Decision details

The Cabinet considered a report of the Executive Director for Place and Economic Growth that was seeking approval to appoint a preferred bidder in the role of Private Sector Partner (“PSP”) initially for period of 15 years with an option to extend the arrangement by a further 10 years, subject to agreement at that time.   

The Cabinet had previously supported the recommendations contained within the report, within the context of a wider approved housing delivery programme, which involved, in the short to medium term, the selection of a Strategic Development Partner to progress development of the strategic town centre residential sites with the Council; the prioritising of Council resources and investment to help establish a housing market in Oldham town centre.

The Creating a Better Place Programme set out a bold vision for Oldham town centre and for the wider borough, embedded within a £285m strategic framework. Creating a Better Place was seen as an ambitious plan which sought to transform Oldham and to unlock opportunities to secure the future of the town and to ensure that it thrived.

The strategic objectives relating to the Creating A Better Place programme was set out in the Oldham Town Centre Development Prospectus published in 2022 and which was also contained at Appendix A of the submitted report and included: 

a.    New Town Centre Homes - enabled core town centre regeneration proposals to be brought forward into delivery by releasing sites for redevelopment, particularly Housing.

b.    Reduction in Asset Cost Base – enabling the Civic Centre and other buildings to be vacated meaning lease agreements, backlog maintenance and reactive maintenance costs can be reduced.

c.    Regeneration and Town Centre Activation increasing the footfall and activation of the centre through intervention, reduction of void space in prime retail areas to consolidate and improve the town centre offer – create a destination for North Manchester and Oldham.

d.    Championing a Green Recovery: Supporting the Green New Deal embedding sustainability and net zero carbon ambitions within the project.

e.    Providing opportunities for Employment, Learning, Skills and Social contributions across the design, procurement, delivery, and operation phases of the projects.

Resolved:

That the Cabinet would consider the commercially sensitive information contained at item 10 of the agenda before making a decision.