Funding secured for new outdoor market
Oldham Council has secured £2m in funding to create a new outdoor market space on George Square, part of a wider scheme to revive Oldham’s markets. The project will transform George Square and is expected to be completed by late 2025. Half the funding comes from a government grant, while the other half is from Oldham’s capital spending. The new site will also host the popular Saturday Asian Market and other cultural events. While some traders and residents welcome the plans, others express concerns about the location. The previous plan to build a sixth form on the current outdoor market site is on hold.
Oldham will transform George Square into a new outdoor market space with a £2 million investment to relocate the historic Tommyfield Outdoor Market, council leaders announced Monday.
The council committed the funding at a March 24 cabinet meeting, with half coming from a £20 million government grant awarded to the borough earlier this year and the remaining £1 million from Oldham’s capital budget. The project marks the second phase of a comprehensive market revival initiative, following plans to move Tommyfield’s indoor traders to Spindles Shopping Centre by summer 2024.
George Square, currently a small communal area between Spindles Shopping Centre and the police station, will undergo a radical transformation to accommodate the Saturday market and the popular Saturday Asian Market, which draws shoppers from across northern England. The new venue could also host cultural events, according to council documents.
The outdoor market will continue operating at its current location until the new George Square site opens in late 2025. While some traders and residents welcome the changes as heralding “a new era” for Oldham’s markets, others question the location choice. “I’m not convinced it’s the right place for a market, I wouldn’t walk down to access it,” one resident commented.
The outdoor market’s current site had been earmarked for the proposed Eton Star Academy, a sixth form aimed at helping underprivileged students gain entry to top universities, though those plans are now on hold pending government review of free school policies.
Source: Read original article