Royton scheme on site within 12 months

DRANSFIELD Properties’ managing director Mark Dransfield has said the company intends to be on site embarking on a major regeneration of Royton town centre  within a year.

The Barnsley-based company signed a development with Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council yesterday to embark on a foodstore-led regeneration involving a new 50,000 sq ft supermarket, remodelling the district shopping centre, redevelopment of Royton Assembly Halls and an upgrade of Royton Town Hall.

Public consultation over the plans is set to begin in April ahead of a planning application being submitted in the summer. If approved, tenders will be issued and contractors appointed in autumn with work starting in the New Year.

The developer has appointed Manchester-based architects BDP to create the masterplan, but Mr Dransfield said it was too early to give specifics on the development cost or even the number of retail units within the scheme.

“I think we need to introduce another couple of national operators into the town just to reverse shopping patterns but this is a district shopping centre serving a local community and that’s what it will be designed around,” he said.

“We’ll be looking to safeguard all of the jobs currently in the town and to work sensitively with freeholders and tenants and relocate them into new premises within the scheme.”

He also said the foodstore proposed would have a sales area of just 25,000 sq ft – big enough to draw in shoppers but not so big as to damage existing traders.

Oldham Council leader Cllr Jim McMahon said the agreement had been signed “just before the tipping point”.

“You can see there’s a number of empty units here already and you can see how quiet it is on a non-market day. That couldn’t have gone on forever because ultimately businesses will fail if that continues.

Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons has already been linked to the scheme, but neither side commented on the identity of the likely operator yesterday.

Cllr McMahon said: “We’ve been very clear that there are names out there who we’ve done business with before who we won’t be keen really to do business with again. But there are others who would really add to it because they bring people in but they are sensitive and they’re good neighbours.”

He added that consultation would begin as soon as possible to make sure townspeople gained an “informed” view of plans.

“We’re acutely aware that if there is a gap or a silence – and this has already been the worst kept secret in Oldham, I think – then people will fill that with their own interpretation of what might come.

“I’m very confident that people will get behind this because they will see this is going to be the rebirth of Royton town centre.”