The detailed plan follows a report, Oldham Beyond, written by URBED and released in April, which aimed to position Oldham as a centre of learning and multicultural harmony (HT 30 April, page 11).
The measures proposed to achieve this aim include an Asian restaurant quarter, a new community centre and regular events to boost social cohesion.
Andrew Fletcher, Oldham council's deputy chief executive, and other officers are meeting today to review the results of a public consultation on the proposals and to decide what to do first.
Research by property agent King Sturge has shown that developers and commercial occupiers are not interested in the town centre, with the only demand likely to come from small, local companies.
But the report claims that if back-office government functions could be brought to the town, they would draw in other commercial developers.
Whitehall is presently reviewing its office locations in the wake of Sir Michael Lyons' report on the issue, published in March. It is considering moving a wide range of functions out of London (HT 19 March page 9).
The masterplan also recommends residential development to bring the town centre back to life.
Currently, there are no residential buildings in the town centre and there is very little private housing on the outskirts.
To combat this, URBED has suggested starting with a development that is large enough to create its own environment and sufficiently appealing to draw in young professionals from Manchester and the surrounding areas.
A patch of cleared land on the northern edge of the town centre has been identified for such a development.
A local cinema company has said it is willing to open in the town centre – which does not have a cinema – to boost the evening economy.
URBED's masterplan is the second instalment of a £300,000 project to redesign Greater Manchester, commissioned by the Oldham Local Strategic Partnership and the North-west Development Agency.
Source
Housing Today
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