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‘High-quality’ plans for tram route
Date published: 15 January 2013
EYE-CATCHING £3.5 million improvements will transform Metrolink’s new route through Oldham town centre, says council leader Councillor Jim McMahon.
Plans for the route will make a trip a “better experience” when the tram rolls in next year.
Last night, Cabinet approved the ambitious plans for key sites along the town-centre route.
“These plans are all about our ambition and determination to deliver a new high-quality environment in Oldham town centre.
“We are looking to go above and beyond the standard finish you get with a new Metrolink line and deliver something extra. These plans will significantly improve a visitor’s first impression of Oldham.”
The works are part of a wider four-year programme of public realm improvements which will come from an £11 million fund already allocated by the council.
Improvement works will see King Street gain a new terraced seating area and raised plaza; the area next to Sainsbury’s in Union Street will be pedestrianised and paving and kerbs along the length of Union Street will also be upgraded.
Comments
Let's hope it works out okay but will there be anybody left who wants to shop in this increasingly frustrating and miserable place? By then I imagine most will have found the quick journey into Manchester centre to be a much more rewarding and pleasant experience.
nice looking artists impression of the area outside sixth form.
its not realistic though as the tram line depicted in it seems to be running almost level towards manchester street roundabout.
in reality it falls away quicky from the little shelter shown.
thats three proposed developments in town (town hall, old library and now this) that have not actually been shown realistically in their artists impressions.
please can they show what it will really actually look like.
it all looks very nice and hopefully it will be and bring people into the town but we need a thriving town centre first ,starting with the tommyfield open and inside market ,lets get that area back open and thriving again ,then you will get people coming into oldham, as it stands theres nothing here ,its been in decline for too long ,pump the money into that and watch the people come in,it worked years ago ,it can work again.
£11 million fund already allocated by the council. And just how long are we going to be paying for this.. Dont get upset when they say they have to cut services. This is their priority...
I agree with saddyleague lover, we need the markets back, just before Christmas we visited Bury market, wondering if it could be soooo fabulous.....well guess what, it was. We were thrilled to see so many stalls and the brilliant fish market. Surely those stall holders would come to Oldham if the rents were reasonable enough. It would create jobs for our unemployed folks who want to work, so come on Jim get your finger out and stop focusing on an area which is not the town centre at all.
Don't expect me to have any sympathy when you are telling us in a couple of months time about the cuts to essential services because the condem government say you have too,after all it's a mere 3.5 million they will be spending,for what??? I think you will find the metro is taking more into manchester than it brings into Oldham
If a good quality, imaginative scheme is not put in at the start, it will never get put in.
"Eye-catching" it's a tram stop with a couple of trees! clearly you have set the eye-catching standard bar very low. "These plans will significantly improve a visitor’s first impression of Oldham.” Their second impression will be how small the famous outdoor market is, empty shops, practically no large name retailers, mainly poor quality food available for diners during the daytime, fat people in cheap clothes with a fag in one hand and a sausage roll in the other.
thats the thing JMTS. it isnt good quality as it does not refelect the actual areas conditions.
its more imaginary than imaginative.
partly why so many of the previous proposed schemes over the last 20 years have never even got off the ground.
its time to start looking at things realistically! oldham is a complete mess. so lets start with small improvements first. then maybe bigger things may follow!
Come to Oldham Town Centre by Tram, feast in one of the 50+ Kebab Shops and hot-food outlets that are on just two of the town's streets, roll-up, roll-up...
HOW MANY MORE JOBS DO OLDHAM HAVE TO LOSE TO PAY FOR IT THOUGHT OLDHAM HAD NO MONEY
With the amount of people out of work these days,and the businesses already going under due to online sales, its money wasted.
Again labour is spend spend spend, and it has been going on years.
Oldham was a good thriving town in the 70/80s, but the council and previous ones have let Oldham down.
I understand what they try to do but this should have been done then, instead of building things only to be a white elephant now.
What Oldham needs is long term jobs, not more money splashed out on this.
Do you think that the £3.5 million of eye catching improvements might include an eye catching sign that prevents people from driving onto the track at Mumps ?.
The only good thing about the tram is its another way of getting out of Oldham.
Missed in the big plan is the reason why anyone would hop on the tram to come to oldham! What does Oldham offer? A drunken brawl followed by a below par kebab? A set of cheap plastic suitcases from the market?
timberwolf, you dont even get a drunken brawl in town anymore.
the liberal councils extra red tape banning drinks promotions and extra door staff and paying for police officers that was introduced by them plus the knock on effect of the mess made by the tram works that they passed have even destroyed oldhams nightlife too!
I want to be positive about all this, but I can't help feeling the Council are slightly missing the point with all this, though I suspect they're doing their best. All this is just a nice-enough bit of landscaping with a few benches and trees. But Oldham's on its uppers. There are no nice restaurants, no cinema - there's not much apart from the Coliseum, and some dodgy pubs and nightclubs full of chavs and kebab shops where you get threatened by yobs. It's just not a very nice place to be.
Have Your Say
Planning for the past!
The days of thriving retail based town centres are either gone or on their way out. The council should be looking to replace retail with either housing or leisure outlets, and to offer free parking for those visitors. Retail should be concentrated in a much smaller area than it currently is.
Planning a town centre based on what was required in the 1970/80s is a recipe for failure. Of course the council will do it because senior staff qualified then and haven't kept update
By Flake @ 15/01/2013 14:14:00