Category: Oldham
The Lost Precinct: An A to Z of Defunct Retailers
Plus: References to branches which are now East of the M60 motorway
The Farnworth branch of Woolworths, prior to closure on the 06 January 2009. Photograph by Terry Wha (Creative Commons Attribution License).
This year and the last haven’t been a good one for retailers. This week has already seen the demise of Clintons Cards. In the last six months, we have seen Game close branches, news of fewer new Wetherspoon pubs opening the North of England and Greggs reporting a drop in sales. The rise of internet shopping may well be making a tangible affect on the retail trade as online shopping offers more convenience and choice.
Today, our streets are less diverse than they were 15 years ago. If you go back 25 to 30 years ago, they were even more diverse than in 1997. The chain stores had less than a national presence in 1982 compared with today’s high street. There was also regional chains with a clearly defined presence in certain parts of the United Kingdom.
For the purpose of this post, East of the M60 will take you on a stroll towards The Lost Precinct. The dark brown Austin Allegro is waiting outside your deck access Bison built flat. Continue reading
Reality Estates That the Heroes Got #2: Pearly Bank Flats, Sholver, Oldham
Another flawed yet well meaning housing estate in Oldham
By the end of the 1960s, Oldham was pretty much a guinea pig for futuristic housing estates using factory built parts. At that time, it assumed a space age air about itself, the epitome of a mill town rising from its Victorian past as concrete supplanted red brick. Its housing schemes in Fitton Hill and Limeside were well received, so much so that recent slum clearance and the introduction of proprietary building systems resulted in continued expansion. Continue reading
2012 Local Elections: So Solid Labour Crew Holds Tameside, Oldham and Rochdale
Business as usual, though with reinforcements:
- Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside remain Labour councils with increased majorities;
- Stockport now in no overall control following loss of Lib Dem leader;
For our area east of the M60 motorway, there were few surprises apart from the loss of Liberal Democrat votes to smaller parties and Labour. Even with the reassurance of the fact that only one third of the councils were up for election, last night was a pretty grim one for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. No amount of ‘it is only the mid term’ orientated excuses could escape the fact that Labour strongholds were further strengthened, even with depressed turnouts. Continue reading
An Easter Surprise for Oldham Schoolchildren
New Optare Versas set to whisk Oldham schoolchildren to class in style
New to Oldham Depot: First Manchester/TfGM Optare Versas. (Photo by Bungle666)
An easter egg in the form of new hybrid vehicles will be heading towards Oldham and Tameside. First Manchester has received a number of low carbon Optare Versas for TfGM’s Yellow School Bus services. Each vehicle will seat 57 pupils, the equivalent of two form groups including three teachers.
Rear view of Optare Versa. (Photo by Bungle666)
Everything’s Gone Green – in Dukinfield!
I can confirm that Dukinfield garage’s latest batch of hybrid Optare Solo SRs will be operational from the 15 April. The lucky recipients of these new vehicles will be passengers of the 41 route from Crowhill to Ashton-under-Lyne and Dukinfield (Tennyson Avenue). They will also be seen on the 419 route from Middleton to Ashton-under-Lyne. The new Solos will be allocated FirstGroup national fleet numbers 59010, 59011 and 59014 to 59016.
First’s new buses are part-funded by Transport for Greater Manchester via the Green Bus Fund and will be seen in TfGM’s yellow and green liveries respectively.
S.V., 06 April 2012.
Kind thanks go to Alan Siddall (Bungle666) for supplying the photographs.
Proven Signalling Technology Chosen for Metrolink Extensions
New tram control system chosen for superior reliability
The future of Metrolink signalling, as seen at Boughton on the Northampton and Lamport Railway. Photo by Ben Coulson (Creative Commons Attribution License)
With Transport for Greater Manchester aiming to get the Phase 3 Metrolink lines completed as quickly as possible, MPT have opted for tried and tested technologies. Known as ‘Absolute Block’, the system is the cheapest possible way of getting Greater Manchester’s light rail system running to time.
The flexibility of absolute block allows for easy working with road and rail sections of the Metrolink. As well as on the former BR lines, it can work in cooperation with existing traffic lights. On the East Manchester line, the forest of posts along Ashton New Road will carry telegraph cables. Subsidiary tram control centres, with links to the Queen’s Road signalling centre will be seen at Droylsden, using the Moss Tavern, the derelict Jubilee Inn between Shaw and New Hey, and the former Habitat store in Baguley.
The transition to this proven system will also see the creation of 21 jobs (seven at each STCC), and non of the glitches which have plagued its tests of the computerised tram control system. Reaction among the public in Droylsden, Hollinwood and West Didsbury, weary of shifting completion dates, have been positive.
“Absolute block has been with us since the opening of the world’s first inter-city line, which began in this fine city of ours” enthused Ralf Pilools.
“It is a proven technology. If it is good enough for the Flying Scotsman or today’s Pacer units, it can fit in with our Flexity Swift trams.”
S.V., 01 April 2012.
A Budget for Millionaires by Millionaires
East of the M60 on the 2012 Budget
- Pensioners pay for fat cat tax cuts;
- Top rate lowered from 50% to 45%;
- Corporation Tax lowered to 24% by next month;
- Plans for lower public sector pay outside London and South East England;
- Environmental corporate responsibility kicked into touch;
- State Pension eligibility stymied for poorer people;
- Lower rate threshold raised to £9,205 (from April 2013);
- Slight U-turn on child benefit cap;
- Hope Valley line upgrade and Northern Hub plans approved;
- 7% stamp duty on £2m plus properties;
- Usual rises in duty for cigarettes, beer (inflation+2%) and fuel.
Today saw George Osborne deliver what was a Conservative budget par excellence, even with its yellow bellied coalition partners on backing vocals. Apart from some welcome investment in the Northern Hub and the Hope Valley line, it had the usual hallmarks of a Tory budget such as handouts for the super-rich, benefit cuts and some cheaply deployed tax threshold changes. Continue reading
In Pictures: FirstGroup Liveries in Greater Manchester Through the Ages
A photographic journey of the many variations of FirstBus/FirstGroup liveries in Greater Manchester
Though the last week has seen First Manchester being reprimanded by Beverley Bell, the timing of FirstGroup’s new livery may be seen by some critics as a way to bury bad news. In the last week, I have seen one example in Ashton bus station on the 409 route. In my eyes, it was no great change on the ubiquitous Barbie livery, apart from the fact that 45˚ angle lines replaced the curved lines. Continue reading
Extreme Commuting: Any Fool in Rochdale Could Be In Wigan Before Lunchtime
Is it possible to find work 90 minutes away from home?
Easier Said Than Done: the joys of a 90 minute commute may seem good on paper, but can be a logistical nightmare if upset by delays, missed connections or cancellations. In quieter times, 158843 stands at Preston railway station en route to York - more than 90 minutes away.
From April of this year, jobseekers will be compelled to accept any job offer up to 90 minutes commute away from home. If the jobseeker turns down three suitable job offers – even if all three turn out to be 90 minutes away from home, he or she will have their Jobseekers’ Allowance suspended for three years. Continue reading
Reality Estates That the Heroes Got: St Mary’s Estate, Oldham
The first of a new series on East of the M60 about flawed yet well meaning housing estates
In 2012, it shames me to think that social housing contracts have reached an all time low – last year saw a 99% drop on 2010 figures. Some time in the 1960s, Labour and Conservative (yes, you did read that right, Conservative) councils and governments prided themselves on the amount of council houses. The start of the 1960s saw modernism adopted en masse as tower blocks sprouted in and around towns. As concrete supplanted bricks and terraces, the white heat of building technology was met with initial praise. Continue reading
East of the M60 Advent Calendar: 24 December 2011
24. Taking the Long Way Home for Christmas
Step Entrance Survivors: First Manchester's Mercedes-Benz 0.405s. Image by Ingy the Wingy (Creative Commons Attribution License)
For our final window, we have a bus that has travelled quite a distance before getting to Greater Manchester at the start of the 21st century.
Ladies and Gentlemen, our last Advent Bus Associated Picture is P548 BSS, a Mercedes-Benz O.405 with the Optare Prisma style of bodywork. Built in 1997, these were among First Aberdeen’s standard vehicles, and quite beefy specimens they are too! Their high powered engines saw regular service on the Uppermill routes, some peak hour 343 journeys and the 562 from Oldham to Halifax. In recent times, they’ve been seen on the 24 route, a limited-stop service from Manchester to Rochdale.
