Historic Con Club up for auction

OLDHAM’S former Conservative Club, where Sir Winston Churchill once famously gave a speech from the balcony, is up for sale once more.

Ryder and Dutton is auctioning the Union Street building tomorrow night at the Norton Grange, in Manchester Road, Castleton, with a guide price of between £175,000 to £210,000.

The large building, which covers four floors and 8,750 square feet, is being sold by a private individual.

It was built in 1911, though a Conservative Club had stood on the site since 1874. The wartime Prime Minister made his speech after becoming Oldham’s MP in 1900.

But falling membership forced it to close in 1996 and a year later it was transformed into Mr Wrigley’s restaurant and wine bar. The name came from Arthur E Wrigley, a Conservative candidate who laid the foundation stone of the Conservative club.

The building later became Italian restaurant Parmesan and Pepper and was last used as Indian restaurant the Taj Mahal.

In 2007, planning permission was granted to demolish the building and develop an eight-storey tower of 30 flats with a retail area. But the credit crunch meant the plans were never fulfilled. .

Ryder and Dutton director Ian Hill said: “It’s one of Oldham’s last iconic buildings and it would be a shame if someone does not come along and save it. It’s suffering now from being empty.”