All change at Oldham’s Union Street
Office space at Phoenix House is in line for residential conversion, while renewal plans are in the works for four heritage buildings on the key town centre street.
In the Phoenix House project, Nick Carroll Architects is advising the London-registered applicant.
The intention is to convert disused office space into 82 one- and two-bedroom flats. The building sits next to the Sainsbury’s and TK Maxx retail plot, and has parking at front and rear.
The project could play into a wider move to improve Union Street, a key arrival point in the town as the location of the Oldham Central Metrolink stop.
Oldham Council’s cabinet will next week be asked to rubber-stamp the acceptance of a £200,000 grant from Historic England, and one of £100,000 from Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
The council would then match-fund the GMCA grant.
In the Oldham Town Centre Built Heritage Project, at least five buildings would go under the spotlight, as the local authority looks to assess which of the town’s various vacant or under-used historic buildings could be repurposed into viable and sustainable uses.
The proposal will focus initially on five buildings, four of them on Union Street. The buildings are:
Lyceum, 95 Union Street: a grade two-listed asset owned by Oldham Council and comprising three buildings. This building is part-occupied by Music Services.
Masonic Hall, Union Street: a grade two-listed 1830s building, currently vacant. However, the council is awaiting permission from the owner.
Old Museum and Friends Meeting House, Greaves Street: on a stret that intersects Union Street, this building was constructed between 1867-69, as a Friends Meeting House for Oldham’s Quakers. It is owned by the council and occupied by Oldham Theatre Workshop, which will vacate upon completion of the Old Library’s restoration.
Old Post Office, 84 Union Street: Pxurpose-built as a postal and telegraph office in 1875, this is also grade two-listed, is council-owned, and vacant.
Prudential Assurance Building, 79 Union Street: this grade two-listed building from 1889 has recently been acquired by Oldham Council.
The desired outcome for Oldham is a clear understanding of the costs to refurbish, repurpose and line up future uses, so the buildings can play an economic and social part in the town centre’s future.
Despite thus far struggling to realise ambitions on some key sites, such as Princes Gate, Oldham has found some success in revitalising heritage assets, such as the Old Town Hall and Egyptian Room, with the library renovation and Royton Town Hall projects also now on-stream.
Next steps on cabinet sign-off will be the formal agreeing of grant funding and surveys and other appraisals to be commissioned, with a cost consultant to be appointed by the end of this March. Proposals for reuse are expected from the chosen architects and heritage consultants by March 2026.
Is Phoenix House a full application or PDR? Squashing 82 units into an ugly 60s block with fairly narrow floor plates is unlikely to result in any regeneration at all if it involves no space standards, contorted floor plans and the other things that come with PDR conversions. Is the “London-based” applicant anyone with any track record up here?
The heritage works by Oldham Council sound promising though!
By Anonymous
Absolutely brilliant
By J E Gresty
It’s about time these historic buildings are restored and used Oldham has lots of history and these buildings should be treasured not left to rot.
By Anonymous
As long as these buildings are made useful to the public, and don’t become HMO’s or food places, we may be optimistic.
By Anonymous
Royton Town Hall & Library now complete & open.
Building returned to former structure removing ugly rear extension, & internally renovated revealing many original features
By Hannah Roberts
I’m not holding my breath.
By Anonymous
What about the old Nat West building at Mumps? Such a beautiful place does not deserved to be ignorex.
By Anonymous
There is about 40 flats sitting empty about 600 metres away on the mumps side of union street inside of the victoria apartments building. It’s opposite the Oldham chronicle’s old printing building. Millions of pounds was spent on renovation and rehoused lots of families to be closed down and all the tenants removed within ten years. Now it’s like history repeating itself. Old ex council building
Re modelled as 40 flats for HMO use to charge each Tennant full rent and be closed down like Victoria apartments was .
By J Jones
About time x x
By Jean Newton
Great news but Ombc need to save a bit of money to build some public toilets. There are none in Sainsbury’s anymore, so there are none until you get to Spindles. This a basic human right, we live in Britain though nothing great about it anymore.
By Anonymous
Why not use a local building company instead of a London based one? Local businesses need the work!
By Anonymous
When the plans were first submitted I remember looking up the details and background of the applicant company , as the reference to “London based” both interested me and puzzled me as to why any entity “London based” would have any interest in a town such as Oldham. I will check again, but from memory the company was a ten bob outfit that was only formed not so long ago, so I don’t think anyone needs to get over excited about this proposal actually happening.
By A. R.
Please don’t forget the beautiful Lyceum theatre in the basement of 95 Union St.
It is a thriving little theatre group with an amazing bar, dressing rooms, stage and auditorium. It is very popular and most productions that are put on there are sell outs.Thank you 😊
By Anonymous