Labour & Co-operative | Serving the communities of Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton
Some great views across Oldham and the wider borough from the old Civic Centre Tower.
A building with so many memories from 13 years as councillor for Failsworth East, 4 years as Leader of Oldham Council, and visiting regularly for almost a decade as MP for Oldham West, Chadderton & Royton.
Oldham’s often called one of the highest towns in England, and from here you can see why …
To see more, head to my Facebook Page.
Great to see the fantastic new studio spaces for Oldham Theatre Workshop at the renovated JR Clynes Building to inspire the next generation of performers.
Yes, the JR Clynes Building is now the part of the new home for Oldham Council as it vacates the Civic Centre, but as the new civic and cultural heart of our borough, it offers much more than that.
Having this new space for Oldham Theatre Workshop is just one way in which restoring this disused building not only safeguards the rich heritage of our town, but too makes the investment impactful for local people by allowing the space to be used in modern ways local people deserve
Giving our young people opportunities in creative industries and to enrich their lives, which the Oldham Theatre Workshop has always done, is a brilliant form of community use, as shown by its extensive list of famous alumni of actors, musicians and more.
Our country is a cultural superpower on the world stage, and local people have Labour in power at every level who are working to safeguard our heritage and community venues, which I prioritised for local people at the general election.
From restoring the Old Library for community use; to Saving Oldham Coliseum at its historic site, modernising Gallery Oldham & the central library, legislating for new tax relief for British films, and initiating a new National Youth Strategy: we are committed to supporting our creative & cultural sectors.
Thank you to Oldham Theatre Workshop for having me.
Great news for Chadderton’s Foxdenton Hall!
A credit to the work of Chadderton Together and others who have worked hard over many years to secure the future of the historic hall.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded £228,000 to allow work which could unlock a total of £2.27m from the fund.
Well done and onwards and upwards!
The new home of Oldham Sixth Form College’s Sports Campus is now complete and open for use – it looks fantastic!
Thank you to the members of the PE & Sport Department and of the Senior Leadership team for the tour of the refurbished pitches at Chapel Road.
The pitches here in Hollinwood have been taken over by the Sixth Form College and put back to local use, and they deserve real credit for bringing them back in a positive way so that they have dedicated outdoor sport facility for the first time in the college’s 32-year history.
The venue was at real risk of being lost forever and its turn around is great to see. From the site you also get the added bonus of a unique view of St. Margaret’s Church and Devon Mill.
As well as benefiting students at the college it also benefits the wider communities such as sports clubs and schools nearby on weekends and evenings, with St Margarets itself having daily use.
There is so much going on with facilities like this one in Hollinwood, the pitches at West End Street in Coldhurst, and the White Bank Road football ground we discussed with the council this week. They are vital for young people having the space to get good exercise, socialise and have a safe place to enjoy themselves – it’s really good to see.
Planning permission has now been granted for the external alterations to Oldham Coliseum as it is restored at its historic Fairbottom street site ready to be reopened next year.
This progress on the road to reopening our historic theatre is really encouraging and our local Labour-led Council deserves great credit for the time, effort and investment they have put in to saving Oldham Colisuem. Being able to both modernise the venue so its financial sustainability is secured for the long term, while also keeping it at it’s historic site which is rich in heritage is the best outcome for local people.
Friends of Oldham Coliseum and local legend Julie Hesmondhalgh have been integral in this process and the progress made so far would not have been possible without their hard work and determination.
During last year’s general election, we prioritised promoting community ownership for the people of Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton. The hard work put in to save the Coliseum with a co-operative model of ownership shows the success community ownership can bring in safeguarding our heritage & local venues, and empowering local people by giving communities a stake in the future of their cherished assets.
Our borough deserves a modern theatre that has the capacity and facilities to put on great shows for local people and provide opportunities in creative & culture industries right here in Oldham – and we are on track to delivering that next year.
It was great to join AVRO FC, Action Together and Oldham Council to discuss progress on investment in the White Bank Road ground.
Since taking on the then derelict site Rob Fuller and the team have worked tirelessly to transform the ground and clubhouse into a thriving community venue, now home to many junior teams drawing in over 500 boy and girl players, and the Anthony Crolla boxing gym.
The facilities here are not only well used but have much more potential to grow the community outreach, through partnerships with the council and Mahdlo Youth Zone.
With the support of Action Together I’m hopeful the club is on track to secure the investment it and the wider community deserves.
I’ll do all I can to champion its work.
Great to be in the JR Clynes building last week to meet with stakeholders from across Oldham as the Oldham Town Board met to discuss work to oversee the delivery of Towns Fund projects and other activity in Oldham town centre as part of our ongoing regeneration plan.
To have a strong future, our strength and confidence comes from our past. Our heritage across our town centre should therefore be protected, regenerated, and brought into the modern day for community use and civic life. While others shy away from these due to financial struggles, Oldham council shows its commitment to place and to creating a future local people can be proud of.
The four Towns Fund projects benefitting from the £24.4 million Town Deal are the Northern Roots urban farm and eco-park, a new flexible workspace, a new performance space, and the relocation of Tommyfield Market into Spindles.
Fruits of this hard work is becoming clear with funding translating into meaningful investment, that builds on the work our Labour-led Council has been doing for Many years to regenerate Oldham Town Centre:
The soon to be opened 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 & 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 completes the transformation at Spindles after the opening of the new council offices and 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘃𝗲 as Oldham’s engine for business growth with co-working space, meeting rooms and events space.
Completed the Old Town Hall jigsaw with the opening of the magnificent 𝗘𝗴𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝗺, bringing together Parliament Square with the Odeon Cinema and adjacent food retailers.
Saving 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺 at its historic home on Fairbottom Street and refurbishing it ready for 2026 panto season.
𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 to create a space more people want to come to for their shopping, including organising events and improving appearance & safety by painting vacant shops, deep cleaning bins, increasing police presence, and installing CCTV cameras along the street.
Continuing to transform Union Street with the opening of the 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 as the cultural & civic home of our borough, finding a solution to pavement parking concerns, and taking on the 𝗣𝗿𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 to stop it deteriorating into further ruin.
Brining more people to the town centre through the building of thousands of homes as part of the 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.
Regeneration is not just about the centre of Oldham, but town centres and high streets all across our borough.
It’s not just Oldham Town Centre that is benefiting from government regeneration funding managed by members from local institutions and stakeholders. As part of the plan for neighbourhoods, the Chadderton Town Board continues to meet to implement the 10-year neighbourhood plan after it was awarded £20m over ten years for the regeneration of Chadderton and the surrounding area, beginning in March 2025, replacing the Long-Term Plan for Towns programme.
At the time of attending the first Chadderton Town Board last year where we met to discuss the investment plan, I wrote to the then Conservative government to ask that Royton was also included but it didn’t transpire in the final list of towns which followed.
Royton deserves this attention too and we have been working locally to do what we can to regenerate the area with the recently refurbished Royton Town Hall & Library, along with ongoing work to end the service charges dispute at Royton precinct.
Investing in heritage and civic places for the long term gives a sense of local pride to residents but we know regeneration of our great town centre should not be being done to people but with people in partnership so that communities have control in getting the town centre they want.
It was great to see so many from a wide range of industries, sectors and institutions at the meeting, showing the passion so many have to deliver the better future local people want.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 