Part of iconic mill complex to be transformed into warehouses

An iconic former cotton mill in Oldham that has helped provide jobs for the local community for more than a century could soon be getting a modern extension. The car park of Gorse Mill in Chadderton is due to be transformed into 10 new warehouses. 

The application by Peter Kashem of Cascade Holdings Limited was approved by Oldham councillors at a planning meeting on Wednesday, August 13. 

The plans were resubmitted to the council after previous planning permission from 2021 expired following three years of no development. Now it is hoped building will commence on the site, bringing new jobs and businesses to the ‘underused’ parking area.

Councillor Josh Charters said: “This will bring jobs and opportunity to Chadderton, so it’s a welcome development in the town.”

The project next to Gorse Mill – currently home to Cascade and an outbuilding with a lighting shop and a nursery – will add around 1009 square metres of warehousing space, equivalent to around 2.5 basketball fields, or four tennis courts. These would be split into ten equal-sized units across two blocks, with six units and four units on either side of a lawn. 

The new employment area next to Gorse Street would have two turning points for vehicles and still retain 43 parking spaces. 

In the application, developers described how the site had been used as an employment area ‘for in excess of 110 years, with occupiers changing to reflect current demands, technological improvements and business achievements’. The cotton mill was built in 1911 after designs by Chadderton-born architect Philip Sidney Stott, who also designed Ace Mill on the same road. 

A townhall planner said of the application: “The proposal would enhance the viability of the established business employment site on site and would help to retain / create new employment opportunities thereby boosting the local economy.” 

The plans were unanimously approved at one of Oldham’s speediest planning meetings this year, with the whole affair lasting little more than 20 minutes.