After years of negotiation, a ground-breaking ceremony was held in Chadderton to celebrate the start of the construction phase of the ambitious £130m ‘Gateways to Oldham’ project.
The Inspiral Consortium, charged with managing the project to completion, comprises Wates Living Space, social housing and community regeneration specialist, Regenter, and the Great Places Housing Group. The consortium received unanimous support at the Oldham Council planning meeting.
The project is set to significantly improve public-housing services in the borough through the regeneration of the Primrose Bank, Coldhurst, Crossley, Westwood and Fitton Hill neighbourhoods. The initial phase will see the demolition of over 300 ailing homes and herald the construction of over 400 new social and private residences. A further 324 existing council homes will be refurbished to exacting standards in keeping with the proposed new developments.
Improved housing is not all that this 25-year project is set to achieve. Plans are in place to build two community centres and a retail unit. Better parking facilities, street lighting and footpaths are also included in the proposal. Public open spaces including pocket greens and informal squares will feature heavily in each of the regenerated communities.
It is hoped that the scheme will go a long way towards enhancing these established communities, strengthen job and training opportunities, whilst improving links into the centre of Oldham.
The cabinet member for housing, transport and regeneration for Oldham Council, Dave Hibbert, stated that “This is a significant scheme that will be of great benefit to local residents and businesses.”