Oldham Coliseum: confusion grows over building quality

Concerns have been raised about the validity of claims - including one inference made by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham - that the Coliseum building itself is 'riddled with asbestos'.

Eleven years ago, £10m was spent on major works on the Fairbottom Street building, when then Executive Director David Martin stated that all the asbestos was apparently taken out.

Speaking on a Greek Bloke Productions documentary in August, 2012, Mr Martin said: "All the asbestos has now gone, as have most of the internal walls, which is a bit of a shock.

"The place is looking pretty stripped out at the moment where they've taken out an internal wall.

"It's been a bit of an archaelogical dig, but as we've taken the ceiling out because it was made of asbestos, you can look 18 inches above it and see a nice new modernised ceiling, which I suspect was put in in the 1970s.

"Unfortunately, that too was made of asbestos, so that's come out as well.

"A lot more asbestos was taken out than anybody thought was here.

"I think the last time the Coliseum was substantially worked on, asbestos was this magical substance that you did everything with."

Following instruction from the project manager, six weeks of further essential remedial work was then carried out, ultimately pushing the planned re-opening back by four weeks.

Last night, Oldham Council approved plans to build a £24.5m new theatre in Oldham.

During the meeting, Coun Shaid Mushtaq, who had previously held the portfolio for culture, said that when he had attended the theatre outside of the pantomime period ‘it wasn’t as well used as ideally it could have been’.

“We talk about the state of the building, but actually it was a dangerous place for people to be and this is coming from a senior member of staff who took me round the building,” he said.

“It’s a really sad moment for all of us, it’s part of the fabric of Oldham but moving forward I think we have to be positive and look forward to a different type of theatre in the future.”

In a joint statement, Oldham Coliseum and Oldham Council told the Chronicle:
 
"There has been much misinterpretation of statements from both organisations with regard to the current Coliseum building.
 
"Like any building of its age, there is a level of asbestos remaining throughout, but any risks are being managed, meaning it is safe for audiences right now.
 
"However, this is a complicating factor in any future work on the building, and would need costly specialist contractors to deal with it, on top of the long list of other work needed.
 
"Any further extension to the current building’s lifespan would be both costly due to the issues with the building and restrictive given the size and location of the Fairbottom Street site.
 
"Both the Council and Coliseum have long agreed that a new theatre building would be the best option for the future of theatre in Oldham and, for many years, have been looking at more suitable locations."

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