A major milestone has been reached in the ongoing transformation of Oldham town centre, with the announcement of the council’s new development partner today (Friday 7 July).
The ground-breaking new partnership with nationwide placemaker Muse, will bring millions of pounds of investment to Oldham, as well as creating new jobs and opportunities for local people, in a partnership that could last for up to 25 years.
Muse were selected as the preferred bidder following a competitive process that concluded today. In being selected, Muse demonstrated a thorough understanding of the ambition and scale of Oldham’s regeneration plans, and the capability and track-record to deliver, with a highly experienced team headed by born and bred Oldhamer Phil Mayall.
Councillor Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, said: “This is absolutely fantastic news. I’m delighted that, today, we can announce that together, we and Muse will be creating a new town centre for not just the people who live here now, but for generations to come.
“These new homes will create new communities right in the heart of Oldham; which is a brilliant opportunity not just for the Oldhamers who will get the chance to live there, but also for people across the borough who can enjoy greener, more attractive, and more enjoyable places to shop, eat, drink and spend their leisure time.
“I know today’s announcement will also be welcomed by our fantastic local businesses, who will soon be seeing more and more people spending time in our town centre throughout the day and into the evenings, as new communities move in, settle, and raise their families.
“I’m so pleased to be leading on these exciting, ambitious, and truly game-changing plans – and I’m also truly excited that we’ve secured a partner from Oldham, who knows Oldham so well, and is just as passionate as me to make our borough a better place for all of us who call Oldham home.”
Muse has a strong track record in regenerating areas of towns and cities, with previous projects in Greater Manchester including Salford Central, the Smithfield regeneration in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and Stockport Exchange.
Their work in Oldham will have a distinctly local touch though – with managing director for the North West, Phil Mayall, at the helm.
Phil Mayall, Managing Director – North West at Muse, said: “We’re proud to have been selected by the council to deliver its ambitious vision for regeneration in the town and we’re excited to get started.
“As a business, we’re all about placemaking. We create kinder places in our towns and cities that focus on quality, community and sustainability. It’s regeneration with people at its heart; that will celebrate the proud town of Oldham, its rich heritage, along with its aspirations for the future.
“We’re at the start of our journey with the council and we’re very much looking forward to getting out in the community as soon as we’re able, as we build a brighter future for Oldham, together.”
Oldham Council and Muse’s delivery of 2,000 homes is a huge opportunity to create homes for the future and unlock brownfield land for regeneration.
The same commitments are central to Greater Manchester’s trailblazing new devolution deal and demonstrate how Oldham’s regeneration will provide homes and opportunities for Oldhamers as well as contributing to the city-region’s housing ambitions.
The partnership will also support the borough’s pioneering Greener Oldham developments – supporting the Green New Deal by embedding sustainability and net zero carbon ambitions within the project. Additionally, it will provide opportunities for employment, learning, skills and social contributions across the design, procurement, delivery, and operation phases of the projects.
Muse has been appointed in the role of private sector delivery partner initially for period of 15 years with an option to extend the arrangement by a further 10 years subject to agreement by all parties.
A master agreement has been negotiated during the procurement process, which includes establishing a joint project board that meets quarterly, and the partnership will now formulate more detailed strategies and business plans for sites in the town centre, expected to take around six months.
As well as the new homes, the council’s ambitious Creating a Better Place plan will transform Oldham in many more ways – unlocking investment worth £285 million and creating more than 1,000 new jobs and 100 apprenticeship opportunities.
There will be a new public park in the heart of the town centre and an entirely redeveloped Spindles shopping centre – changing it from being solely retail-focused to a place for all the community to use. This means better shops, new space for work and an improved leisure and entertainment offer for people of all ages.
A new theatre will be at the heart of a cultural quarter that preserves Oldham’s heritage and, among other exciting developments, the Old Town Hall’s Egyptian Room which will be transformed into a modern food hall, featuring six casual dining-style food stalls, a bar and a central seating area.
Creating new homes on such a large scale will bring about a huge range of benefits for the whole borough, such as meeting Oldham’s housing need; increasing footfall in the town centre and boosting local businesses and breathing life back into derelict and under-utilised sites.
By delivering these new homes as one major project with one development partner at the helm, this also helps avoid a piecemeal approach by ensuring new homes complement one another and are connected to the services, shops, leisure facilities and transport links that people need. Oldham Council ran a detailed and transparent procurement process to select Muse as development partner and was advised by CBRE and Brabners LLP.
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