A series of stunning pictures show Oldham from above as plans to transform the town beyond all recognition get underway.

The shots show several major landmarks of the town – from Tommyfield Market to the Civic Centre and Manchester Chambers – many of which are tipped for demolition.

A major regeneration project led by the council and developer firm Muse has earmarked six major sites for redevelopment.

Aerial View over Tommyfield Market and the changes coming to Oldham | Sean Hansford/Manchester Evening News/LDRS

placeholder image — Aerial View over Tommyfield Market and the changes coming to Oldham | Sean Hansford/Manchester Evening News/LDRS

Most involve bulldozing old buildings that are ‘no longer fit for purpose’, according to the local authority, or making use of previously developed land in the town centre.

These include plans to turn the Civic Tower into a hotel; demolishing the rest of the Civic Centre and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham’s Modernist events venue; demolishing the disused shopping arcade behind the Manchester Chambers; demolishing the Tommyfield Market; and making use of the former leisure centre and Magistrate’s Courts sites, which were demolished several years ago.

Most of the buildings will make way for new apartment blocks with up to 2,000 new apartments, green space and retail units in their ground floors.

Aerial view of all the changes coming to Oldham. Marked in orange: all the buildings that may no longer be part of Oldham's skyline in the future, or will be altered unrecognisably. Marked in blue: new buildings and projects that have already change. | LDRS

The majority of projects have gained ‘outline planning permission’ – meaning they are approved ‘in principle’ but further details will have to be submitted to town planners. Muse is now looking for investors and developers to take over the schemes.

The aerial views even reveal preparatory work already underway at the former leisure centre, for which the council gained planning permission in 2024.

The pictures capture sights that may vanish within the decade, as Oldham undergoes a dizzying program of change.

Those changes are already underway – with the Egyptian Room food court now open on Yorkshire Street, the Spindles shopping centre transformed partly into council offices and the Old Library – now the J.R. Clynes Building – turned into a new town hall. Later this year, ‘The Loom’, a new events venue which will contain the replacement market for Tommyfield, is also due to open.

But with more to come, Oldham residents could soon be walking into a town centre with a very different look to the one captured in these images – images which could soon become a testament to the town’s history.