Oldham rallies for £306m town centre investment
Early-stage proposals from Oldham Council for a £306m town centre regeneration scheme are set to be approved by the cabinet next week.
Under a strategy named ‘Creating a Better Place’, the council would seek to build a new masterplan for Oldham, which would potentially include building 2,000 new homes and regenerating the town centre.
The council is set to approve a capital investment of £102m of its own funds at at a cabinet meeting on 27 January, according to council documents, while a further £204m would be sought from developers and other third parties interested in helping to deliver the project.
The project would form part of the borough-wide Town Centre Vision framework, published last July, which aims to address the challenges faced by Oldham’s town centres and “set out priority areas for regeneration, with housing as the catalyst”, according to the council.
The proposals come as other development projects come to fruition in Oldham, such as the redevelopment of Oldham Town Hall, Oldham Leisure Centre and Parliament Square, as well as work to transform the former Oldham Library into a £13m arts and heritage centre, which is set to commence in the coming weeks.
Other pipeline projects include the construction of a “multi-million pound” eco-park at Alexandra Park as part of the Northern Roots project, unveiled by the council this month, and the refurbishment of Royton Town Hall. The council has also said it is committed to providing a sustainable future for Tommyfield Market, and to becoming the greenest borough in Greater Manchester.
Cllr Sean Fielding, leader of the council, said: “I believe that this refocus of our plans will be revolutionary for Oldham, bringing jobs, homes and investment into our town centre and helping to create a better place to work, live and visit.”