Masterplan for town centre gets green light
AMULTI-MILLION pound masterplan to transform Royton town centre has been given the green light.
Oldham council, working with architects Halsall Lloyd Partnership (HLP), created the plan detailing how the heart of Royton could be improved over the next decade.
It’s aimed at attracting visitors, investment, bolstering community pride, getting more people on bikes, improving links and boosting the economy by attracting new entrepreneurs and businesses. It includes ideas to enhance shopping areas, leisure, cultural heritage sites and public spaces.
Easy walking and cycling routes with good public transport and improved parking are central to the report, as are more tree-lined streets and green spaces with better play facilities for children.
Royton’s economy is also a priority - with plans to improve shopping, boost the market and create new ones - and offer leasing deals for entrepreneurs to encourage new business.
At the heart of the plan is the refurbishment of both Royton Town Hall and the Victorian Carnegie library, with a separate £2m pot already set aside.
The remaining cash, estimated in the report to amount to £3.2m, has yet to be allocated and will rely heavily on private investors. The figure includes £324,000 to enhance Royton Hall and Royton Park.
The plan has been informed by consultation with residents, businesses and police - who called for the ‘ugly’ precinct to be improved and be rid of its ‘rat problem’. This could lead to better security lighting and bin disposal, as well as bigger units.
Coun Hannah Roberts, member for Royton North, said: “This is a masterplan not a blueprint.
“It’s saying ‘this is a series of ideas we’ve got to improve the town centre’. The council is investing money for our iconic buildings – the town hall and library. But it will be looking for opportunities to be able to put this masterplan into practice.”
She added: “We can help deliver the conditions which mean people will want to come and invest in Royton – that’s the idea of the masterplan.”
She said a central challenge was providing the kind of shops that attract people, as there are many vacant units in Royton, as well as improving links across Rochdale Road.
The plan outlines a vision to make the most of Royton’s distinctive character – including its textile mill history, heritage buildings and the market. Its place at the foothills of the Pennines is also key, according to the report.
By keeping this history central to plans, the report’s authors hope to attract visitors, entrepreneurs, businesses and investment and ‘rekindle the community’s pride of place’.
Other findings from the public consultation found that residents liked the compact nature of the town centre – and would rather shop in the market than a national chain store.
Royton precinct was perceived as ‘shabby’ and in need of a revamp. There was concern over the closure of high street banks.
Most residents also want to see improvements on Rochdale Road and more bus stops with more frequent services, plus better transport to Manchester at night and weekends. Better parking facilities were also high on their wish list.
The plan builds on a key objective in a 2013 paper to make Oldham ‘a productive place to invest where business and enterprise thrive’.