£3.5m for town's healthcare

Many GPs surgeries and health centres are in a poor condition

Community health care in part of Greater Manchester has been given a £3.5 boost from the government.

The money will be used to kick start a 20-year plan for health in Oldham.

The Department of Health's donation is only a small part of the £100m-plus that is predicted to be spent on the project in total.

The majority of the funding will be made up of private money.

It will be spent on building new health centres and GPs' surgeries.

2001 riots

Currently, many of the facilities in the town are in a poor condition.

The Ritchie report which followed riots in May 2001 recommended improving them.

The government money will be used for legal and logistics work.

Three private consortiums are bidding to be involved and it is expected that the winner will be named this winter.