Action to halt Oldham becoming a ghost town

Reporter: MARTYN TORR
Date online: 16 March 2010

MARTYN TORR on the way cash aid is playing its part in combating the local effects of the recession


positive action to prevent Oldham centre becoming a ghost town are being taken by Oldham Council.

The local authority is funding marketing support of £50,000 and providing training for 50 lucky businesses in Oldham centre to help them turn the corner to success.

Empty shops signal a local economy in decline, become hotspots for anti-social behaviour and drag down the whole feel of an area, say council leaders.

And the problem in some areas looks set to get worse. A survey from the Local Government Association (LGA) says four out of five councils in England have reported an increase in empty premises.

The LGA wants action to stop high streets becoming deserted and is urging local authorities to take a lead.

Some councils in the North-West have not taken much action, while others like Oldham have decided that enough is enough and are prepared to support the retail businesses, says the council’s regeneration officer Jonathon Phillips.

Oldham Partnership has put together a host of training events and managed to find each attending retailer around £1,000 worth of funding to help with advertising costs both off and online.

Mr Phillips added: “Retail has been hit by the twin troubles of the recession and the decrease in cash sales this has brought.

“Often, retailers are ‘walk-in customer focused’ at the expense of the real opportunities from online sales which the internet brings.

“We want to change both of these things in Oldham and buck the trend of places becoming ghost towns.”

Alison Hornsby, who manages the Enterprise Centre, a non-government organisation enlisted to help with the management of the support project, adds: “If we do something now to help Oldham’s retailers out of a sticky situation we will all benefit.

“Not only from a more lively town centre but also because our community can have pride it what we have done.”

Oldham Partnership has enlisted help from Great Marketing Works, a team of respected small business specialists who successfully supported Tameside Council’s Ashton regeneration team last year and have helped more than 800 businesses succeed.

Great Marketing Works, alongside The Enterprise Centre, has launched the new retail support project with its offer of free marketing and sales support by means of five, two-hour workshops between 6-8pm at the Lifelong Learning Centre.

Retailers who engage in the workshops can access up to £1,000 in the form of a grant to help them to promote and advertise their business.

The team will offer bespoke advice on how best to make use of this finance.

The initiative was launched in the Market Hall offering traders an on-the-spot opportunity to sign up and 20 did just that, reports Alison.

The project has a further 10 places which will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Email GMW-retail@theenterprisecentre.co.uk or call today 0845 388 7701 for details.


Money talks in any language

DELPH-based Applied Language Solutions, a leading UK based language services provider, has secured investment of £1.4 million to support its growth and development plans.



The money has come from the Government-backed capital for enterprise fund which helps small and medium-sized enterprises gain access to the financial support required to bridge the funding gap caused by the credit crisis.

The investment will support Applied Language Solutions Ltd.‚ based at Riverside Court, Huddersfield Road, develop as one of the leading and fastest growing translation, proof reading and interpreting service providers in the world.

Established in 2003 by Gavin Wheeldon, from Greenfield, the business employs more than 100 staff across 11 offices in nine countries.

The global nature of its operations offers 24 hour worldwide coverage, enabling customers — including Google, Caterpillar, GE and the NHS — access to Applied Language Solutions’ services at any time of the day.

Applied Language Solutions has access to more than 16,500 in-country linguists globally, covering more than 150 languages.

Mr Wheeldon said: “This investment will allow us to implement our strategic growth plan, which will take us into several new geographic territories in the coming months.”