic opportunity to kick-start transformational change and provide a catalyst for post-Covid recovery.” 

He added: “Owning the shopping centre will enable us to deliver on many of the things residents tell us they want.” 

Under the council’s plans for Spindles, which was built in the 1990s, Tommyfield Market on Henshaw Street will be relocated to a more “prominent location”. 

The shopping centre itself will be refurbished and a linear park, stretching from the existing Tommyfield Market site to the former Sports Centre site, is also proposed. 

Plans for the site are being drawn up by a team including consultancy CBRE, landscape architect Planit-IE and architect SimpsonHaugh.

Council staff will move into vacant office units within Spindles but the shopping centre, whose occupiers include fashion retailers H&M and JD Sports, will continue to trade as normal. 

Agency Savills will continue to manage the shopping centre. 

Over the coming months Oldham Council will continue to work with its development and delivery advisors CBRE to progress redevelopment options ahead of a wider public consultation and engagement exercise, according to the council. 

“We have a bold vision for Oldham but the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the local economy. It has underlined that we need to do everything we can to safeguard the future of our town,” Fielding said. 

Metis Real Estate is the retail agent for Spindles.

Your Comments

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Re open Oldham Market again, and move the carpark

By Sharon

Feel sorry for the market traders rents far too high, and will the rents be even more when they move.Is this all a waste of money yet again.

By P Halkyard

Let us have our outdoor market back!

By Bernie

With Oldham council buying spindles does that mean the council tax and the rent in spindles will be going up to pay for it

By Mike d

more money wasted on a white elephant .No market no shops no jobs ,but more houses and a park in the centre of town well that will certainly make Oldham great again ,maybe Sean Fielding had a dream but I can only see another nightmare .

By Marie

What can go wrong? Just look at Oldham’s recent record. Hotel Future, Marks and Spencer, new Coliseum theatre, old Town Hall development. The first three, highly trumpeted schemes fell through, after much preliminary money spent. The third one is grossly over budget

By Chris

Hi I’m Frances is spindles closing or is it moving I can remember when it first opened they need more of the old shops to come back in there like the Disney shop it well save people going down into Manchester old Trafford centre just to go to the Disney shop for the kids presents

By Frances

This is already sounding out of their depth where did they get the money from to buy it !!! Of course the tax payers another vanity project by the labour run council

By Michael newton

Tommyfield should be like bury market.

By John Sawford

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