Oldham, Chadderton and Royton are privileged to be blessed with so much heritage. From our town halls, to our historic parks: our borough has a rich and cherished history. While we look to the future, we must also remember what came before us and do all we can to protect and preserve these keystone buildings for the long term.
This is why I fully support the work being done by the Labour-led council to take ownership, invest in and then give back to the community our buildings of heritage; as has been done recently at Royton Town Hall and is being done for the Prudential Building, Old Library on Union Street, and the Coliseum at it’s historic Fairbottom Street site.
We want these buildings and monuments to have a future use which is for the good of the community. In very difficult circumstances, to prioritise works like these is massively to the Council’s credit. This approach achieves three goals in one: preserving heritage; bringing these buildings into the modern day so they are of value to the community; and avoiding chasing the modernist building of the day, which too often doesn’t stand the test of time.
We have so much to be proud of in our home town.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 