Oldham’s Parliament Square will begin to change dramatically this week, with the demolition of the former TJ Hughes getting underway to make room for a new market and events space.

The works will see Town Square Car Park closed and parking moved to Spindles Car Park from mid-to-late March.

According to the council, the revamp of Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre is now well underway, with plans to turn the area into a multi-purpose site with leisure, retail, offices, the new market and a new business enterprise centre for the borough.

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Machinery arrived on site last week, following significant work to prepare for the demolition project, and work was set to get underway to take down the TJ Hughes section on Monday (February 27).

Cllr Amanda Chadderton, leader of the council, said: “This is an exciting milestone in our ambitious regeneration plans, which are now progressing at pace and making Oldham an even better place where people want to live, work and visit.

“We are grateful to the support of businesses around the site – who we’re working closely with during these changes to ensure they can continue operating successfully while we complete this vital project.

“We appreciate that this will be a challenging time for those who work and run businesses close to this area and we value their support, as these works are vital to create a vibrant Oldham town centre of the future.”

The work is part of the wider town centre re-development – repurposing the empty space in Spindles to create a 450,000 sq. ft (41,800 square metres) development that will be home to a new space for Tommyfield Market, a food court, an event space, offices, and co-working space for local enterprises and businesses.

The Oldham Times: The site as it looked on Thursday, January 5The site as it looked on Thursday, January 5 (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

Alongside this, work is taking place in other areas of the town centre to repurpose the Old Library into a new public gallery and community space, as well as a council chamber. Work is also underway to turn the Egyptian Room into a modern food hall.

During the demolition work, hoardings around the former TJ Hughes will be extended and there will be noise disruption and additional road closures.

Works within the site will last for approximately 12 weeks.

The sequence of works will start from the top of Parliament Square, near Yorkshire Street, working down towards the Ashcroft Street side of the building.

During the demolition period, there will be management techniques in place to reduce the disruption to the environment and surrounding businesses. 

The existing site will need to be extended from mid to late March 2023, with a road closure and diversion in place for the remainder of the demolition period up to May 2023.

According to the council, this is to allow the demolition machine to work within the area safely.

Road closures and diversions will be needed to allow the demolition site to be extended.