Town halls are back in power

The recently refurbished Failsworth Town Hall with its modern glass extension.

A NEW era dawned for local government in Oldham today with the official opening of Failsworth Town Hall.

The historic venue, restored to its former glory thanks to a major £2.2 million renovation project, is Oldham’s first district town hall to reopen its doors for business.

Originally built in 1880, the revamped building with modern glass extension overlooking the Rochdale Canal brings together a range of important existing and new local community facilities for Failsworth and Hollinwood residents under one roof for the very first time.

A further five district town halls will open across the borough by Christmas, all ready to bring formerly centralised services right to the heart of the community.

District councillors have decided that:

::Royton Town Hall, Rochdale Road, will serve residents in Royton, Crompton and Shaw, with a satellite base at Crompton Library, Farrow Street, Shaw.

::Chadderton residents will be able to go to either Chadderton Wellbeing Centre, Burnley Street, or Chadderton Town Hall, Middleton Road.

::Saddleworth residents will use the Uppermill Library, High Street, with a satellite centre in Lees.

::Oldham West town hall will be based at Werneth Primary Care Centre, Featherstall Road South, while Oldham East residents will see their base at Holt Street Housing Office, Greenacres.

Each district town hall will house a district co-ordinator, district caseworker, community development officer, streetscene manager and youth service manager, all accountable to their community.

A total of 500 frontline workers, currently centrally managed, will report to the district town halls, and all bases will have their own telephone number for residents to raise local issues and make appointments.

Council leader Jim McMahon said ultimately residents will be able to visit their “one stop shop” on their doorstep to carry out tasks like pay council tax.

He said: “This is not just about a counter behind a screen, its more of a community hub, a base for everyone in the community to use.

“The biggest risk is that we end up with a two tier system where one area performs better than other.

“That’s why we need quality standards in place and we need to be able to adapt to local needs.”

McMahon said while each area may look and feel different to the other, they should still see the same levels of services provided.

He said: “Like everything, it’s going to evolve and will become what people want it to be.

“For people from Saddleworth to Failsworth, after 30 odd years of central control, this may look different but will mean the council is more responsive and closer to the community.”

Councillor McMahon will be joined by David Heyes, MP for Ashton-under-Lyne whose constituency includes Failsworth, to officially reopen the venue and unveil a ceremonial plaque.

As well as district town hall offices, the building is home to Failsworth Library, relocated from Main Street, and the Lifelong Learning service, which moved from North Bank.

It boasts a new Function Hall complete with its own licensed bar which is available for public hire, training rooms and community rooms, and a public café.

The building had lain vacant for more than three years and became a target for vandals before refurbishment and extension work began last year.

Councillor McMahon said: “Failsworth Town Hall is an historic and iconic venue and I am thrilled to see it now restored to its rightful place at the heart of civic life.

“We have worked hard with the architects here to ensure that this redevelopment respects the heritage of the building whilst also providing new and modern rooms for community use.

“This building has been empty since social services staff moved out in 2007 but today is now once again something that residents can not only feel proud of, but also use to access a range of important local services and facilities at their convenience.

“Plans to put district town halls like these at the heart of our communities are essential in our plans to reconnect Oldham Council’s services to those that they serve, and this is now a first-class venue to ensure that we can do that.”

Mr Heyes MP said: “I am delighted to be here to see this superb building reopened to provide a range of services to the people of Failsworth.

“After many years of disruption to the district centre today is a very important milestone for Failsworth. However, there is still work to be done to ensure this area once again becomes a thriving district centre that we can all be proud of.”