Queen Elizabeth Hall's days are numbered

Oldham's iconic Queen Elizabeth Hall building

The Queen Elizabeth Hall's days appear to be numbered as Oldham Council gave the green light for its demolition last night.

Cabinet members agreed to plans to flatten the iconic 40-year-old venue and gave the go-ahead for a new hotel and integrated conference facilities as part of the revised Oldham Town Centre Masterplan.

Original proposals dated last Summer indicated that the QE Hall was set to be refurbished with a hotel to be built alongside.

However, the Cabinet report said: "Spatially and functionally it fell way short of the required current event and conference venue standards.

"External consultants (Amion Consulting Limited) have advised that a significant project spend would still not bring the hall into a position where it could effectively compete in the local and regional market for a wide range of event types. 

"Further, it must be considered that other capital programmes are underway which may offer alterative options to the Queen Elizabeth Hall as a venue."

The updated masterplan will see the new hotel built on the former Magistrates’ Court site which in the interim - following demolition - will be used as a temporary pay and display car park.

Cabinet approval also gave the green light to seeking a development partner to help deliver the huge transformation to revamp a total of 21 acres across the town centre deemed as "under-utilised" or containing outdated buildings over the next 10 to 15 years.

A huge feature of Council Leader Jean Stretton's masterplan is set to be the re-development of Tommyfield Market which, according to the Cabinet report, is set to be replaced with "a modern, fit for purpose market to meet the needs of traders and visitors and provide a welcome boost to this part of the centre."

Following consultations with traders the report says half are in favour of the plan and half are against with those in favour supporting creating a 'modern market experience' while those opposed are 'worried about potential disruption and the availability of stalls in the new scheme'.

They look likely to be relocated to a new temporary home for around 18 months while the redevelopment takes place, with the council agreeing to reduce rent levels. Discussions between the traders and council are continuing.

Other areas earmarked for development include Oldham Police Station, the former Oldham Sports Centre and Oldham Coliseum Theatre, which is being relocated in a state-of-the-art building on Union Street in 2020.

An assessment of the economic benefits has been carried out on the updated Masterplan proposals.

Key findings of the assessment include:

• the creation of 520 full time equivalent jobs supported over the length of the build;
• 670 net operational jobs within Oldham;
• 54,000 sq ft of new and refurbished employment space; and
• an additional £48m GVA contributing to the growth of the economy.