{"id":645427,"date":"2025-12-21T02:56:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T02:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/645427\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T02:56:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T02:56:49","slug":"its-like-gutting-the-high-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/645427\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s like gutting the high street’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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?\"ShopShop owners are worried about a planned five-month road closure.<\/p>\n

Despite the freezing cold weather on a weekday morning, Uppermill\u2019s high street is buzzing.<\/p>\n

Groups of walkers duck into well-established cafes. Mums and dads with buggies weave between street Christmas<\/a> displays. Snippets of Canadian and Spanish accents mingle with the gentle Yorkshire-tinged lilt of locals.<\/p>\n

Unlike many across the country, the high street here is thriving.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s main entrances blocked off for up to five months.<\/p>\n

\"AA CGI mock-up of the view at the improved Greenfield station. (Image: Copyright Unknown)<\/p>\n

The closure could spell disaster for these small businesses, according to their owners.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>\u2019s only train station, including new accessibility features and building a new bridge over the train line.<\/p>\n

Saddleworth<\/a> locals have largely welcomed the changes, which they see as a \u2018crucial step\u2019 for the North West as a whole. But the works, due to take place in 2028, are sure to cause massive disruption to Uppermill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like gutting the high street,\u201d Sharon Kelly from Windsor Butchers said, when asked how the months-long closure might affect the area. She\u2019s been running her shop in Uppermill for two years, alongside a 13-year-old branch in Rochdale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"SharonSharon Kelly, of Windsor Butcher, was visibly taken aback by news of the planned closures. (Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know what the impact would be on us, in money terms,\u201d she said, looking visibly alarmed at the news. \u201cI didn\u2019t even know about it until now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/a>, and Manchester.<\/p>\n

The alternative routes would be via a narrow country lane, Ladcastle Road, or from the other side of the village on Dobcross New Road.<\/p>\n

\"HannahHannah Stratton, who has managed Lucy Cobb – a staple of Uppermill High Street – for eight years.(Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big concern for us because it\u2019s the main road into the village,\u201d Hannah Stratton told the M.E.N. at the entrance to Lucy Cobb, a lady\u2019s boutique that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as they have a proper diversion that would be workable. Even though five months is a long time,\u201d she continued. \u201cBut we had some weekend closures over the summer that they didn\u2019t signpost correctly. We saw a lot less people in the village, you could tell there was something up. We wouldn\u2019t survive that for five months.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few doors down, toddlers tuck into hot chocolates and cakes at a festively decorated cafe. The kids are carefree – the cake shop\u2019s owner is far from it.<\/p>\n

\"FelicityFelicity Mistry at The Cake Kitchen is worried the five-month closure could mean she has to shut down. (Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d probably have to close down,\u201d said Felicity Mistry, managing director of The Cake Kitchen. \u201cI don\u2019t have five months of savings, this is a small business. And lots of businesses here will be in the same boat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be horrific. We won\u2019t be able to access the bridge, meaning everyone will have to use the bypass behind Greenfield Station. It\u2019ll make it harder for staff to get in, let alone visitors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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\u2019re still open? It\u2019s when there\u2019s misleading signs and they don\u2019t put in proper diversions that it becomes a real problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Uppermill has been burned once before by \u2018misleading signs\u2019, many shopkeepers shared with the M.E.N.<\/p>\n

\"'It\u2019s‘It\u2019s a really great thing – if they do it right,’ says shop owner Bekka Simpson.(Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really great thing – if they do it right. The problem is, they usually don\u2019t!\u201d shop owner Bekka Simpson said. A comparatively new addition to the high street, Bekka has been running Suki\u2019s Wardrobe, a woman-led fashion business, since shortly after the pandemic.<\/p>\n

The shop\u2019s social media account went viral earlier this year when Bekka instagrammed the \u2018dead\u2019 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 \u2018high street as closed\u2019, even though most of it was still accessible, Bekka explained.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cPeople are very sensitive to changes like that. The whole village was dead on a bank holiday weekend, that\u2019s unheard of. It cost the shop a lot – more than a grand in intake, and that was just one weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as long as they redirect people effectively, and make sure people know the business are still open, it shouldn\u2019t be too bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UppermillUppermill High Street on a quiet day.(Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

Others weren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a nightmare getting in and out of the village,\u201d Elisabeth Browne, who has just taken over management of the Weaver & Wilde cafe. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult enough getting deliveries at the moment, because there\u2019s nowhere to park up and the vans just have to stop the traffic.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the closure will mean even more traffic through the village. Our deliveries will be near impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I imagine a lot of people just won\u2019t bother. Which will mean a big loss of footfall for us. It will have a massive impact on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

But one of the biggest issues faced by shop owners is the lack of information. The project is still two years ago, but they\u2019ll need \u2018as much time as possible\u2019 to future-proof their businesses.<\/p>\n

\"'It‘It will be a nightmare getting in and out of the village,’ says Elisabeth Browne.(Image: Charlotte Hall)<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently, we just don\u2019t know enough,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the time we can still have an influence on how they organise the road closures,\u201d Coun Bishop said. \u201cBut we need to get the word out there, because most business owners just don\u2019t know about this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been given a time scale of 20 weeks. But we want to know what the highways plan is. We aren\u2019t being included in the planning conversations to the level that we want to be. This summer was a botch job, we don\u2019t want that to happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Ashton<\/a>, Sponsor for Transpennine Route Upgrade said: \u201cWe understand how important Saddleworth\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"AA CGI illustration of the new road and foot bridges. (Image: Network Rail)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019re 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\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A major new infrastructure project will benefit the whole of the North West – but does it come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,85251,2465,1836,1286,14984,285,49364,1263,16,15,104522],"class_list":{"0":"post-645427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-greenfield","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-network-rail","14":"tag-oldham","15":"tag-oldham-council","16":"tag-politics","17":"tag-saddleworth-and-lees","18":"tag-transport","19":"tag-uk","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-uppermill"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115755316920119308","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=645427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}