Funding secured to create a digital history of iconic tower blocks

Great news! We have successfully secured a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to create a digital history of the neighbourhood where the iconic Oldham tower blocks, Crossbank House and Summervale House, now stand.

The work is part of our proposed West Vale development, which will help meet local housing need.

This flagship project will see the tower blocks in Coldhurst demolished later this year, and 88 new family homes and apartments built in their place.

We have received £54,685 funding from the National Lottery for the digital project called 'The Rise and Fall of Two Towers'. The cash boost will train local people to become community historians and tell their stories of life in the neighbourhood. These will be recorded for posterity on a dedicated website to be developed as part of the project.

Community development and digital inclusion are central to the two-year digital history programme that will be accessible to all, says Resma Patel, Funding and Partnerships Officer at FCHO.

"As well as providing an historical snapshot for future generations to come, this project is also about developing the digital skills of local people in the area and Oldham residents, whatever their previous experience. There will be something for everyone who wants to get involved.

“We're planning opportunities for those who haven't yet started their digital journey, beginners who need to build their confidence and skills, to those who want to take their next step with website development and management.

"We want to bring people together to preserve their stories about life in this area and participants will also help shape our regeneration work around Vale Drive. It's a very exciting project and I can’t wait to get started."

The project will launch at the end of May 2021. For more information and to stay up to date with it visit our West Vale page.

As part of the initiative we’ll be collaborating with a number of partners. These include OL1 Oldham, a community group based at Barker Street, Oldham which will be supporting us to host storytelling workshops, and Geeks for Social Change, a community research/ activism company based in Manchester which will be running digital learning events.