Proof the borough is really buzzing

Spencer Dale (centre) with members of the Oldham Business Leadership Group, from left, Nick McGilvray, William Lees-Jones, Peter Greenhalgh, June Smith, Pam Pelham and Dave Benstead

TWENTY fours in the business life of Oldham — and what a hectic period it was for a host of people.

Wednesday brought a trip to the Earl Business Centre in Hathershaw for the Oldham Construction Sector breakfast hosted by Peter Greenhalgh, managing director of DCT Civil Engineering Ltd, on behalf of Oldham Council and the Chamber of Commerce.

These events never cease to amaze me, as an observer, for the sheer weight of stuff that is going on in our borough, from the building of schools and academies to new homes in St Mary’s, the Royal Oldham Hospital extension and refurbishment of public buildings.

The focus is on recruiting locally-based subcontractors and that can be only good for everyone.

From here, after a couple of hours in the office, the next stop was lunch at the Clough Manor, Denshaw, in the company of Spencer Dale, the chief economist at the Bank of England.

This is a seriously important guy. He sits on the Monetary Policy Committee which decides interest rates and, as he admitted, is supposed to keep down the rate of inflation.

Invited by the increasingly influential Oldham Business Leadership Group, he spoke “off the record” to Oldham’s movers and shakers about how the MPC makes its decisions and its goals.

He took questions from the floor, answered in laymen’s terms and generally created a good impression with his frank opinions.

From the the hills of Saddleworth we all faced a short dash to Oldham town centre for the official opening of the Regional Science Centre in King Street.

I recall attending the official opening of this wonderful building, a speculative office development on the site of the former Apple Car Clinic, funded by the Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

After standing empty for a while, despite numerous inquiries to the letting agents from ambitious Oldham tenants, the building has been converted into a state-of-the-art science centre, part of Oldham Sixth Form College.

I enjoyed a short tour of the facilities and was hugely encouraged by the shared enthusiasm of staff and students for what will surely become an iconic presence in the resurgence of Oldham. Nick Brown, the former principal, was invited back to perform the opening ceremony, and he spoke in glowing terms of the new Oldham that is developing before our very eyes.

And finally, on the following morning another early start, breakfast at Fresca in Delph at an Olympic event hosted by One Future, part of the Business Leadership Group.

Katherine O’Connor, North-West lead for the 2012 Olympic Games, spoke of the business opportunities available to Oldham businesses around next year’s global event. She urged businesses to log on to www.competefor.com to register their ability to deliver products and services.

Some 167 companies in the region are already registered and six in Oldham have already won Olympic contracts, from supplying steel to transport, so this is real.

Business consultant John Townsend, a Dobcross man who sits on the leadership group, hosted the event which brought to a close a hectic but at times compelling and encouraging 24 hours in the life of Oldham.