Plans to “level up” Oldham and develop a vision for the borough which has battled to establish a new identity away from its industrial past are set to be agreed by councillors.

The Oldham Economic Review was commissioned last Autumn to turn the Government’s Levelling Up mantra into a reality for Oldham’s communities.

At a meeting today the Cabinet is recommended to formally accept the recommendations made by the independent Oldham Economic Review Board led by the principal of Oldham College Alun Francis.

Recommendations include breaking the borough’s ‘dependence’ on the ‘foundational economy’ consisting of the public sector, basic services, and products, including often poorly paid jobs and services in health, care, education, housing, utilities, and food supply, and attracting more private sector wealth.

The review estimates that around 70 per cent of those who are employed in Oldham work in the public sector and basic services.

It adds that places like Oldham are ‘hit harder and the damage lasts longer’ following crises such as the economic crash or the pandemic and the borough’s economic resilience is ‘not strong’.

Last year Oldham was rated the seventh worst area in the country for social mobility, with a smaller percentage of its population economically active than the Greater Manchester and England averages.

More than one in four households have a median income of less than £15,000, while youth unemployment is more than twice the English average and wage levels have still not recovered to where they were before the 2008 economic crash.

There is considerable overlap between the method of approach taken in the Government’s “Levelling Up White Paper” and the approach taken in the Oldham Economic Review which seeks to improve the borough’s prospects for jobs and opportunities in the years to 2030.

The Oldham Economic review calls for more manufacturing, business support, enterprise, and innovation to come to the borough and for Oldham to liaise with Innovation GM and network with Greater Manchester to bring emerging innovation projects to the borough’s town centre.

It also says the borough must develop a broader strategy for social enterprise.

In terms of education, the review says to make the borough's labour markets more competitive, there needs to be investment in adult skills, apprenticeships, and alternative forms of post-16 education to degrees.

It also calls on Oldham to pilot the Local Skills Improvement Plan model to address the skills supply and demand through a partnership between the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Oldham College.

A brownfield mill redevelopment project is urged to repurpose former mills and demonstrate new technologies and materials to develop civic pride and a 'sense of place'.

Lastly, the review recommends the set up of an independent levelling up board to oversee the delivery of the 2030 vision and report on the levelling up missions and targets.