Great to see refurbishment work getting underway at the West End Street pitches in Coldhurst, ready for them to open to the public in mid-January 2027. £500k of investment with Oldham Community Leisure will turn this derelict space, that was built by the last Labour government and saved by local Labour Councillors after Tory cuts, into the heart of the community with modern facility local people deserve.
In June 2024, Cllr Jabbar, Former Councillor Malik and I campaigned on a promise to local people that we would get these pitches resurfaced and brought back into community use. And after years of campaigning alongside community groups, we’re delivering on that promise.
These facilities should be at the heart of the community, giving young people somewhere to play sport, bringing people together and creating opportunities for local clubs and organisations.
Its true there has been a lot lost over the years but this investment into sports pitches like at West End Street pitches goes alongside Chadderton FC’s new pitch, funding for Avro FC and the new pitches at Chapel Road for Oldham Sixth Form College. All the result of local people and organisations working hard to provide decent facilities in the borough.
There’s been a lot of hard work behind the scenes and with the community to get to this point, including the clean-up day we held in October 2024. Thank you to everyone who has helped get us here, including local firm Groundwork Landscapes who have taken the old artificial pitch up ready to lay the new one, build new fencing and install proper floodlights.
Now the focus is on making sure the pitches have a bright future, back in the hands of the community and serving local people for years to come.
