Town centre car park reduced to rubble in early morning explosion

CAR park countdown . . . council leader Jean Stretton and deputy Abdul Jabbar

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IT took just four seconds for an Oldham town centre multi-storey car park to be reduced to rubble as it was demolished via a controlled explosion on Sunday morning.

Hobson Street car park was levelled by DSR Demolition at 7am with Oldham Council leader Jean Stretton and deputy leader Abdul Jabbar watching the seven-storey building come crashing down, resulting in a loud bang which was heard across the borough.

The council-owned car park has been closed since December, 2014, when an inspection found serious structural damage and the building was declared unsafe for use.

Additional surveys confirmed the car park, which was built in 1969, would need significant financial investment to repair it and a decision was taken to demolish the 750-space facility.

Councillor Stretton said: "The Hobson Street car park was no longer viable for use and had to be demolished.

"It was generally underused by the public with the main customers being council staff and employees from partner organisations with paid-for permits, who have since been accommodated elsewhere.

"The safety of members of the public was a key concern which is why the demolition took place at 7am and it has gone according to plan.

"The area and nearby streets will be cleared over the next few days.

"In the short term we will be putting a surface car park on the site.

"However, the council plan is to look at car parking provisions around the town centre in general and so we may look at the site again in the future."

The loud bang from the demolition, which set off car alarms and sent dust flying into the air, was heard across Oldham, including in Moorside, Hathershaw and Chadderton, with many taking to social media to search for answers.

Aaron Smith (25), from Oldham, witnessed the demolition from behind the safety barriers.

He said: "It was awesome. I didn't expect it to be like that at all.

"It was so loud and you could feel the vibrations through your body as it came down.

"We even had to run away when the dust blew towards us.

"I'm glad I saw it, it's not every day you get to see a building being demolished."

In order to facilitate the demolition and clean up, Oldham Council closed roads in the area on Sunday.

The south side of Hobson Street will remain closed until 6pm on Wednesday.