Leisure and culture news

Oldham Council has locked in a season of free events for the colder months, repeating the no-cost promise it first made last autumn. The programme covers the same late-November to mid-December window as 2024, when 'Festive Saturdays' drew families into a town centre still shaking off lockdown habits. By keeping the entry price at zero, the council is betting that footfall, not ticket sales, will steady nearby shops after the Spindles revamp and the new Tommyfield hall open.

The leisure push is spreading beyond the high street. Three well-used community buildings are now lined up for £80,000 of joint repairs, with sites in Royton among those on the list. A separate cash injection will upgrade one of Royton's busiest parks, though officers have not yet named the green space or the exact sum.

Sport is getting the same treatment. Tennis courts in an unnamed Oldham park reopened in July after a Lawn Tennis Association partnership paid for new surfaces, and the Marlborough Centre in Glodwick has just handed its keys to NxtGen Boxing. The hand-over saves a listed building from further decay and gives the club room to expand its youth sessions, a small but concrete answer to the shortage of affordable gym space.

Not every cultural door is open yet. The Oldham Coliseum building, dark since the resident company folded, will stay shut until 2026 while trustees decide what kind of venue follows. That delay leaves the council's own programme, plus smaller outfits like Outta Skool-celebrating 17 years this month-carrying the load for live performance.