£8m Audi dealership taking shape
WORK on the new £8m Audi dealership – set to create about 87 jobs in Oldham is progressing well.
The 17-car showroom and 24-bay service workshop off Chadderton Way will be run by Jardine Motors Group, one of the largest dealers of the German-marque in the UK.
The new hub, which will also offer a full aftersales and pre-delivery inspection service, is set to open in summer 2017.
Cllr Jean Stretton, leader of Oldham Council, has met with Stephen Pettyfer, group property director at Jardine Motors Group to see how work is coming along.
She said: “It’s great to see how much construction work has been done on site already.
“In 2014 Jardine Motors Group informed Oldham Council they were interested in coming to the borough so it’s great to see all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes is coming to fruition.
“Audi is the type of high end global brand we are looking to attract to the borough. We’ve done it already with ODEON in the Old Town Hall Cinema and this shows that blue chip firms see the borough as a place where they can do business.
“Jardine has also confirmed that they are committed to our Get Oldham Working campaign, and are looking forward to working with local colleges and supply chains, which is great news for jobseekers and the local economy.”
Pettyfer said: “This will be a key site for Jardine Motors Group, and we are working closely with Audi to develop a new dealership that will be a benchmark for the future of automotive retailing.
“Our ambition is to include the latest technology and introduce tailored customer services for buyers, to really shake-up and modernise the car buying industry – moving away from the traditional one-size-fits-all approach when buying a new car.”
The new hub – on 4.5-acre site that formerly housed Westhulme Hospital – will be an important addition to Jardine Motors Group’s existing Audi businesses across the region, the company says, and see millions of pounds invested in the site.
The deal for the hub came about after Oldham Council officers worked with their counterparts at the NHS trust, which owned the site, to facilitate the deal paving the way for the surplus site to be brought back into use.
As part of the deal a grass kick pitch, serving the local community, is proposed to be built on an alternative part of the site by Oldham council, which was a planning requirement from a previous land deal the council concluded with the NHS.
A new access junction off Chadderton Way will also be built.
