Hawkins Brown unveils draft plan for 2,000-home town centre scheme

Hawkins Brown has unveiled plans for a 2,000-home project to regenerate Oldham town centre.

Morgan Sindall-owned developer Muse and Oldham Council have published a draft development framework outlining their approach to delivering the homes over the next 15 years.

The framework, once adopted, will be used by Oldham Council’s planning committee when considering planning applications relating to the scheme.

The document sets out five zones, which are badged as ‘character areas’. These include illustrative proposals for a civic and residential area, which would see 600 homes built around the civic centre in a series of ‘c’ shaped blocks around a courtyard and an ‘L’ shaped block “to create a strong frontage to the bus interchange.”

The existing 15-storey Civic Tower will be retained but could be extended by three storeys.

The plans also include 225 homes being built on a site that formerly housed the magistrates’ court and 250 homes on the site of a former leisure centre, along with homes on a series of other sites.

The nearby Manchester Chambers will be retained and refurbished to include offices, shops and leisure facilities.

The framework also outlines plans for an improved retail ‘core’ around the Spindles Town Square Shopping centre and a cultural and creative quarter.

Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said: “We are building up to 2,000 new homes – an essential part of our work to deliver a local solution to the national housing crisis.”

A series of consultation events will take place with the local community until 11 September.