A major new infrastructure project will benefit the whole of the North West – but does it come at the cost of a thriving high street?
Shop owners are worried about a planned five-month road closure.
Despite the freezing cold weather on a weekday morning, Uppermill’s high street is buzzing.
Groups of walkers duck into well-established cafes. Mums and dads with buggies weave between street Christmas displays. Snippets of Canadian and Spanish accents mingle with the gentle Yorkshire-tinged lilt of locals.
Unlike many across the country, the high street here is thriving.
But there are fears in some quarters that could all be about to change. A major infrastructure project for the north could see one of the village’s main entrances blocked off for up to five months.
A CGI mock-up of the view at the improved Greenfield station. (Image: Copyright Unknown)
The closure could spell disaster for these small businesses, according to their owners.
The Transpennine Route Upgrade is a major undertaking by Network Rail to improve connectivity between Manchester and Leeds and electrify the railway lines. The scheme also includes a major overhaul of the nearby Greenfield Station, Oldham’s only train station, including new accessibility features and building a new bridge over the train line.
Saddleworth locals have largely welcomed the changes, which they see as a ‘crucial step’ for the North West as a whole. But the works, due to take place in 2028, are sure to cause massive disruption to Uppermill.
“It’s like gutting the high street,” Sharon Kelly from Windsor Butchers said, when asked how the months-long closure might affect the area. She’s been running her shop in Uppermill for two years, alongside a 13-year-old branch in Rochdale.
Sharon Kelly, of Windsor Butcher, was visibly taken aback by news of the planned closures. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
She has some loyal local customers, but like most of the highstreet, she relies on the heavy tourist footfall on weekends and holidays to keep the books balanced.
“I don’t even know what the impact would be on us, in money terms,” she said, looking visibly alarmed at the news. “I didn’t even know about it until now.”
The TRU plans involve demolishing and replacing most of the existing Grade-II listed bridge that carries Oldham Road (A670) over the rail line. It would wipe out the most direct route into the village from Oldham town centre, Tameside, and Manchester.
The alternative routes would be via a narrow country lane, Ladcastle Road, or from the other side of the village on Dobcross New Road.
Hannah Stratton, who has managed Lucy Cobb – a staple of Uppermill High Street – for eight years.(Image: Charlotte Hall)
“It’s a big concern for us because it’s the main road into the village,” Hannah Stratton told the M.E.N. at the entrance to Lucy Cobb, a lady’s boutique that’s been a staple of the Uppermill high street for almost two decades. Hannah, who has managed the shop for eight years, was one of the few shop managers who had heard of the incoming closure.
“As long as they have a proper diversion that would be workable. Even though five months is a long time,” she continued. “But we had some weekend closures over the summer that they didn’t signpost correctly. We saw a lot less people in the village, you could tell there was something up. We wouldn’t survive that for five months.”
A few doors down, toddlers tuck into hot chocolates and cakes at a festively decorated cafe. The kids are carefree – the cake shop’s owner is far from it.
Felicity Mistry at The Cake Kitchen is worried the five-month closure could mean she has to shut down. (Image: Charlotte Hall)
“I’d probably have to close down,” said Felicity Mistry, managing director of The Cake Kitchen. “I don’t have five months of savings, this is a small business. And lots of businesses here will be in the same boat.
“It’s going to be horrific. We won’t be able to access the bridge, meaning everyone will have to use the bypass behind Greenfield Station. It’ll make it harder for staff to get in, let alone visitors.
“It does depend a bit on what time of year they do it – and how. Maybe it could still work if we do lots of advertising saying we’re still open? It’s when there’s misleading signs and they don’t put in proper diversions that it becomes a real problem.”
But Uppermill has been burned once before by ‘misleading signs’, many shopkeepers shared with the M.E.N.
‘It’s a really great thing – if they do it right,’ says shop owner Bekka Simpson.(Image: Charlotte Hall)
“It’s a really great thing – if they do it right. The problem is, they usually don’t!” shop owner Bekka Simpson said. A comparatively new addition to the high street, Bekka has been running Suki’s Wardrobe, a woman-led fashion business, since shortly after the pandemic.
The shop’s social media account went viral earlier this year when Bekka instagrammed the ‘dead’ streets of Uppermill during a weekend of road closures as part of initial works for TRU. Without informing businesses in the village, signs had gone up claiming the ‘high street as closed’, even though most of it was still accessible, Bekka explained.
She said: “People are very sensitive to changes like that. The whole village was dead on a bank holiday weekend, that’s unheard of. It cost the shop a lot – more than a grand in intake, and that was just one weekend.”
“But as long as they redirect people effectively, and make sure people know the business are still open, it shouldn’t be too bad.”
Uppermill High Street on a quiet day.(Image: Charlotte Hall)
Others weren’t so sure. Even with decent sign-posting, the increase in traffic could cause major issues for those trying to eke out a living in the hospitality and retail sector.
“It will be a nightmare getting in and out of the village,” Elisabeth Browne, who has just taken over management of the Weaver & Wilde cafe. “It’s difficult enough getting deliveries at the moment, because there’s nowhere to park up and the vans just have to stop the traffic.
“But the closure will mean even more traffic through the village. Our deliveries will be near impossible.
“And I imagine a lot of people just won’t bother. Which will mean a big loss of footfall for us. It will have a massive impact on us.”
But one of the biggest issues faced by shop owners is the lack of information. The project is still two years ago, but they’ll need ‘as much time as possible’ to future-proof their businesses.
‘It will be a nightmare getting in and out of the village,’ says Elisabeth Browne.(Image: Charlotte Hall)
“Currently, we just don’t know enough,” Felicity told the M.E.N., a sentiment echoed by almost every single business owner we spoke to. The cause has been picked up by local councillor Helen Bishop, who organised a meeting for business owners earlier this month.
“Now is the time we can still have an influence on how they organise the road closures,” Coun Bishop said. “But we need to get the word out there, because most business owners just don’t know about this.
“We’ve been given a time scale of 20 weeks. But we want to know what the highways plan is. We aren’t being included in the planning conversations to the level that we want to be. This summer was a botch job, we don’t want that to happen again.”
Mark Ashton, Sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade said: “We understand how important Saddleworth’s businesses are to the local community, and we recognise the concerns raised about the impact of the proposed road closures included within the Transport and Works Act order.
A CGI illustration of the new road and foot bridges. (Image: Network Rail)
The upgrades planned in this area are essential to delivering the Transpennine Route Upgrade, which will enable faster, more reliable and greener trains to run across the route and provide the local community with a modern, accessible station. This will bring more customers into Uppermill, supporting local businesses and creating long-term economic benefits.
Following feedback from previous highways changes earlier in the year, we understand the need for clearer signage and more proactive communication with businesses, ahead of any work taking place. We’re already working closely with Highways colleagues at Oldham Council and local partners to ensure that access to High Street is maintained wherever it is safe to do so, and that signage accurately reflects that businesses remain open”.