Oldham has moved a step closer to hosting what project partners call the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park after Oldham Council and the local charity Northern Roots formally took handover of the site’s new Welcome Building and Forestry Skills Centre.
What has been completed
The long-running redevelopment of roughly 160 acres of underused land beside Alexandra Park now includes a central building with a café, shop and production kitchen, together with two flexible spaces designed for school visits, community events, meetings, exhibitions and performances. The site is intended to be a year-round destination for nature, learning and local enterprise.
“UK’s largest urban farm and eco park”
What residents can expect
Northern Roots intends the site to combine publicly accessible green space with practical food-growing areas and habitats. Plans already published by the charity set out targets for visitor numbers, formal education and health-related activity:
- Up to 300,000 visitors a year by 2030
- 4,500 school visits annually
- 300 nature-based ‘health prescriptions’ delivered every year
Jobs, training and environment
Delivering the scheme is expected to create volunteering, training and employment opportunities for local people. Northern Roots has published projections that include provision for 150 volunteering placements, support for around 60–80 jobs and backing for up to 40 new businesses on the site. Environmental measures are also part of the plan, with new woodland and wetland habitat, renewable energy generation and the stated aim of storing tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon.
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Annual visitors (by 2030) | 300,000 |
| Annual school visits | 4,500 |
| Annual nature-based health prescriptions | 300 |
| Volunteering placements | 150 |
| Jobs supported | 60–80 |
| New businesses supported | Up to 40 |
Food and community activity
The Welcome Building houses a production kitchen and café intended to link directly with the urban farm. Visitors will be able to see fruit, vegetables and herbs grown on site before they are used in the café. The project has also announced a partnership with food professional Mary-Ellen McTague, who is named as the scheme’s chef partner and will lead menu development and help recruit key café roles.
For Oldham residents, the immediate change will be the availability of new community spaces and an expanding programme of events, volunteering and education. Over the longer term the scheme aims to combine local employment, enterprise and ecological benefit on a substantial site that has been underused for years.
Further practical details on opening dates, volunteering sign-up and the first public events have not been published in full yet; residents should expect phased launches as buildings and outdoor spaces are completed and safety and access checks are finished.
