Wedding venue to get £35,000 makeover

The paving, grounds, clock and war memorial at Chadderton Town Hall will be improved under plans by the District Partnership

Oldham’s civic wedding venue is to get a £35,000 facelift to its paths and gardens.

Chadderton Town Hall, the home of Oldham Register Office and a civil wedding suite, will also benefit from new benches, lighting, planting and cleaning.

The town hall clock will be repaired and the war memorial will also be re-bronzed.

The plans go before the Chadderton District Partnership meeting tonight and follow consultation and discussions at local PACT meetings.

The meeting will be asked to approve spending £35,375 on the scheme.

Built in 1913, the town hall — part of Chadderton Conservation Area, — has been licensed for civil marriages since 2002, and has been the home of the Oldham Register Office for three years.

Before that it famously featured as the TV setting for the “Coronation Street” screen wedding of dippy barmaid Raquel, played by Oldham actress Sarah Lancashire, when she married Curly Watts, in 1996.

The town hall has a ballroom, restored in 2000, and is used for wedding receptions, dances and other celebrations.

The grounds are also used for the annual service on Remembrance Sunday.