Willmott Dixon initial enabling works includes the demolition of a former TJ Hughes store.
Oldham Council acquired the Spindles shopping centre in 2020 for £9.5m to redevelop the town centre.
The project cost has been put at £65m.
Demolition of TJ Hughes will pave the way for a new split-level Tommyfield market which will be developed with retail stalls linking to the shopping mall and a dedicated food and drink area linking to Parliament Square. The upper level of the market hall will be an events space.
In the shopping centre, the retail offer is to be condensed, with the upper tier of the shopping centre to become council offices.
A detailed planning application for the main redevelopment will be submitted “very soon”, the council said. Subject to approvals, the main building works are expected to get underway later this year with the full redevelopment scheduled to complete towards the end of 2023.
Willmott Dixon is a home counties builder but has its northern regional headquarters in Oldham – “so they know first-hand the importance of this project and the positive change it is going to bring to our town,” said council leader Arooj Shah. “They share our ambition to make Oldham a place we can all be proud of and have committed to putting over £10m back into the community to benefit local people and businesses.”
Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon in the north, said: “Our focus is all about how we can deliver brilliant buildings, transform lives, strengthen communities and enhance the environment so our towns are fit for future generations. Our role here means that the Spindles redevelopment will be built for the people of Oldham by the people of Oldham, and we will work with our local supply chain partners to create sustainable employment opportunities and a lasting positive legacy in this community.”
Not everyone is so keen, however. Local Liberal Democrats don’t trust the Labour council with the money. Oldham Liberal Democrats leader Howard Sykes said in November: “The Spindles Town Square redevelopment is a hugely costly project. Not for nothing did we brand the project ‘Spendles’, for we discovered that the true cost of acquiring the shopping precinct was £10.6m and Labour have allocated up to £65m more to transform it. My fears are that this project might be delivered at a vastly inflated cost like the Old Town Hall, be delivered years behind schedule like the supposed ‘gamechanger’ Princes Gate, or lead to large sums being written off as with Hotel Futures and abandoned past plans for a new Coliseum and museum.”
The project was procured through the Procure Partnerships Framework.
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