Family facilities and top stores needed

£50,000 survey shows where to make improvements

Town Centre Partnership reports

OLDHAM has a thriving food-retail sector, but not enough family leisure facilities or major High Street retailers — that’s the conclusion of a survey undertaken by a top consultancy firm at the cost of more than £50,000.

According to the research undertaken by White Young Green for the Oldham Retail and Leisure study, 68 per cent of Oldhamers do their food shopping within the borough, with Chadderton Asda attracting the majority of these shoppers.

But while this was deemed to be a strong result, the borough performed poorly in other areas, with the report highlighting the lack of leisure facilities in Oldham town centre, with many people who visit during the day failing to return for their evening entertainment.

Although the researchers identified that the town centre has the capacity for a 10-screen cinema and a bowling facility, there were no signs of such facilities being introduced in the foreseeable future.

Oldham also finds it hard to attract non-food shoppers, with only 56 per cent of respondents doing their clothes and other shopping in the town centre.

While 13 of the top 20 retail names are represented, a number of High Street giants, such as Marks & Spencer, were not represented.

The report said that improving the retail mix was key to competing against out of town shopping complexes, such as Elk Mill, and the growing threat of neighbouring town centres, such as Rochdale, where large-scale regeneration was planned.

The consultants identified a clear need for increased food provision in Saddleworth, with the majority of residents there travelling outside the borough for their shopping but the new Tesco store at Greenfield was expected to address this issue.

Tommyfield market was also identified in the study as a weakness .

The few reasons for optimism outlined in the study included good accessibility to the town, which was identified by many of the respondents to the surveys carried out by the team, and many of the traders questioned reported a growth in trade.

Spindles and Town Square Centre manger Mike Flanagan said: “The strong feedback we got on the food shopping shows we have a great soundbase. In terms of the weaknesses which were exposed, there’s not a lot we weren’t expecting.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re sizing up the battle. In terms of family leisure facilities, we have debated this for a while and it’s about time we stopped debating and started implementing, but the economic conditions are not very conducive right now.

“Tommyfield market is an integral part of the town, but a decision will have be made very soon about where that market is going.”

Councillor Jackie Stanton said: “I’m desperate to spend my money in Oldham, but if I can’t find what I want in Debenhams then I really struggle.”

A separate study undertaken for the Greater Manchester Commission for Economic Development to evaluate the contribution of town centres to economic growth found that Debenhams and Primark were the main attractions for the town centre and that there was a need to attract more shoppers from Saddleworth and increase the number of distinctive, higher-quality stores.

The council is required to produce a leisure and retail study as part of the creation of the new local development framework, which will act as an overall masterplan for the town.

Woundings rise
WOUNDING offences have risen sharply in the town centre in recent months, with incidents in the serious and less serious categories both going up.

In the four-month period from January to April this year, 140 people were the victim of a less serious wounding offences compared with 110 in the same period last year, while serious wounding went up from eight to 13.

There were some positive results, though, with a theft-busting initiative called Operation Orenberg, resulting in incidences of robbery plunging from 20 to 11, while theft from people down from 38 to 24.

N-W in Bloom bid

OLDHAM town centre could soon be awash with glorious colour, as the town centre spruces up in time for North-West in Bloom.

Town Centre manager Mark Lester said shoppers should expect to see flowers blossoming at various town centre locations over the next few months.

Festival Oldham will have a horticultural theme to support Oldham’s bid to win the North-West in Boom title.

The festival, on May 23 and 24, will include activities such as planting and will also feature advice on healthy eating and recycling.