End of the road for crumbling church

SHAW United Reform Church, which is due to be demolished and adjoining hall, which will be extended

IT’S the end of an era for a 115-year-old Shaw church that’s set to be demolished and replaced with flats.

But Shaw United Reformed Church will continue because the money made from the development will fund an extension of the adjoining church hall for worship and community use.

A full planning application has been submitted to Oldham Council proposing the demolition, church hall extension and building a three-storey block of six two-bedroom apartments.

These will include one specifically designed for a disabled resident, rear and front gardens and one car park space per apartment. As the Evening Chronicle reported yesterday, the plans have been recommended for approval by Shaw Planning Committee.

A building survey has shown that the Rochdale Road church has serious rot and structural problems and has become unstable.

Engineers have been monitoring the building on a regular basis since 2004. Last year they said it was no longer safe and it was closed with services switched to the church hall.

It was decided that it would cost too much to repair the damage and consultation showed there was a need for more community facilities and a better worship space.

The existing church opened in 1893 as a Congregational church before becoming part of the United Reformed Church.

The present church, of Victorian Gothic design with an ornate stone frontage but plain brickwork surround, is quite high and visible from some distance.

The Rev John Piper, Minister, said: “The church and hall were built at the end of the 19th century and were not built very well, to be frank. The hall collapsed 10 years ago and had to be demolished. They managed to build a new, small hall, which we are using at the moment but there have been problems ever since with the church building.

“There is dry rot in the roof and walls are leaning outwards and we have been told they are not safe. A year ago we had to stop using the building and we have been looking at what to do with it.

“The cost of repairing it is financially beyond us so we have been looking at other alternatives. One is to extend the hall at the back to provide a new space for worship and community use and to fund it by building apartments. We’re very keen to preserve a presence there and provide the community facility.

“A new building will offer a much more flexible option for the community as well as ourselves and Shaw is not blessed with lots of community facilities.”

But even if the flats are built they will still have to raise £200,000 to turn the vision into a reality.

The 200 capacity hall extension will have a new porch serving as an access to the worship space and community facilities, along with a foyer, toilets and office area.