Oldham Council has approved plans to create a Bike Hub and cycling trails at Northern Roots – which is set to be the UK’s largest urban farm and eco-park.
Facilities will include a pump track and a skills area, a bike hire station with a shop and cafe, a bike repair workshop, and toilets, shower and bike wash.
The Hub will provide a training ground for cyclists to develop and improve their riding, and a starting point from which to enjoy the mountain bike trails extending across the 160-acre Northern Roots site and beyond.
Riders will be able to get spares and servicing for their bike within easy reach of the trails, as well as being able to get a coffee and warm food, wash their bike and get changed indoors.
The plans, which were informed by consultation with local communities, were unanimously approved by the council’s planning committee on Wednesday (24 August). Later this year, Northern Roots will start looking for an experienced operator to run the Bike Hub facility.
Cllr Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Low Carbon, said: “The Bike Hub and trails will be a fantastic new addition to the site, giving people the chance to explore it on two wheels – great for your physical and mental health.
“Northern Roots has so much potential to create new opportunities for Oldhamers and put our borough on the map. It’s incredibly exciting to see the vision for this hidden gem start to come to life.”
Work to create the cycling hub and trails, which have been designed by Bike Track in conjunction with JDDK Architects, will begin in the next few months.
A separate ‘hybrid’ planning application, which focuses on the northern third of the 160-acre site, will be determined at a future meeting of the planning committee.
This application seeks permission to develop a Visitor Centre with a café, shop, exhibition and meeting space. A Learning Centre, forestry depot, market garden, solar array and outdoor swimming pond are also included in the plans. The Visitor Centre and Learning Centre have been co-designed by JDDK Architects and local communities, and incorporate green roofs, habitat walls, renewable energy sources, and sustainable materials.
Four existing football pitches would be given a much-needed refurbishment, with two of them relocating next to Glodwick Cricket Club. Access improvements to the Northern Roots site are proposed alongside the creation of car parking areas.
