Town hall overhaul
Date published: 05 January 2010
Oldham’s rotting town hall will be made watertight as workmen help it to dry out over the next 12 months.
But the passing public are unlikely to see much change as it will take at least a year for the structure to dry before any other work starts.
The Grade-II listed building has been surveyed by an independent company for Oldham Council, after property managers warned in 2008 that heavy snow could bring the entire roof down.
Plaster ceilings are falling down, water is running down the walls and wet and dry rot has taken hold. Floors are dangerous, leaded windows are broken and there are huge cracks in the ceilings.
Repairs will cost millions of pounds.
But council leader Howard Sykes is positive about its future.
He said: “I have seen an early draft of the report from the independent company which recently surveyed the building and I am able to confirm that we will be taking some remedial action to make the building watertight and increase ventilation to allow it to dry out.
“Clearly, we would have liked to make improvements happen a little quicker, but it is in such a state that the experts tell us it could take at least 12 months just for the building to dry once the work has been carried out.
“It is unlikely that the public will see much outward sign of work being undertaken, except possibly to the roof and the potential removal of some of the boarding on the windows to aid ventilation. But we can assure citizens that we are committed to bring the building back into use and we will progress with improvements over the next few years to ensure that happens.”
The first section of the town hall, which is also in a conservation area, opened in 1841.
A courtroom was added in 1880, followed by the treasurer’s hall and more offices, built between 1912 and 1917.
A blue plaque at the entrance commemorates where Winston Churchill stood when he was elected MP in 1900.
