Celebrating Oldham Spindles’ BCO Northern Innovation Award Win

SpaceInvader’s John Williams with project partners at Oldham Spindles, celebrating the BCO Northern Innovation Award inside the transformed civic hub

Last week marked a proud moment for SpaceInvader as we joined project partners and Oldham Council at the official presentation of the British Council for Offices (BCO) Northern Innovation Award inside the revitalised Oldham Spindles Shopping Centre.

Once a struggling 1990s retail centre, Spindles has been transformed into a vibrant civic and cultural hub, bringing together public services, flexible workspaces, a market hall, event space, and a heritage archive under one roof. This ambitious redevelopment has reimagined a high street asset into something that delivers real social value and long-term sustainability for the town.

The BCO described Spindles as a “ground‑breaking, adaptive reuse of a building that has transformed a struggling 1990s shopping centre.” This recognition highlights the vision and collaboration that went into the project, with contributions from Oldham Council, Willmott Dixon, AEW Architects, Hive Projects, Gleeds, and our own team at SpaceInvader.

Our Founder & Director, John Williams, commented: “Spindles is a perfect example of how high street assets can be reimagined with innovation and purpose.”

Winning the BCO Northern Innovation Award is a significant milestone, and Spindles will now compete at the national BCO Awards dinner on 7 October 2025 in London. It’s a brilliant achievement that underlines the importance of civic, people-led regeneration in reshaping our town centres for the future.

For more detail on the design process, impact, and SpaceInvader’s role in the project, visit our full case study: Oldham Spindles Redevelopment.