New growing hub to be created in Oldham as part of huge Northern Roots eco park

direct to your inboxPolice investigating a drive-by shooting in Newton Heath have arrested another two men.A gunman opened fire as three high-powered cars raced through the suburb in the middle of the day on Tuesday (January 19).A car not involved in the fracas was hit with a stray bullet.A detective has described the incident as “shockingly dangerous and reckless”.Following a series of raids across addresses in Manchester and Oldham, a 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted

direct to your inboxA year ago I would not have expected to be standing in front of a masked uniformed soldier while he mixed a vial containing some of my saliva.But this is 2021, and rapid coronavirus testing for people without symptoms is set to become a normal part of life in Oldham.The council and British army have teamed up to roll out four new testing sites which will offer lateral flow tests to residents who cannot work from home, similar to the mass testing programme which began in

direct to your inboxFlood alerts are in place tonight in Oldham and Tameside with images showing the River Tame reaching 'extremely high water levels'.Storm Christoph continues to bring torrential rain across Greater Manchester and it is forecast to continue into Thursday morning.

direct to your inbox A man who died in a crash between a motorbike and car in Oldham has been named as Wayne Heath. Emergency services rushed to Ashton Road at around 4.10pm on Monday (January 19).It followed reports that a Vauxhall Insignia and Yamaha motorbike had collided near the junction with Hathershaw Lane.Mr Heath, 54, sadly died at the scene.A spokesperson for Rochdale Coroner's Court confirmed a file had been received regarding Mr Heath's death.

direct to your inboxTwenty-seven more people have died in Greater Manchester's hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus.The region's hospital death toll has now reached 4,645, the latest NHS figures show.Nine more deaths have been recorded at Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.The trust's figures include those for North Manchester General, the Royal Oldham, Fairfield General and Rochdale Infirmary.Eight further deaths were confirmed by Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation

direct to your inbox A man has died after a crash between a motorbike and car in Oldham. The smash happened at around 4.10pm on Monday (January 18) on Ashton Road.A Vauxhall Insignia and Yamaha motorbike collided near the junction with Hathershaw Lane, police said.The motorcyclist - a 54-year-old man - was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.A 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

direct to your inbox A road is closed in Oldham due to a serious crash between a car and a motorbike.

direct to your inboxFirst you had to get past the fearsome bouncer in a dickie bow.Then you had to navigate the narrow, rickety staircase - no mean feat if you'd had a few.But if you managed that you were almost certainly in for a good night. If you were a New Romantic, a punk or an indie kid in Oldham anytime from the late 70s to the late 90s chances are you went to Dreamers.

direct to your inboxThere has been major response from emergency services in Oldham town centre following a three car crash this afternoon.There are at least six casualties at the scene on King Street and an air ambulance landed at around 3pm.Police, paramedics and the fire service are also at the scene and surrounding roads are closed.Firefighters were attending to a blue vehicle which had flipped onto its roof.In a tweet, officers from GMP Oldham warned people to avoid the area."Police

direct to your inboxThe church itself is unremarkable.But inside its sacred walls is artwork of 'dazzling beauty'.A 1955 mural by Hungarian George Mayer-Marton of Christ on the cross dominates the interior of Holy Rosary RC Church in Oldham.But the building stands empty, and closed for good, its congregation scattered.Redundant for three years, it is now at risk from developers.It will never be considered of sufficient importance to be given listed building status.But a national campaign has

direct to your inbox Rapid symptom-free coronavirus testing is to begin in Oldham on Monday.

direct to your inboxA man found with a gun at his house during a police raid has been jailed. Officers, part of an operation tackling serious and organised crime, raided the home of Scott Robinson, 43, on Higher Lime Road in the Limeside area of Oldham last October.

direct to your inboxThe military has been drafted in to help launch rapid Covid-19 testing for key workers without symptoms of the virus in Oldham.From Monday, January 18 people who work in public-facing jobs and key workers who find it hard to socially distance at work will be able to access tests which give results within 30 minutes.More than 5,000 businesses in the borough have been written to with details on how to access the sites.Bosses say the asymptomatic testing will play an important

direct to your inboxA safety scheme could be put in place on a road where three teenage girls were injured in a crash.Two 16-year-old girls were taken to hospital with serious injuries – including a head injury – following the smash in Failsworth on Monday, January 4.The girls, along with a third girl, 16, who suffered minor injuries, were passengers in a car involved in a collision on Propps Hall Drive at around 6.30pm.The road was closed from the junctions with Greaves Avenue to Marlborough

direct to your inboxTwo teenage boys were seriously hurt after a car crashed into a van following a police chase in Oldham.The 17 year olds are in a 'serious but stable' condition in hospital, following the incident on Middleton Road at about 10.20pm last night.Police said officers observed a Ford Ecosport being driven at speed, which they believed was driving using false number plates.GMP said the driver of the car failed to stop, and officers engaged in a 'short' pursuit.Get the latest updates

direct to your inboxHealth chiefs are aiming to vaccinate 25,000 people against Covid-19 every week in Oldham, but warn there could be ‘challenges’ in getting that many doses supplied to the borough.Mike Barker, the chief operating officer of the clinical commissioning group (CCG) revealed that so far more than 4,000 residents have received the jab since last month.The first eligible people in the top priority group received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Oldham on December 15 at Greenbank

direct to your inbox The old Littlewoods distribution centre in Oldham - once the town's biggest private employer and one of the largest warehouses in the world - is to close its doors today for the final time. At the height of operations the warehouse, which dominates the skyline in Shaw, once employed more than 1,200 staff.

direct to your inboxA batch of 'counterfeit drugs' are being tested by police trying to find out how three people died at a house in Oldham, an inquest heard.From 'an unknown source', the pills 'could have lead to the deaths' of James Acton, 41; Zoe Hamilton, 28; and Andrew Smith, 39, a coroner was told. The three friends were found  unresponsive inside the property on Oldham Road, Failsworth, Oldham, on December 28.

direct to your inboxTributes have been paid to a dad-of-two found dead at a house in Oldham alongside a couple he had 'stayed with over Christmas'.Andrew Mark Smith, 39, was discovered unresponsive at the property on Oldham Road, Failsworth. Couple Zoe Hamilton, 28, and James Acton, 41, were also found dead on Monday, December 28.

direct to your inbox Detectives in Oldham have released images of a man they want to speak to in connection with an attempted sexual assault at Alexandra Park. It comes after a woman reported being attacked on Monday night.The victim told police she she was approached by a man in the street who started talking to her.