For years, Oldham has been promised major regeneration to revive it as a go-to destination. There are plans for 2,000 homes, with developer Muse helping unlock £450m worth of investment and more than £55m of government funding for major projects in the town centre.
The plans have been given a further boost in recent months with the creation of a new partnership between Oldham council and the Greater Manchester combined authority (GMCA).
Similar to the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) model used to revive Stockport town centre, it is hoped the latest development could turbocharge further progress across Oldham.
There are plans for a new ‘sports town’ around Oldham Athletic Football Club which could include a 5,000-capacity indoor arena and conference space.
Building on the refurbishment of the Oldham Coliseum theatre, there are plans to invest in old sites such as the Prudential Building and create a new historic quarter.
A new £27m network could see homes powered by heat from old mines while the Northern Roots urban farm project could be expanded further following a successful opening. In September, Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig said: “It’s our job to show people that this is more than fancy words and old broken promises, this is real action that will lead to real change.”
In the town centre, some change has been seen in recent years. There is the new event space The Loom; an Odeon cinema; the opening of the first phase of Tommyfield Park last month; and noisy repaving works continuing into next year.
Despite some disruption, the Spindles Shopping Centre has reported increased footfall while the new Oldham market celebrated its first six months with numbers up 15 per cent. Since the latter opened in March 2026, there have been over 50,000 visitors.
For years, Tommyfield Market had been on the decline as shopping habits changed and other towns becoming more appealing. The once-popular market used to see people bus in from out of town but became a shadow of its former self.
The empty stalls and indoor market now sit behind railings but down the hill, traders say things are better than ever with almost every stall full. Some new businesses, like Asha Bibi’s Dar Al Noir perfume shop, have even relocated from Manchester.
Mark Crossley, who runs the market’s fishmongers, said: “This time last year, we were all worried about the destination and moving from A to B. Our fears have been quashed. It’s been a good move for us all.
“The council put their trust and faith in us. They have helped us financially. They gave us a rent free period to bed in. You can’t really ask for much more from the council to be honest.
“They didn’t come to the old market because it was run down. We have got our old customers back which is so pleasing.
“People have come back and said they didn’t know we were still here. I do say the council has got something right.”
With the prospect of more investment coming in, he added: “Everything is being funnelled in the right direction, which is good news for us. We had fears but they have all been quelled. It’s been a good move for us and long may it continue.
“We have been hit with a stick for decades by things that have gone on in the town. It’s refreshing that people are talking positively about the town. We are finally talking positively about the town.
“We have been talked down by bad news and divisive politics and other things but now we are back. We are on the right path. We are back on the yellow brick road.”
While the process to get there had been a nightmare, barber and previous sceptic Patrick Scrivens said he now felt optimistic about the town’s future.
He said: “It’s only going to go up from here. Every bit that opens is one more step up the stairs. It’s one more positive
“The footfall has gone through the roof. 50,000 people in the last six months. That doesn’t seem like a lot. It feels like 10 million people have come through the building since we opened.
“The footfall is mental and the fact they can come through [from Spindles]. They do not always buy something when they come through but eventually they will. It’s got to become part of their routine.”
Kelly Bentley, who runs chicken shop The Hen House, would not reveal how much her takings have increased, but says she sells out every day. She said: “It’s beaten all expectations to be fair. We were hoping it would do better but we didn’t predict how well it would take off.
“It feels like the town is going in a good direction. I think the only move is for us to go up and move forward.
“Maybe along the lines of Bury – the world famous market. Maybe we’ll take that title off them.”
On the streets, however, people need more convincing and feeling the town is at a crossroads still. While some felt the changes are a start such as Northern Roots, other projects were labelled a waste of time.
Competing with attractive city and town centres in Manchester and Bury, Pete Broadhurst believes the council is ‘trying their best’ but things do not change overnight, especially when budgets and government funding is tight.
He added: “They are doing the right thing to try and encourage people in because at the moment people are going the other way.
“They use the transport to get out rather than come in. It’s the shops. People come to shop.
“There’s not much going on. I get the concept of what they are trying to do but the reality is a difficult one.”
Another hurdle Oldham’s regeneration plans will also have to overcome is the divided nature of the borough’s politics.
Unlike Stockport – where there is broad cross-party unity on regeneration – Oldham’s two largest parties Oldham Labour and Reform UK have had different views about what should happen next.
At a full council meeting next week, motions have been put forward by Reform as well as the borough’s Liberal Democrats raising concerns about one key regeneration project, the planned Eton Star academy.
The partnership between Star Academies and Eton College promises to provide an ‘exceptional’ new school that ‘delivers for Oldham’s children and opens doors for generations to come’.
There are fears the new school could impact existing sixth-form and further education provision across the borough and questions around the ability for Oldham’s young people to attend. The Liberal Democrats claim the public is ‘strongly opposed’ and the scheme ‘lacks both cross-party and public support’.
Tom Arbuthnott, engagement lead for Eton Star Partnership, said their plans were about ‘widening choice and creating new opportunities for young people across the area’ including young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. He also said it would be a significant investment in Oldham.
He added: “Our ongoing engagement with local schools, education leaders, businesses and community organisations has been extremely positive, with widespread recognition of the opportunities the college will bring.
“We recognise the importance of listening to different views and will continue to engage openly and constructively as plans progress.”
In a recent interview, Oldham Reform’s new leader also raised concerns about the borough losing control over its decisions as a result of government changes and the new mayoral partnership.
He said: “We are going to the point of centralisation of Greater Manchester having all the money, having all the control.”
While he supported the MDC in principle, he sees the current area for investment as ‘gerrymandering’ for votes and needed to be redrawn to gain his full support. He said: “That is wrong. That’s not fair. It’s not just.
“There’s people just outside the map area that need just as much help as that thin strip of land that goes Coldhurst, St Mary’s, Alexandra, Medlock Vale. There’s people outside of that that need help and I want to help them.”
The GMCA was approached for comment. In response to similar concerns raised when plans were being developed, the authority said they had strengthened transparency, explained the wider benefits for the borough, protected environmental and community interests, and promised ‘a clear focus on long-term social value and resident outcomes’.
While Labour does not run Oldham council anymore, many of the plans are those developed under the previous Labour administration.
That is because there has been no council leader since May 2026 leaving the borough without a clear political direction and town hall bosses implementing past decisions.
Whatever happens in next May’s elections, Labour councillor Abdul Jabbar MBE, former finance cabinet member and chair of the board that helped deliver Northern Roots, hopes the plans will be continued because ‘it’s for the good of people here in Oldham, it’s good for the world’s environment, it’s protecting the future generations’.
He said the council’s plans were about creating a new type of town centre living with green spaces, shops, and things to do. Going forward with the likes of Northern Roots, he hopes the regeneration can support new ideas and innovation when it comes to environmentally friendly initiatives.
The son of a cotton mill worker who came to the UK in the 1960s, he said: “I believe we are in a different era, a different industrial revolution where the green agenda is very much at the forefront. I want Oldham to lead in the same way that it did in the Industrial Revolution.”
Asked if he hoped people will be more positive about the town’s fortunes over time, he said: “Have we made mistakes in the past with regeneration? Of course we have.
“What we are doing now is transforming Oldham with green being at the heart of everything we do. Northern Roots, [the new Tommyfield Park], the district heating network we have got.
“These are at the heart of everything we do. These are monumental projects that will change Oldham for the better for many decades to come.”
