Church renovation plans blocked

Plans to restore the site where a Grade II listed chapel once stood have been blocked despite planning permission being granted. The owners fear no progress and further decay of the building would be ‘the greatest loss’ to Oldham.

The chapel at St Paul’s Methodist Church on Rochdale Road in Shaw was built in 1863 with a number of school and nursery buildings added over the decades. The church has had a long history but after years of being closed, the roof of the chapel partially collapsed in February 2019.

Works were carried out in 2019 following the collapse to make the building safer and the Methodist church have been criticised for how they left the historic building. Since then, the building has continued to decay further.

Plans were put forward to carry out further works to the building. Mohammadia Masjid and Islamic Centre bought the site in 2021 in the hopes of establishing ‘a community social and religious assembly’. Part of the chapel wall was accidentally knocked down during site clearance works but it has been promised this will be reinstated. 

On July 8, Oldham councillors were being asked to consider approving the partial reconstruction of the Church and Sunday School buildings, including the reinstatement of a collapsed gable wall, the formation of a new permanent gable, and repairs to the structural and architectural elements.

The scheme also includes the formation of a landscaped garden within the existing graveyard to the front of the chapel as well as the refurbishment and repair of railings.

While this planning application was narrowly approved, an application for listed building consent that followed was refused after chair councillor Garth Harkness gave a casting vote. Officers had warned such a situation could lead to costs against the council if an appeal was lost and ‘put the council in a very difficult position’.

Planning officers said the chapel building had been demolished with permission on public safety grounds before the current owners took over but there had been hopes it would have then been rebuilt. They said the planning application was about restoring the building and securing its future.

The committee also heard a statements of the trustees of Islamic centre, who said their plans were to give the building ‘an opportunity to have a future once again’ by preserving and protecting what remains, adding: “We believe allowing the building to continue deteriorating would represent the greatest loss not only to our organisation but to the wider community and heritage of Oldham.”

They said the restoration would be carried out properly, telling councillors: “Our ambition is simple. We want to bring new life into a building that has stood empty for far too long. We want it to become a place that benefits local residents.”

Speaking as a representative for the area, Shaw councillor Marc Hince said: “It’s not about who prays there or what god they pray to? That’s a matter for them,” adding: “The real tragedy is why we’re sitting here and that building is in that condition today and people who are accountable for that are not here to explain themselves.”

Coun Hince claimed illegal works had taken place on the site but enforcement action was taken and the new owners came to understand the importance of the site’s history through discussions. He said the benefits outweigh the harm and endorsed the application as ‘the least worst option’.

Dawn Barnsley, from a local heritage group, raised some concerns about some artefacts on the site as well as stained glass windows whose whereabouts she said were unknown, adding: “For the owners to say they did not realise the full implications of owning a Grade II listed building does not absolve them of their duty to maintain and reinstate the building.”

She said the application ‘needs to be handled delicately and with compassion for the families of the deceased who are buried’. She said there were 401 graves on the site, 98 of them baby graves.

While Coun Hince said this was speculation and hearsay not backed up by evidence, he added: “I do think we should be mindful of these artefacts if they are there and all attempts should be made to locate and preserve them.”

As the site was listed and listed building consent was refused, the work to restore the chapel cannot proceed.