| Measure | Oldham | Rochdale | Bury | Tameside | England and Wales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 93,139 | 90,225 | 80,694 | 99,524 | 24,783,199 |
| Mains gas only | 80.7% | 81.5% | 83.1% | 82.0% | 73.8% |
| Electric only | 5.2% | 5.6% | 6.1% | 5.7% | 8.5% |
| No gas meter (2024) | 4.52% | 4.70% | 4.86% | 4.65% | - |
| Semi-detached | 35.9% | 35.9% | 38.6% | 38.6% | 31.5% |
| Terraced | 38.5% | 34.4% | 28.3% | 34.1% | 23.2% |
| All flats | 12.3% | 12.8% | 14.3% | 15.2% | 21.7% |
| Owner-occupied | 60.4% | 60.3% | 66.9% | 60.8% | 61.6% |
| Heat pumps paid (BUS) | 118 | 142 | 156 | 118 | 96,185 |
| Per 1,000 households | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| Listed-building records | 554 | 366 | 255 | 337 | - |
Terraced towns
Terraced houses make up 38.5% of Oldham's households, 34.4% of Rochdale's and 34.1% of Tameside's, all well above the England and Wales figure of 23.2%. Bury is different, with fewer terraces (28.3%) and more detached houses (18.8%). On a terrace, Class G allows one unit, usually in the back yard or on the rear wall; the MCS 020 a) sound calculation to the neighbour's nearest window decides the spot, and a hot water cylinder needs space inside where a combi boiler did not.
Three councils, their own delivery
Greater Manchester's Warm Homes: Local Grant is delivered by the combined authority in six boroughs, but Bury, Rochdale and Tameside councils run their own. Oldham is served by the combined authority. The rules are the same across the city region: an area-based scheme in income deciles 1 or 2 of the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, residents contacted by officers, owner-occupied homes rated D to G, and up to £30,000 for an owner-occupier. The difference is who makes contact and who arranges the work.
Oldham's heat networks
1.28% of Oldham households were heated by a district or communal heat network alone in 2021, the highest share of the ten. For those homes, mostly in blocks, the heating is decided by whoever owns or runs the network, and Ofgem's off-gas definition for the higher Boiler Upgrade Scheme band excludes homes attached to one.
Grants paid
Bury has had 156 heat pumps paid for by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, about 1.9 per 1,000 households, the third highest rate of the ten. Rochdale had 142 (1.6), Oldham 118 (1.3) and Tameside 118 (1.2, the lowest). Owner-occupation is around six households in ten in Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside, below Bury's 66.9%.
Listed buildings and mills
Oldham has 554 listed-building records, the second most of the ten after Manchester, and Rochdale 366. Class G does not apply to a listed building, including a listed conversion. See mill and warehouse conversions.