Jim’s telly vision of our exciting future

Oldham Council leader Jim McMahon has laid out the council’s plans for Oldham town hall to a TV audience.

Mr McMahon used his appearance on BBC1’s “Sunday Politics” show to discuss the ambitious renovation plans.

Speaking as part of a North-West segment about a trend for councils, rather than developers, to fund regeneration works, viewers were taken on a tour of the Grade II listed building and heard how the town hall will be turned into a cinema, restaurant and shopping centre.

Councillor McMahon said: “Effectively we are acting as the developer, appointing our own contractors and getting the tenants in ourselves.”

When asked about the risks of that process, Mr McMahon said it was necessary without Government funding.

He added: “I think there are now two (kinds of) councils emerging.

“There are local authorities who are battening down the hatches and hoping the budget cuts go away.

“And there are other councils like us that want to regenerate and want to invest in development.

“Simply delivering good services, which I believe we do, isn’t enough any more.

“It’s about how you regenerate a town.”