New food and shopping market coming to town centre

Yorkshire Street in Oldham town centre

A building that was ravaged by a fire two years ago is finally getting a makeover.

A brand new food and shopping market is coming to Oldham town centre on a two-storey site on Yorkshire Street. 

The building on the corner of St Mary’s Way used to house the Turkish restaurant Istanbul.

But a huge blaze in March 2022 saw four occupants taken to hospital and the restaurant forced to close. 

Plans were approved to transform the space into several shopping units including a butcher’s shop, a mini market, a shopping area and a restaurant. 

The large commercial space has housed everything from a pub to – most recently – a restaurant called Wok Chef and a furniture store called Sofa Boys.

But in new plans drawn up by Oldham businessman Mr Ahmed Zohaib, the unit will be split into several smaller shops on the ground floor. 

Floor plans submitted to Oldham Council show separate entrances for each of the units but shared communal washroom facilities towards the back of the building.

Meanwhile, upstairs shows eight vacant rooms and a large roof top terrace, though exact details of their planned use is unknown. 

The new shops will likely make a welcome addition to the high street.

Yorkshire Street is home to a number of shuttered-up store fronts at present, after a number of closures and short-lived business ventures in recent years. 

Council officers approved the project on Tuesday, agreeing it would “create a greater mixture of commercial uses” for the town centre.

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.