Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brownridge, Goodwin and Jabbar.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Shareholder Sub-Committee held 20^th October 2025 are attached for approval.

Resolved:
That the minutes of the meeting of the Shareholder Committee, held on 20^th October 2025, be approved as a correct record.

To consider that the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business, pursuant to Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that discussions may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, under paragraph 3 as defined in the provisions of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, to the Local Government Act 1972 and public interest would not be served in publishing the information.

Resolved:

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting, for the following item of business, on the grounds that it contains exempt information under paragraphs 1 and 3, of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and it would not, on balance, be in the public interest to disclose the documents considered.

Report of Project Director - Sportstown and Northern Roots

The Committee considered a report of the Project Director (SportsTown and Northern Roots) which requested that the Shareholder Committee notes and endorses a revised governance and operating model for Northern Roots, and to approve the orderly wind?down and closure of the existing Council?owned company limited by shares.

Northern Roots was a major regeneration, environmental and skills project supported by significant Council and external capital investment. Legal and governance reviews have confirmed that the current delivery vehicle, Northern Roots (Oldham) Limited, a company limited by shares wholly owned by the Council, cannot continue in its present form. The structure does not meet Charity Commission independence requirements and presents risk.

The Council’s Corporate Property Board had considered this matter, at a meeting held in January 2026 and supported a clear direction of travel to reset the project’s governance. This includes establishing a new independent charitable company limited by guarantee (CLG), introducing a formal Joint Venture (JV) Board to provide Council oversight, and closing the existing company following transfer of operations.

The submitted report sought the Shareholder Committee’s endorsement of that change in governance and approval to wind down the existing company limited by shares.

Resolved:

1. That the Shareholder Committee notes that Northern Roots (Oldham) Limited, a company limited by shares wholly owned by the Council, is no longer an appropriate or legally robust vehicle for the delivery of the Northern Roots project.
2. That the Shareholder Committee endorses the proposed change in governance, including the establishment of a new independent charitable company limited by guarantee (CLG) as the delivery organisation for Northern Roots.
3. That the Shareholder Committee approves the orderly wind?down and closure of Northern Roots (Oldham) Limited, following the transfer of assets, contracts and operations to the new charitable CLG, subject to legal and regulatory requirements.
4. That the shareholder Committee notes that matters relating to land leases will be brought forward separately for approval in accordance with the Council’s Constitution and Financial Regulations.