Architectural Disaster of the Month: St. Peter’s Precinct, Oldham

A new series from East of the M60

Any readers of this blog who lived or shopped in Oldham, nearing, or have passed their 30s may remember St. Peter’s Shopping Precinct.  Opened in 1967, it was to become Oldham’s (as we call it in 21st century parlance) retail destination, attracting the major names.  Influenced by the popular Merseyway centre in Stockport, it was hoped that the winning formula would work in Oldham.

The precinct was a mixed-use development before the term was invented.  It was flanked by offices (most of which let by the North West Health Authority) and offered subway access to Henshaw Street, Cheapside and Manchester Street.  The subways linked the centre with the market hall and the C&A department store, enabling shoppers to avoid the Market Place roundabout.

Given the cold Oldham weather, Its windswept location won few friends with shoppers and retailers.  The subway link from the precinct to C&A acted as a wind tunnel, which was exacerbated by the precinct being fairly open.  The layout didn’t seem to have helped either, which must have made it seem like a muggers’ paradise.

For most of its time, empty units plagued the precinct.  The precinct’s anchor store was a TESCO, opened by Ken Dodd in 1968.  The Post Office was moved to the precinct from Union Street, to a unit overlooking George Street near the TESCO store.  A NORWEB showrooms took up a unit under the office block.  The rest of the precinct included a handful of chain store retailers and independently owned shops, and a café.  This was on the side of a stepped ramp ideal for skateboarding fanatics.  At the most easterly part of the precinct on the ground floor was the Job Centre.

I would say that St Peter’s Precinct failed in Oldham due to: 1) the layout; 2) the town’s cold weather; and 3) its windswept location.  The design may have worked better in a location with a warmer climate than Oldham.  I can recall the precinct in its twilight years and loved how the whole thing was like a giant climbing frame.  It could have made a good open air laser shooting venue on Sundays and Bank Holidays – though even in the summertime, I would have needed that Fair Isle sweater!

I also remember in recent times reading a historical feature on the precinct in the Oldham Chronicle, and it showed a picture of how Phase 2 would have looked.  St. Peter’s Precinct was originally going to be done in two phases, albeit with windy open air shops continuing on what is now the Town Square Shopping Centre.

Instead, a private company took on Phase 2, and learning the lessons of its predecessor, made the precinct fully enclosed.  This was opened in 1981.  12 years later, St Peter’s Precinct was replaced by Spindles Shopping Centre.  It was a breath of fresh air from the windswept subways of its predecessor.  C&A also moved into the new shopping centre, dispelling the risk of hypothermia.  Both centres are linked internally, and the transition from the older Town Square centre to the Spindles is seamless.

S.V., 29 April 2009

Transport Related Literary Classics: The Not So Perfect 10

Had it not been for the actions of the AQA to include the Metrolink timetable as part of an ‘A’ Level literary syllabus, this post would not have been possible.  Thanks to reports in the local and national press around November 2008, it had got me thinking ‘Yes! The 1972 SELNEC Southern timetable will be rated alongside the Bronte Sisters, Charles Dickens and Homer’  If my school’s English Literature syllabus included the Teen Travel Club leaflet from 1984 rather than The Merchant of Venice, that B would have been upgraded to a juicy A*.

My transport related literary classics are:

1. Metro Maps Of The World: Mark Ovenden (2004);
2. The Picc-Vic Project: GMC/Greater Manchester Transport (1974);
3. North Western Road Car Company Timetable: BET (1968);
4. There’s A Fare Deal For You: Greater Manchester Transport (1983);
5. Greater Manchester Buses: Stewart J Brown (1995);
6. To Market To Market By Bus: Greater Manchester Transport (1982);
7. 10 Years of Progress (1974 – 1984): West Yorkshire PTE (1985);
8. Bradford Interchange: West Yorkshire PTE (1978);
9. Merseyside PTE railway timetables (1990 – 2006);
10. New York Metro Map (1972).

How can a book about transit maps be fascinating?  Mark Ovenden proves that it can be possible.  Metro Maps Of The World categories every metro map from the most elaborate (London Underground for instance) to more modest systems and projected ones too.  Within this book is a history of how some maps evolved over the years, with some more concise references to the Melbourne system, Dublin DART rail and our very own Metrolink.

Also consider reading: Henry Beck: a similar book by the same author on the creator of the London Underground map.

Had it not been for Westminster pushing us from pillar to post, we would have had something more substantial than the Metrolink, a north-south heavy rail link with services from Bolton, Bury and Oldham to all points south.  The fact it took over a century for Manchester to have a north-south based rail connection is scandalous (though that’s best left for another post), but this could have been possible – by 1980 – if The Picc-Vic Project was fully implemented.  The reader is greeted with a cover of a possible subterranean Royal Exchange station and a train similar to BR’s Class 508 EMUs.  The book details possible bus/rail interchanges, service frequencies and has its roots in SELNEC’s Lifeline 2000 book.

Also consider reading: Lifeline 2000: SELNEC’s precursor to The Picc-Vic Project route.

Till 1972, Stockport, parts of south Manchester, Trafford, Glossop and Tameside were served by the North Western Road Car Company as well as SELNEC and municipal operators before then.  North Western’s bus services within Greater Manchester were absorbed by SELNEC and were briefly part of the National Bus Company.  Their 1968 timetable was their last pre-NBC era one.  As well as all its bus routes, reference is made to its summer holiday services, some from other operators and British Rail services.  Also listed is information of market days, half-day closing and bus/rail through-ticketing.  A fantastic publication.  If only today’s bus timetables were that informative. 

Also worth reading: any of Derbyshire County Council’s trio of timetables – a must for exploring the Peak District, Bolsover Castle or Uttoxeter for JCB’s Diggerland.

With Britain in the cut and thrust of recession, and a Tory Government inflicted fares increase in 1981, Labour took over GMC’s County Hall with a promise to freeze bus fares.  Another strategy was the expansion of off-bus ticket sales, started by its predecessor.  This included the new Teen Travel Club and Wayfarer tickets.  The most thorough leaflet on this was A Fare Deal For You.  The leaflet is also a good source book for 1980s fashions as well as Saver Sales points.  Also included are the ticketing boundaries, details of mobile Saver Sales outlets and (in the 1983 leaflet) news of fare reductions!

Also worth reading: Teen Travel Club leaflets, 1984 – 1986.  It is worth a peek for the fashions alone.

No enthusiast of Greater Manchester Transport should have a bookshelf without this tome.  Greater Manchester Buses by Stewart J Brown is probably the definitive reference on all things in the Greater Manchester bus world from SELNEC to the government enforced split of GM Buses.  Almost everything from Clippercards to Citibus is mentioned.  My copy has taken pride of place for nearly 10 years and is one of my most read books besides the Argos and IKEA catalogues.  The only downside is due to the book being 13 years old at this time of writing, Greater Manchester now needs a definitive reference of the bus scene since deregulation.  2013 could be the best year to start writing this section (covering the last 25 years of deregulation), as by then we may or may not see the congestion charge imposed and the changes to our transport network.

Also worth reading: 75 Years of Mayne’s Coaches, Mark Hughes (1995): this as well as covering the famed coach operator, offers excellent background reading on operations in the deregulation era.

In the First Dole Age of the last generation (1982 to be precise), Greater Manchester Transport set about promoting recreational usage of their buses to arrest falling patronage caused by high unemployment.  Among its leaflets was the excellent To Market To Market By Bus.  This provided the would-be traveller with information on markets in the Greater Manchester area from Bury market to Partington’s outdoor market.  As one would expect, the centre pages included a map of its frequent bus routes and the market locations. 

Also worth reading: To Market By Bus (National Bus Company, 1983), or The Big Shopping Book (GM Buses, 1989).

I only ever remember seeing this book once at a transport fair and didn’t buy it till recently (my purchase coming from an Uppermill bookshop).  I should have done though, but 10 Years of Progress (1974 – 1984) by West Yorkshire PTE is a curio itself.  The book is an affectionate history of West Yorkshire PTE’s achievements.  These include the Saverstrip – their equivalent of the Clippercard, cheap off-peak travel and its terminal like bus stations.  Even now, its bus stations are streets ahead of their neighbours in Greater Manchester.  Sadly since then the Metro-National company was disbanded and is like Greater Manchester in being the domain of FirstGroup, Stagecoach and Arriva.

Also worth reading: any annual report of the PTE operators, which come close to this work.

Among West Yorkshire PTE’s crowning glories was Bradford Interchange.  So much so that in 1978, West Yorkshire PTE published a glossy softback brochure.  The brochure details how the depot is placed below the bus station level, its separate coach station, railway station and wealth of car parks.  This was anchored by the proposed central offices for West Yorkshire PTE (though used for the Bradford District only).  Bradford Interchange has since changed radically with bus and coach facilities on a single terminal and half the site taken up by offices.  The railway station has changed little apart from the buffet bar which is a crew change room for First West Yorkshire.  The depot has since closed and is now a bingo hall.

Also worth reading: GMPTE’s brochure on Hyde bus station (2005) or Bury Interchange (Greater Manchester Transport, 1980).

The typical bus, rail or tram timetable details its times by means of the 24 hour clock with the times being read from top to bottom.  Exceptions to this rule included Trent Barton and Merseytravel PTE who chose the 12 hour clock.  The latter decided to display their times from left to right.  A Southport to Liverpool service would see Bootle Oriel Street at the centre right of the timetable rather than near the bottom.  Another detail was that am and pm times were shaded in different colours.  In recent years, Merseytravel have opted for standard top to bottom timetables with the 24 hour clock.  Their previous layout, though unusual in the UK is common practice in the USA.

Also worth reading: any USA based transit authority’s timetable/schedule.

For my final transport literary classic, I recommend the New York Metro’s transit map.  Designed in 1972, it has formed the template for most modern day transport maps, though its roots lie in the older London Underground map.  The difference is that the diagonal lines are presented in a 45° angle and without the softer curves.  Even in 2008, the design remains timeless.  The New York Metro has (sadly) disposed of the 1972 design, with its Helvetica typeface – which no doubt inspired Greater Manchester Transport in 1974.

Also worth reading: any British Rail/National Rail map since the early 1980s.  I especially recommend the 1989 Network Northwest map due to its closeness to the New York Metro – before they thought of copying Henry Beck’s London Underground map.

S.V., 29 April 2009

Save Our ‘Spotters

So, almost four years since 7/7, almost eight years since 9/11, and a host of anti-terrorism laws during then. Have these laws stopped any terrorists? Are we a more illiberal country than we were in 2001?

I would yes to the latter, though I would say the UK ceased to be a free country since the Miners’ Strike. This point refers to the activities of the government in relation to the castration of trade union power and an organised working class.

Now, it seems that anti-terror laws are used more popularly for targeting trainspotters and photographers. How far do we need to go before we target anyone with a camera? Will Flickr, Photobucket and company be closed down? Would all Ian Allan Bookshops in future be treated the same as adult shops with opaque window displays?

Trainspotting is a harmless hobby, as is collecting numbers of other forms of public transport. It is the thrill of the chase, though this chase is less pleasurable as most passenger trains are electric or diesel multiple units of some description. In these cash strapped times, trainspotting can be a cheap hobby, if you live close to a main line. Plus you don’t always need a camera, as a discrete notebook and pen could suffice.

Most trainspotters seem to mind their own business and not bother any one, but they seem to be a threat to the rail franchises. Other than the anti-terror angle, I reckon it is more to do with money and them (to the companies) taking up precious space on the platform.

They may claim that trainspotters standing on the platform edge do not generate enough profits.  Au contraire.  How else would we have saved the Settle and Carlisle line or our steam trains without the derring do of the rail enthusiast?  In fact, rail enthusiasts and spotters probably do more for the railways.  Without them we wouldn’t have had steam trains doing Summer Sundays on the Settle and Carlisle, numerous other railtours, or restored stations.

Note to jobsworths harassing our spotters: leave them alone if they’re not bothering the travelling public.  They too may be one of them waiting for trains.

S.V., 05 April 2009.