Tilbury Douglas to lead £10m Oldham Coliseum restoration
With a goal for the theatre to reopen in time for the 2025 pantomime season, Oldham Council has appointed its main contractor to handle the design and build of the refurbished space.
Oldham Council Leader Cllr Arooj Shah described Tilbury Douglas’s appointment as “a huge milestone” for the refurbishment of the historic theatre building off Fairbottom Street.
“Tilbury Douglas has a fantastic track record of delivering amazing buildings in our borough and I have no doubt that they will do the same for the Coliseum,” she said.
“The whole team shares our ambition to make Oldham a brilliant place to live, work and visit and I can’t wait for them to get started.”
The Oldham Coliseum has had a storied past, dating to 1887. It has been a music hall, cinema, and playhouse – hosting performances by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Ralph Fiennes, Barbara Knox, and Sian Phillips.
The theatre shut last year after losing its annual grant from the Arts Council England and being deemed no longer financially viable to operate.
Oldham Council had sought to build a replacement theatre for years, lodging plans for a £27m new-build facility off Southgate Street in 2013. Those plans were abandoned in 2018.
Plans were submitted last year for another £24m replacement theatre, this time off Greaves Street and designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. However, during the consultation period the public feedback was overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the original Coliseum building, according to the council.
This led the local authority to announce in July that it had abandoned the new-build proposals in favour of a much cheaper refurbishment. The price tag for this scheme is £10m, of which £6.1m comes from the council’s successful Towns Fund bid.
Since then, D Hughes Demolition has carried site preparation and enablement works. Now, the building is ready for the next stage of works.
Tilbury Douglas is no stranger to Oldham Council, and is working with the local authority on another heritage project – the transformation of the Old Library off Union Street into a council chamber, meeting rooms, art gallery, and theatre.
“Building on our collaborative work with Oldham Council to transform the historic Old Library, we are excited to bring our expertise to the refurbishment of the Coliseum,” said Phil Shaw, managing director for the North at Tilbury Douglas.
He continued: “This project reflects our strategic focus on creating spaces that enrich communities, supporting Oldham’s cultural ambitions while preserving its heritage.”
Tilbury Douglas’s North West regional director, Martin Horne, agreed and promised a strong social value programme as part of the delivery of the project.
“Our strong track record of delivering community-focused projects and creating social value will be at the heart of our approach to the Coliseum refurbishment,” Horne said.
“We are committed to working closely with Oldham Council to deliver a venue that celebrates its history and contributes to a thriving local community.”
That’s the kind of news we have been missing – Let’s hope everything goes according to plan.
By Robert Lees
Well, the Oldham Council leader is consistent, if nothing else, in the continuing use of glamorous expletives in describing the perceived future of the town centre. What the current situation is and what will be the future reality is somewhat very different. Whilst it is true many people were concerned about the possible passing away of the “original” Coliseum, many others had made the decisions that they they did not wish to venture into the town centre of today, particularly at night time, and that will not change, just as the town centre will not change from what it has become. The real reason for this council’s change of plans is purely financial, poor financial management has again led to the government pot becoming spent up long before it’s intended aims have been met. Two more of the council’s finance and economics “experts” have jumped ship this last week, one after just a few months in office. But yes, it will be good to see the Coliseum preserved for the time being in one form or another.
By A. R.
Good to see this building getting some love. I think it’s crucial the diverse oldham community are represented in the theatre schedule to get it utilised more successfully than just panto season.
By Anonymous