Another club bites the dust

Little Cot club: not just closure but demolition

A Chadderton social club is to close at the end of December.

And the closure of the Little Cot in Whiteley Street will be final: a planning application has been submitted to demolish the building and build 11 homes.

Chadderton-based Wiggett Construction owns the land. Its proposal says: “The building and its grounds are unsightly and are an eyesore.”

The club, formally known as Hollinwood and Chadderton Garden Social Club, got its nickname from the wooden shed in which it began 80 years ago. The club was rebuilt in the 1970s after a fire and underwent a £90,000 refurbishment in 2007, when a storm ripped a hole in the roof.

The club’s snooker team is the reigning Oldham Amateur League champion. But membership has fallen from 400 in its heyday to just 50.

Trustee Jack Chadderton said: “We sold the property to Wiggett three years ago and we have kept it open using the income from that. It is just gradually losing trade. It’s a sign of the times.”