THE construction of the first building at The Mills in Hollinwood development in Oldham has begun this week.

Building works on the Annie Kennedy Mill, named after the famous Oldham born suffragette hero, have started after Triton Construction secured a £3.5 million contract to deliver the first of three commercial developments at the site.

The 4.5-acre disused site just off Junction 22 of the M60 and adjacent to Metrolink Hollinwood Tram Station, will eventually include seven new office buildings of varying size.

The development will be delivered in three phases over the next three years.

The Annie Kennedy Mill will offer 20,000 square feet with the potential to be split into six office suites.

The buildings are set to be naturally ventilated with heating and cooling provided by an energy-efficient heat-recovery air-source heat pump installation.

LED lighting with daylight harvesting controls, to allow natural light to offset energy costs, are also to be installed and solar-generated electricity will be created using roof-mounted panels.

Electric Vehicle (EV) charging points will also be available as part of the parking provision.

Paul Clarkson, managing director at Triton Construction, said: “We hope to be able to deliver further phases for this development which is a great boost for our Northwest office which continues to go from strength to strength.

“In the last 12 months we have grown the regional operation by around 30 per cent with contracts including the refurbishment of the iconic Royal Liver building, Mersey Reach for Chancerygate and ongoing new developments for SureStore.” 

Su Schofield at The Mills Hollinwood Ltd, added: “We are really keen to invest in the Hollinwood area, so it is exciting to finally get this development out of the ground”.