Landmark site to be revived

LANDMARK... NatWest building

EXCITING plans have been unveiled to revive a neglected Oldham landmark — and turn it into a pub and restaurant.

An application has been submitted to transform the ground-floor and basement of the Grade II-listed NatWest bank building in Mumps.

The neighbouring Northern Carpet Supplies building would be demolished. However, separate proposals are being drawn up to replace it with a landmark development which could be used as a hotel, offices or housing.

The site is central to the regeneration of Mumps and will be a stone’s throw from the planned Metrolink station.

But the buildings have sat partly demolished and surrounded by hoardings since a £5 million scheme for luxury flats fell through in June, 2008.

Work halted when local firm and former Oldham Athletic sponsors Hillstone Developments Ltd went into administration.

The merchant bank Close Brothers Ltd has submitted the planning application for the former NatWest bank which closed in the late 1990s. It does not own the building but hopes to attract a developer.

Most of the original features would be retained such as the mosaic in the entrance lobby, the polished black and green marble fireplace in the banking hall and the ornate wall-mounted storage drawers and panels in the manager’s office.

Documents submitted with the application state: “The proposed development will preserve this monument to the town’s past and heighten people’s awareness of its intrinsic value by bringing the building back into everyday use.

“This will help to accentuate its landmark status as the regeneration of Oldham continues.”
A spokesman for Close Bothers said there were concerns about the structure of the Northern Carpet Supplies building which it is feared could affect work on the Metrolink extension.

He added that the plans for the bank are supported by English Heritage. “I think it is a great building.

“What we are trying to do, which is what English Heritage wants, is make it a stand-alone, untouched building,” said the spokesman.

Councillor Mohib Uddin, Cabinet member for regeneration, said: “It’s an absolutely key site to the town centre and it does need redevelopment. The current state it is in is an absolute mess. We need to bring that site and the junction back into use. Since the Metrolink announcement, a number of developers are looking at it in a different light.”