Northern Roots to Open Britain's Largest Urban Farm in Oldham
A 65-hectare former industrial site in Greater Manchester is being transformed into Britain's biggest urban farm and eco-park.
A sweeping green expanse in Oldham, Greater Manchester, is set to become Britain's largest urban farm and eco-park, as Northern Roots prepares to open its doors on a site that once housed cotton mills, coalmines and an industrial railway. The 65-hectare — roughly 160-acre — development marks a dramatic reinvention of land shaped almost entirely by industrial activity.
The project is rooted in a mission to improve public health and wellbeing, positioning green urban space as a practical tool for community benefit rather than simply a conservation effort. The site's layered history, which includes approximately 24 hectares that served as a waste tip before being reclaimed by nature, underscores how comprehensively the landscape has been reimagined.
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Northern Roots blends agriculture, ecology, art and food production into a single destination, reflecting a broader national interest in urban greening projects that serve dense post-industrial communities. Oldham, long associated with the textile and mining industries that once defined Greater Manchester's economy, stands to gain both a recreational asset and a potential model for similar regeneration efforts elsewhere in the UK.
The scale of the undertaking distinguishes Northern Roots from comparable urban farming initiatives across Britain. By incorporating ecological restoration alongside working farmland on such a large footprint, organizers are attempting to demonstrate that food production and environmental recovery can coexist within a major metropolitan area.
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