Developers finally forced into action

HOARDINGS go up around the unfinished Royton Assembly Hall

Hoardings have gone up around Royton Assembly Hall as Oldham Council gets tough with developers Whispers.

The council threatened enforcement action in August last year to force the company to finish the job it started in 2002.

When it had still made no progress in February this year, the council chief executive Charlie Parker stepped in.

Exasperated with the lack of progress by the company, which bought the hall for £215,000, he called them to a meeting and got Whispers to sign up to a legal deed of covenant, and a schedule of works and timetable for completion of the development. The hall was originally supposed to be up and running as a restaurant, banqueting hall and conference centre by 2004, then by April, 2006, and nearly four years later is still half-finished.

As well as agreeing to the new timetable, Whispers was issued with legal proceedings for breach of the hoarding licence for the public square, and the obstruction of Middleton Road.

The fencing is part of these works, but a council spokesman said it could be summer before all the work is completed.