£5m ‘Cyclops’ Junction Plan Scrapped After Shaw Residents Fight to Save Big Lamp Roundabout

Oldham Council has abandoned controversial plans to transform Shaw’s historic Big Lamp Roundabout into a £5 million ‘Cyclops-style’ junction following fierce opposition from local residents who warned the scheme would destroy their town’s last remaining landmark.

The project, funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, aimed to improve safety and boost cycling infrastructure through new cycle lanes. But locals rallied against what they branded a “monstrous scheme,” with 500 residents joining the ‘Supporters of the Big Lamp Roundabout Shaw Oldham’ campaign group to fight the proposals.

Beverley McManus, 63, who led the community resistance, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “A lot of people were very unhappy. [The works] would cause gridlock traffic and cut off the high street, which would kill the local businesses. It’s also an iconic landmark for Shaw. I was born and bred here and it’s been here all my life. It greets you as you’re coming into Shaw. We’ve got nothing else in the town to identify us - no town hall, no police station, no baths. Everything’s been taken from us, and that’s our last identifying feature.”

Ward councillors Howard Sykes and Marc Hince threw their weight behind the campaign, with Liberal Democrat Sykes slamming the “eye-watering sum” and Hince denouncing the “monstrous scheme.” Council leader Arooj Shah confirmed the authority would not proceed “based on the strength of feeling after the scheme landed with the public and key local stakeholders.” While many residents celebrated online, some questioned the landmark’s significance, with one admitting they had “never noticed” the lamp during years of driving past.

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