A WELL-KNOWN building on Uppermill High Street is being given a new lease of life as Pearson Solicitors and Financial Advisers move back into Saddleworth.
Over the next 12 months, the former Oldham Chronicle offices at 92-94 High Street will be transformed and sympathetically refurbished.
As well as having solicitors and financial advisers based there, the building will also create a meeting room hub in the heart of the village, providing local businesses a space to hire.
Attention is being given to creating a welcoming and professional service centre for clients who want to use a room for an hour-long meeting or reserve a boardroom for full team meetings away from their own offices.
Pearsons used to have village centre office for many years until the law firm merged with other Oldham-based solicitors. Now as the business grows they are expanding and are looking forward to welcoming clients.
“We have so many Saddleworth-based clients and staff members who live locally that it was an easy decision to move back into the area,” said director Richard Eastwood.
“We have over 70 staff now and as our business grows and develops we wanted to provide great offices facilities as we look to recruit more experienced solicitors and young trainees.
“Having serviced meeting rooms is something we recognised as being needed in the area and the bespoke Pearson business suite right at the centre of the village will provide just that.
“With more and more people working from home, having a great place on your doorstep for those important face to face meetings is a bonus.
“Privacy for your meeting, good Wi-Fi, somewhere to park, a warm welcome and consistently high levels of service across all areas will be standard.
“We will have a full service legal team based in Uppermill covering business and personal law and look forward to being part of, and contributing to the local economy.
“This new office forms part of our strategic plan and we are excited to start work and get the building up to scratch.”
The building will be reinvigorated, getting a smart new frontage, landscaping, a thorough facelift and sandblasting, parking for staff and visitors and electrical vehicle charge points.
Whittaker Design, based in Lees, are helping the Pearson team visualise their development and bring the plans to reality.
Lee Hollinworth, partner at the firm, said: “Whittaker Design are proud to be supporting another long established Oldham business with their new regional office coming to Uppermill.
“The conversion of this prominent building will bring it back into use and enhance the area with a new entrance, general upgrading of the building and improvements around the plot.”
The new office is the fourth addition to the Pearson group. The company offers a complete range of legal and financial services from other offices in Oldham, North Manchester and Failsworth.
Find out more online: www.pearsonlegal.co.uk
The absolute state of that design, destroying the Victorian facade with ghastly vertical glass windows, it’s an abomination. Why don’t people employ architects rather than just doing it themselves. Another historic Saddleworth building ruined.