Beautiful derelict building to be transformed in new project

A beautiful but run-down building in Oldham could soon receive a new lease of life.

The ornate Victorian-style building on Chapel Road, Hollinwood, was once home to a Super Saver discount store, but has stood vacant and derelict for more than a decade.

Now developer Asif Hussain has plans to transform the red-brick structure into seven self-contained apartments. The compact flats, ranging in size from 40 square meters to 50 square metres, would each comprise a bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom, with either an additional mezzanine level, or a lounge. 

The building (pictured below) has characteristic Victorian features, with ornamental stone carvings and high-pitched slate-style roof. But it’s currently in a poor state, with many windows missing and boarded up with ply-wood and vegetation growing out of the walls.

Mr Hussain applied for a change of use from commercial to residential to get the development started, which is a planning step often required when a former shop is being turned into housing. Oldham’s town planners decided that the project doesn’t require a change of use, in part due to the building standing empty for such a long time. 

The council has set some conditions on the project, such as the inclusion of cycle storage. Environmental officers raised concerns about the top floor flat, which appears to only have sky lights and no other windows. It ‘would not be good for the occupiers of this flat to live without a window that has some sort of view’ according to council staff, who were also concerned by the lack of space for bin storage. 

And a local resident also objected to the plans, stating: “A seven-bedroom apartment represents an over-intensive use of the site, out of keeping with the scale and character of neighbouring homes. This scale of occupation is excessive for the plot and will have a harmful impact on the local environment and residential amenity.”

But town planners ultimately deemed the building to be acceptable, claiming “the application type does not require a dwelling to have adequate outlook and there is also no strict requirement for a waste storage facility to be indicated on the plans. As such, it is considered that these would not be sufficient reasons to refuse the application.”