Tameside Council, supported by a loan from GMCA’s Good Growth Fund, has completed the acquisition of the Ladysmith Shopping Centre in Ashton-under-Lyne, in a move that marks a significant milestone in the long-term regeneration of the town centre.
The acquisition forms a central part of the council’s land assembly strategy, bringing key sites into public ownership so that regeneration can be delivered at pace and scale.
The previous owners of the centre were in receivership. The acquisition will provide stability to the town centre, and long-term investment into the shopping centre. The Council will operate and manage the Ladysmith Shopping Centre as normal, while a long-term masterplan is developed via engagement with the centre’s current retail and leisure occupiers.
Emerging plans for the shopping centre will reflect a long-term vision to deliver a modern, mixed-use town centre including residential and commercial space, alongside ground floor retail and leisure, designed to bring increased week-round footfall into the town centre and support local businesses
The 151,502 sq ft shopping centre is located centrally in Ashton town centre, adjacent to the Grade II-listed Town Hall. The centre opens directly onto the recently transformed Market Square, a £10.8m investment by Tameside Council to create new public realm and a covered market for street food, markets and year-round events.
The acquisition forms the latest milestone in a £1bn borough-wide regeneration that will reposition Tameside as one of the UK’s best connected and most investable locations. Backed by a dedicated Growth Unit, the Council has secured over £250m of public investment to unlock a development pipeline that will deliver over 5,000 new homes, 3,000 new skilled jobs and vibrant, experience-led town centres designed for modern living.
Managing agents Ashdown Phillips and Asset Managers New River Retail will be retained to manage the centre.
Nicola Elsworth, director of strategic growth at Tameside Council, said: “Bringing Ladysmith into public ownership is a pivotal moment for Ashton. It gives us the ability to shape one of the town centre’s most important sites, delivering the homes, investment and hospitality this community deserves. Combined with the market transformation, the Town Hall restoration plans and the wider public realm improvements already underway, we are building a town centre that locals can genuinely be proud of.”
Deborah McLaughlin, chair of Ashton Mayoral Development Zone, said: “The acquisition of the Ladysmith is exactly the kind of strategic move the Ashton Mayoral Development Zone was created to support. Bringing this site into public ownership connects directly to our borough-wide growth ambitions and demonstrates how the public sector can act decisively to create the conditions for private investment. Ashton is increasingly on the radar of investors and developers, and this sends a clear signal that our vision is being realised.”
Eleanor Wills, Leader of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, said: “This acquisition is a statement of intent for Ashton and for Tameside as a whole. The residents of Ashton deserve to see meaningful change in their town centre, and this is us taking direct action to make it happen. Combined with the new market, the public realm improvements and the Town Hall restoration, we are building a town centre that the community can be proud to live and work in.”
In 2024, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, established the Ashton Mayoral Development Zone (AMDZ) to drive forward regeneration opportunities across key sites within the zone, including over 1m sq ft of commercial space. In addition, the proposed Ashton and Stalybridge Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) planned for this year will serve as a national blueprint for transport-led regeneration, accelerating housing delivery and driving growth. It will use public land to unlock at least 3,000 new homes with great public transport links, connected by one of the first rail lines coming into our Bee Network.
Ashton is located 10 minutes outside central Manchester by train and will be the first town to become integrated within Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, offering seamless travel by bus, train and tram.
