New vision for Oldham Coliseum
THE latest vision for a new Oldham Coliseum and Heritage Centre has been released ahead of a planning submission.
Oldham Council and Oldham Coliseum Theatre have been working with architect Mecanoo on the development in Union Street.
The scheme will bring the borough’s cultural assets, with the Coliseum Theatre sitting alongside the Grade II-listed former Oldham Library and Art Gallery building, which will become a new Heritage Centre.
The development would also link up with the adjacent Gallery Oldham, Library and Lifelong Learning Centre. When complete the theatre would have two performance spaces with 550 and 100 seats respectively.
Council leader Jim McMahon said: “This latest vision is the result of careful work which aims to showcase the beauty of our future – an eye-catching modern Coliseum Theatre building – in a setting that fully complements and doesn’t compete with the grand former library building that will be given new life as a Heritage Centre.”
A second round bid that has been made to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for around £4m and a separate bid to Arts Council England (ACE) for £5m was submitted earlier this year. Decisions on both are expected in Spring 2015.
