The sites include Oldham Civic Centre, which will be freed up when Oldham Council staff relocate into the redeveloped Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre. Here, 400 to 600 apartments could be created.

The former Oldham Magistrates’ Court site has also been earmarked for 125 to 225 flats.

While a further 175 to 250 apartments could be built at the former Oldham Leisure Centre site, which sits adjacent a planned new town centre park.

These three sites alone are expected to have a development value of £150m-£200m.

Five other ‘possible’ sites across the town centre, including the Tommyfield Market site, which will also relocate into the new-look Spindles, will raise the contract value to between £350m-£550m over the 15-year development plan.

Last month, plans to overhaul the Spindles shopping centre complex were approved with Willmott Dixon selected to deliver the project. 

Oldham Council Leader Amanda Chadderton said: “Oldham Council is already well on its way to transforming the town centre – and there is a real opportunity to work with us and play a key role in the future of our fantastic borough.

“We’ve got a proven track record for delivering ambitious regeneration projects, including our award-winning Old Town Hall. We also have many projects well underway – all of which will make Oldham a more attractive place to live, visit and work.

“This includes bringing the historic Old Library back into use, a new theatre in listed buildings on Union Street, and the transformation of Spindles to create a multi-use centre with retail, co-working space, events space, an arts and heritage archive and a brand-new market.

The procurement process is expected to take around nine months to complete.

Procurement documents can be found on the Chest e-tendering portal.