Oldham’s Independent Quarter has got off to a flying start in 2017 with another new business setting up roots in the area.
The Tooth Place, managed by Dr Amjad Chaudhary, has moved into the former Mess House building on Yorkshire Street after outgrowing their previous home on Rhodes Street.
Oldham council had acquired the building in 2014 and entered into a development agreement with The Tooth Place. The dental practice agreed to undertake an extensive refurbishment both internally and to the exterior of the former public house.
Due to the design of the building, the council felt that it was not easily adaptable for commercial use and instead considered other uses to bring the building back to life.
The property now boasts modern, state-of-the-art dental facilities which will provide four new dental surgeries and a fifth planned surgery which could enable the practice to take on additional patients.
Councillor Jean Stretton, Leader of Oldham Council, said: “We were aware that there were some historical anti-social behaviour issues with the building some years ago, so we decided that we needed to acquire the property to control its future use and complement the Independent Quarter.
“I am delighted that we have been able to attract Amjad’s dental practice to Yorkshire Street and the building looks fantastic once more.
“There’s clearly a huge amount of confidence in the area and this extensive refurbishment demonstrates the investments that both the council and local businesses are putting into the Independent Quarter.”
Amjad Chaudhary owner of The Tooth Place, said: “The council appreciated the change of use of the building but were keen to retain the character and original features whilst allowing us to modernise the building for our use
“We worked closely with the council for 18 months to get the building up to standard and I’m delighted with the results. The refurbished building has the capacity for an additional surgery, which will allow us to meet greater demand.”
