Oldham Thread

[leebuk2005]

All I here is bad things about Oldham, well I live there and it is nothing like what people make it out to be. It might have had the race riots which shot Oldham into the spotlight for all bad reasons. If Oldham had the chance it could become a very nice and pleasent place. So I'd like to ask you all What do you think Oldham should do to earn back its good reputation?

GET OUR METROLINK BACK ON TRACK.

[hopo]

North Mnachester is very rejected, as the south gets most of the development however there have been huge improvements in and around oldham, it is actuly quite nice. but i must say that the population is not large enuf to support many big shops developments or buisnesses in the way that stockport is, due to the lower socio economic status of many occupants of that area. also transport links to oldham are atrocious!!!! oldham is north manc's stockport, but north manchester just dsnt have the money

[leebuk2005]

Metrolink says it all !!!!

[ForeverSalfordRed]

And no decent sports facility for Oldham RLFC and Athletic.

[leebuk2005]

There are two mid-rises just been approved by Oldham Council one is some Health centre/Hospital thing going up on Civic Centre car park which will be about 10 storys and 8 story appartments (the first nice ones for oldham) being built on Union street.Lets just hope they hurry up and build the trams then maybe Oldham might have a boom.

[leebuk2005]

The health centre

[leebuk2005]

Just some pics ive found

Skyline seen from Salford

bus station and Civic centre

Oldham art gallery

Market hall

looking up High Street towords Spindles Shopping mall

The Old town Hall on a foggy Evening

Oldham Parish Church

Lifelong learning centre (under-construction)

Central Library

Alexandra park

Theatre

[Accura4Matalan]

Its a sorry sight to see that old town hall boarded up

[leebuk2005]

Plans to turn it into part of a shopping centre

[Bachy Soletanche]

This is nice,



Shame about the shop signs though...

[Isaac Newell]

That's known locally (or was known) as Hill Stores. It's an old Co-op and there are lecture theatres upstairs.

[leebuk2005]

Are they going to flatten it to make way for a larger tesco or is it a listed building.

[Jongeman]

Oldham's smart. One of the nicest town centres in the NW of England already with loads of potential.......an expanding university centre, great art gallery, shopping centre much more relaxed than Stockport or Ashton, easy parking, and to cap it all......Metrolink.

[leebuk2005]

Yes there are a lot of plans for Oldham but will they ever happen. Anyone been past Hollinwood lately the Roxy has gone. A hotel is being built on the land i think.

[leebuk2005]

This is the new extension of the shopping centre wich will see the Old town hall converted into something like the triangle. There are plans for a new cinama to replace the roxy and Bowling. It will be full of bars restaraunts and shops it will start to be built this year.

[leebuk2005]

[leebuk2005]

Oldham's smart. One of the nicest town centres in the NW of England already with loads of potential.......an expanding university centre, great art gallery, shopping centre much more relaxed than Stockport or Ashton, easy parking, and to cap it all......Metrolink.

Hopefully people will say the same in time to come. I would love my town to be competing with Stockport and Bolton (which are more or less the same size as Oldham) shopping wise not loosing to Ashton or Rochdale

[Architecty]

Crap architect discovers Sketch-up shock.

[Martin G]

I take it that you Oldham folks do know that the outdoor Tommyfield Market (once such a buzzing hive of activity five days a week, then only three, and now just two and a half) is earmarked for closure this year? It's sad news indeed for those who have always relied on it as an established bargain-hunting meccas when it had its legendary flea markets in the 80s before its slow and painful decline into the poor shadow of its former self that we have seen in recent years.

I used to go there quite often as I also did with Ashton's outdoor market....but it seems now that shopping attitudes have changed and that the UK doesn't want old style scuzzy markets with character anymore.

I only visit Oldham now for that market and also the fantastic baked potato van that is always parked along High Street just outside the Spindles Shopping Mall - they make the biggest spuds I have ever seen and for the last 10 years or so now I have made visits up to the town JUST to get one of these legendary gigantic (melon-sized) jacket spuds for my lunch! It's worth the £3 return train fare just to do this, I'm telling you!! Anyone who hasn't been to the town I recommend this spud van as the place to fill your stomach. It's truly exceptional and imo fully deserves to be included in any Oldham tourism publication for this fact alone!

[Martin G]

Must say that at the moment the Metrolink versus the Train issue of getting to Oldham is a bit vexing. On the one hand it would be great that Metrolink finally gets to be extended to Oldham and Rochdale but the downside is you will end up paying more for a ticket just to get there as a Metrolink return would be nearer £5 than the existing £3.50 GM rail ranger ticket to travel on the entire GM network. A combined train and Metrolink day ticket would set me back at least £4.95 (which will most certainly be more like £5.80 by the time this is built) - so that is one thing I'm not happy about. And the other thing is, with extra stops being added to the old rail route the journey time from Manchester to Oldham will increase from the current express (non stop bone-shaking diesel) time of 15 minutes (quite good) to almost 30 minutes (quite poor). So in a way it is a mixed blessing as far as I see it.

Only Rochdale will continue to enjoy the alternative of a fast rail service (using the Moston/Castleton route) once the loop route via Oldham becomes Metrolinked.