One final stage left for new Coliseum

Plan of action... an artists's impression of what the new Coliseum and Heritage Centre will look like

Oldham’s new Coliseum theatre and Heritage Centre are just one step away after the project was granted planning permission last night.

Oldham Council and the Coliseum are now just waiting to find out if their applications for a total of £9million in funding have been accepted before work begins.

The exciting plans will see the Coliseum move from its current building in Fairbottom Street into a new, state-of-the-art building next to the former Oldham library, with a frontage on Union Street. The site is currently a car park.

The theatre will have 550-seat capacity and will be joined by a covered walkway to the refurbished Victorian library building, which will have gallery, exhibition, archive and museum space and its own studio theatre/lecture hall.

The building will in turn retain its link to Gallery Oldham.

The present public garden by the library will be remodelled to provide the new and only entrance to the centre and Coliseum.

This means that visitors to the Coliseum must walk through the old library building first.

Alex Pritchett, an architect involved in the design of the project, said: “The premise of this scheme is the coming together of two organisations.

“We wanted to treat this as one scheme and so we wanted a new and improved all access entrance that will allow everyone in the town to gain entry.

“This will hopefully strengthen the culture quarter for Oldham.”

Councillor Dave Houle admitted at last night’s Oldham Council planning committee meeting that he is not a fan of the appearance of the new Coliseum building.

He said: “It is an interesting looking building. I don’t like the look of it to be honest.”

However, he added: “It will be a fantastic regional theatre and heritage centre for Oldham. In times of struggle this is Oldham’s way of fighting back, this is what we can do.”

Councillor Steve Bashforth, chairman of the planning committee, said: “This type of theatre could hold West End productions. This is huge for Oldham. There is no question about it.”

A second-round bid has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for around £4 million. A separate bid to Arts Council England (ACE) for £5 million was submitted earlier this year and a decision on both is expected by the end of this month.