Oldham is progressing with plans to build 140 affordable homes at an abandoned railway station.

The council agreed to sell off land at the former Oldham Mumps railway station, off Southlink, to construction company Vistry for development, despite the firm’s financial troubles earlier this month.

The firm made a bid to build 146 affordable and low-carbon homes on the site, which is co-owned by Oldham Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. 

Once built, 32 of the dwellings will be available for social rent, 77 for affordable rent (usually understood as 80 per cent of local rent) and 37 for shared ownership.

The homes will be fitted with heat pumps and insulation that stops heat escaping and saves energy.

At a cabinet meeting on Monday, October 14, Cllr Barbara Browndridge, the portfolio holder for housing, said: “This will be one of the first 100 percent low-carbon affordable housing developments in Greater Manchester, supporting our ambition to be the greenest borough.”

Cllr Abdul Jabbar, the financial lead, added that ‘the technology exists’ for Oldham’s dream to to be an environmentally friendly borough and that ‘it’s not imaginary, it’s doable’.

Meanwhile council leader Arooj Shah saw the development as a ‘huge’ win in light of the housing crisis faced by Oldham Council, with more than 7,000 residents on a waiting list for social housing. 

Cllr Shah said: “We’ve been talking for housing for so long. The fact that the whole entire development is going to be affordable is so huge. This is about doing the right thing. 

“The green element is also really significant, but when you bring that down to people, that also means they’ll have cheaper energy bills. It’s a win-win. I’m hoping this will just be the start of so many other developments that are economically viable [for our residents].” 

Started as part of Oldham’s ‘Creating a Better Place’ scheme in 2020, the project has previously encountered some snags.

A bid to sell off the land to Tilia Homes last year fell through when the building company decided to pull out of the deal last minute. 

And Oldham’s new partners, Vistry, (previously known as Bovis Homes) are currently encountering financial headaches of their own.

The company lost £1bn in value last week after having to issue a profit warning because the costs of a major project had been “understated”. 

Vistry have claimed the issues are ‘confined to the south division’, with Oldham council sources claiming it would ‘not impact’ their decision to go forward with the sale and that independent advisors had conducted ‘extra due diligence’ on the company. 

The value of the land has not been revealed, but any money received from the sale will be split between Oldham Council (who own 54.2 per cent) and TfGM (45.8 per cent).