Regeneration news

Oldham's Hollinwood Junction gained a new Lidl on 3 December 2025, giving shoppers a second town branch of the discount chain and filling one of the last big retail units on the former industrial site.

The supermarket opening is the latest visible change under the council's Building a Better Oldham programme, which is also preparing to reopen the Grade II-listed Old Library on Union Street after years behind hoardings.

Council leaders told the Town Centre Forum in June that the library's refurbishment is part of a wider package of town-centre works, although they have not yet confirmed an exact reopening date or final use mix for the building.

An exhibition at Gallery Oldham in March traced the library's 137-year history and displayed early designs for its next phase, signalling that staff hope to keep the Victorian reading rooms at the heart of community life.

Taken together, the new Lidl and the promised library revival show the council trying to balance everyday shopping needs with heritage-led regeneration, a pairing that will test whether footfall rises in streets still pock-marked by empty shops.