Hall of plenty

Foxdenton Hall

A COMMUNITY campaign to refurbish Chadderton's Foxdenton Hall and bring it back to use has been given a financial boost from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

The Save Foxdenton Hall campaign, by community group and charity Chadderton Together, has received a £9,500 grant from HLF to support fundraising efforts for the hall's revamp.

The 300-year-old building is the only Grade II-listed building in Chadderton and has been described as the "jewel of Foxdenton Park".

However, the hall fell into a state of disrepair after it was closed several years ago following safety concerns.

Chadderton Together was granted a two-year licensing arrangement from Oldham Council to give them permission to access funding streams with the goal of seeing the hall and pavilion renewed to its former glory.

Rev John Simmons, chairman of Chadderton Together, said: "Receiving this Heritage Lottery Fund grant is such good news for us.

"It is a real confirmation that this project has legs and a significant step forward in our campaign to preserve the hall.

"We received some money from the Architectural Heritage Fund a while back and now along with this grant we can make some strides forward."

He added that while the grant has given the campaign a boost, the group still have a lot of work ahead of them.

Rev Simmons said: "There is a lot of work to be done to prepare a bid so we need architectural drawings and surveys to be carried out, planning and costings to be arranged.

Deadlines

"There is so much paperwork involved which is tied up in other local projects as well.

"A lot of the time it is very much a balancing act in order to adhere to timescales and to hit deadlines."

The group have also held consultation events and meetings with residents, historians and community groups to gain their views on the restoration, heritage preservation and a suitable use for the hall.

Nathan Lee, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund North-West, said: "We're delighted to support Chadderton Together in working to save this important and historic local building for their community.

"Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, the group will be able to significantly develop the project to restore and manage Foxdenton Hall, preserving Oldham's rich heritage for future generations."

Chadderton Together have already organised fundraising events to boost their campaign but are appealing for volunteers to come forward to help out.

Rev Simmons added: "We have lots of plans to put on fundraising events but in order to run those events we desperately need more volunteers to come forward.

"We still need visionaries, entrepreneurs and those with great ideas to come forward and help us to prepare a business case for future use of the hall too."

Forthcoming fundraising events for the group include the Chadderton Christmas market and lights switch-on from 5pm tomorrow at Chadderton Town Hall.

There will also be a sponsored cycle event outside Boots on Chadderton shopping precinct on Saturday from 10am until 3pm, and a Soul & Motown event at Chadderton Reform Club from 7.30pm on Friday, December 9.