The Stage

Oldham Coliseum wins £1.45m for four-year renovation

Published Tuesday 27 July 2010 at 14:43 by Natalie Woolman

Oldham Coliseum has been awarded £1.45 million by its local council to conduct essential repairs to the building.

The funding is part of a £32 million capital investment programme planned by Oldham Council, which will also include improving roads and other regeneration projects.

The work at Oldham Coliseum will be a four-year project. The venue’s executive director David Martin said he was unsure how it would be scheduled across that time, but he was due to meet the council officer responsible for regeneration projects next month and he hoped to minimise disruption to the theatre.

Martin said much of the project would be taken up with the removal of asbestos from the building. He explained: “The asbestos here has been professionally sealed and is completely safe, but the presence of it in the building does actually limit what we can do. For example, the area under the stage where the traps are and the access to the orchestra pit from backstage was sealed ten years ago.

“We run a traditional panto, which is one of the high spots of our theatre year, but we haven’t had baddies coming in through traps for a decade because we can’t get to the traps any more. It will ease up the restrictions on various parts of the building.”

The heating and ventilation system will also be replaced.

Oldham Coliseum is owned by the council and run by Oldham Coliseum Theatre Ltd.