I’ve written to Oldham Council calling for an active strategy to protect historic pubs from demolition and inappropriate conversion.
Pubs are an important part of Oldham’s story, our heritage, and the character of the communities we call home.
Regeneration matters but so does preserving the buildings and landmarks that give our borough its identity. Though not everything can be saved, most precious regeneration activity has sought to retained pubs because of the often distinct character they have. In many working class areas they are often the buildings which stand out alongside civic buildings like libraries, and churches as architecturally interesting. We shouldn’t be wiping away our history in the name of progress.
As Co-operative Party Chair and when English Devolution & Local Government Minister, I helped secure a strengthened Community Right to Buy through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, giving local people more power to protect valued community assets and important buildings of heritage.
We got great examples of regeneration into heritage buildings such as Royton Town Hall, the Old Gallery and the Old Town Hall as civic buildings, and work is underway to secure the future of Foxdenton Hall. We’ve also a seen significant investment in grassroots facilities including AVRO FC and West End Street pitch. We now need to widen the protection to pubs and support to local heritage community assets.
I’m asking the council to take a proactive approach, review pubs across the borough for Asset of Community Value status where appropriate, and put proper protections in place before more of these important buildings are lost.
We’ve successfully secured £61m as a new national Community Ownership Fund to support local groups take control of local facilities, so there’s plenty of potential to bring more investment to Oldham.
I’m keen to protect what we have and drawn in investment for them to thrive.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 