Former site of ‘death trap’ mill to be turned into new neighbourhood
The former site of Hartford Mill in Werneth, Oldham, which was deemed a 'death trap' due to numerous emergency incidents, is set to be transformed into a new neighbourhood with over 90 homes and apartment blocks. The outline application has been approved by the council, with detailed plans expected within three years.
Oldham’s Former ‘Death Trap’ Mill Set to Become New Housing Estate
A patch of land in Werneth that once housed the trouble-plagued Hartford Mill is poised to be transformed into a 93-home neighbourhood, council papers show.
The 3.4-hectare brownfield site recorded more than 250 emergency call-outs between 2012 and 2015, among them a 2014 blaze that gutted much of the complex and the 2015 fall that killed a 17-year-old boy. Despite being marked for demolition in 2018, the mill’s clearance was not finished until 2023.
Oldham Council has now signed off an outline planning request that clears the way for rows of two-, three- and four-bedroom houses plus two small apartment blocks. Under the indicative scheme, five of the properties would be classed as affordable, although the final affordable quota will be fixed when a full application is lodged.
Proposed streets would link into existing stretches of Milne Street, Edward Street and Block Lane. Every house would have a private garden, while residents of the flats would share a communal green and parking area. No objections were lodged during the consultation stage.
councillors had earlier approved the flattening of the Grade-II-listed mill—rare consent given only when a structure is ruled dangerous. At the time they branded the building “a death trap” and “a billboard for decay” that drew arsonists and other vandals.
Developers must submit detailed designs before the three-year outline permission expires.
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