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Oldham is leading the way for a positive strategy for the industrial heritage of the borough and this work complements Historic England’s wider project Mills of the North.

The Oldham Mills Strategy was commissioned by Oldham Council and Historic England in order to develop a positive strategy for the sustainable future of the textile mill stock across Oldham.

The Oldham Mills Strategy identifies the non-listed mills across Oldham which are of particular landscape and heritage value and sets out a robust strategy to ensure their sustainable future, which considers their potential for future development for residential, employment and other uses.

This is also part of our positive approach to making the most efficient use of brownfield land and existing buildings, reducing the need for additional pressure on greenfield sites and reducing our carbon footprint. The reuse of mills can add to local distinctiveness as part of place making, attract investment and help retain Oldham’s strong identity.

The Mill Strategy sets out policy recommendations for the conservation of the mill stock based on levels of priority relative to the landscape and heritage value of individual mills. The strategy also sets out a number of key actions to support the Council in ensuring the sustainable future of the mill stock.

The Mills Strategy assessed:

  • Needs analysis (housing and employment) (section 3)
  • Landscape (section 4)
  • Heritage significance (section 5)
  • Housing potential (section 6)
  • Employment potential (section 7)

Section 8 categorises individual mills as high, medium or low priority based upon the landscape, heritage and housing / employment assessments.

Section 9 summarises findings of the study and outlines key policy recommendations. 

A separate report feeding into the Mills Strategy is a landscape overview providing an overall analysis of the contribution existing mills make to the landscape character of Oldham.

The Mills Strategy can be viewed below: