Located between Manchester and the beautiful Yorkshire countryside, Oldham is a place that is committed to a co-operative future. We want residents, partners and our staff to work together to create a confident and ambitious place. Becoming a co-operative borough is about everybody doing their bit and everybody benefitting.
Future growth/regeneration
Oldham has benefited from unprecedented investment with an exciting and ambitious programme to build on the strengths of the town.
‘Creating a Better Place’ is an ambitious plan to transform Oldham. The aim of the programme is to create more than 2,000 new homes, 1,000 new jobs and 100 apprenticeships in our town centre - unlocking investment of £285 million.
We want to increase the number of people using our town centre for leisure, shopping and working; provide a wider choice of housing options; increase the number of jobs and work experience opportunities available; and make the most of our borough's culture and heritage.
Redevelopment of the Spindles Shopping Centre, now in council ownership, has resulted in plans being approved and work underway to introduce new enterprise and innovation office space, new public sector accommodation including council offices which is expected to open in December 2023, a new food court and indoor market.
Click here to see the Oldham new town centre video.
In addition, the town centre will see several heritage buildings being fully restored and brought back into use including the Old Library and a new theatre within an existing heritage building. The approach will release a number of development sites that will create both housing and employment opportunities within the town centre.
These latest plans come after previous successful town centre regeneration projects; including the £36m redevelopment of the Old Town Hall into a modern state-of-the-art seven screen Odeon cinema with six restaurants and a spectacular new public square for events. Improved Metrolink transport links support sustainable travel, and the redevelopment of Oldham Leisure Centre continues our commitment to health and well-being.
Regeneration is not limited to the town centre. Projects also include the creation of the UK’s largest urban farm and country park named Northern Roots, Royton Town Hall and Library undergoing major refurbishment and our partnerships with the private sector at Hollinwood Junction and Broadway Green.
The Metrolink transport, which opened in the borough in 2014, has made Oldham more accessible than ever with three town centre stops and travel time from Manchester City Centre taking just 25 minutes.
Oldham also benefits from excellent connectivity to the North West and beyond via the M60 and M62 – both of which have junctions in the borough.
Community
Home to more than 30 parks and greenspaces, Oldham is located just off the motorway network and only 6.9 miles from Manchester city centre and is easily accessible by Metrolink.
While not forgetting our heritage we are firmly focussed on the future and as part of this we are looking to establish Oldham an ambitious borough that is dedicated to working with partners, businesses and residents to ensure we thrive.
In order to do that we have to look at how we do things differently to deliver better results and therefore focus on working with our stakeholders to find solutions.
The challenges we face mean that we have to forge closer partnerships between residents, public services, voluntary services, our communities and businesses.
We are creative about how we use our resources, focussing on reducing demand – whilst still keeping our eyes on our core business.
Local history
Since the industrial revolution Oldham has been a thriving town rooted in the North West’s rich cotton spinning heritage.
At one point the most productive cotton spinning town in the world, it has evolved into a dynamic place which around 242,000 people call home.
A community which, throughout its history and thanks to its industrial success has welcomed workers from all parts of the world, Oldham is now a cultural kaleidoscope which benefits from its diverse and varied population.
Famous faces
From sportspeople and supermodels to entertainers of all varieties and even one of the world’s foremost particle physicists, Brian Cox, the town has been home to some of Britain’s best loved people who have contributed an enormous amount to the nation’s academic and cultural heritage.
Famous faces from Oldham include sporting legends like Paul Scholes and former England football, cricket and rugby captains, David Platt, Michael Atherton and Kevin Sinfield. Oldham is also home to supermodels Agyness Deyn and Karen Elson, acclaimed actresses Sarah Lancashire and Shobna Gulati and music stars like Mark Owen and the world famous DJ, Carl Cox.