Flying camera surveys old town hall

VIEW from above . . . architect Stephen Anderson (left) and Chris Wilkinson of Upper Cut Productions whose aerial photography business it is, set the helicopter off on its mission

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WORK to assess the state of Oldham’s crumbling old town hall has reached new heights.

A remote-controlled helicopter with a camera was used to hover over the listed building to see how much damage the recent snowfall had caused.

The helicopter provided surveyors with a much cheaper method of examining the state of the roof.

The helicopter took off from the front of the building in High Street and fed images of the roof and upper parts of the building back to the operators during its eight-minute flight.

The results are now being assessed by specialists from Manchester-based architects Buttress Fuller Alsop Williams and will form part of a full Heritage Assessment on the building to see what avenues are open for the council to pursue.

Council leader Howard Sykes said: “The recent heavy snowfall has meant the roof has been put under tremendous pressure so this exercise has allowed us to assess exactly how the town hall is holding up.

“Once the results have been analysed and the Heritage Assessment is in we will be in a far better position to see what direction the council can take.”

Councillor Mike Buckley, the council’s heritage champion, said: “The state of the borough’s historic and old buildings is very important to the authority.

“The old town hall is one of our best-known buildings and although it has been left unused for many years the council is committed to looking at every option with regard to it.”

Council officers moved from the Grade II listed building to the civic centre in 1978.

Various local groups used the building and the court room was used as a satellite crown court until 1995.