Dangerous Victorian Oldham warehouse to be demolished
The renowned Park Road Warehouse in Oldham is to be demolished in the very near future, after inspectors found it to be in "imminent danger" of collapse.
The Victorian Grade II listed structure had been the subject of regeneration and redevelopment proposals by Oldham Council. When no investment scheme could be found for the building, English Heritage was called in to start carrying out surveys, but they found it to be beyond salvage.
A council spokesman said the heritage body had prompted the council to issue an urgent demolition order for the building, which was built in 1876, due to its precarious state.
"The warehouse is now believed to be in imminent danger of a partial collapse - and a potential wider collapse of the building," the spokesman said.
The warehouse has been steadily deteriorating over recent years. The council's cabinet member for regeneration, Dave Hibbert, said that it had come to be a "symbol of decline" for the area, but had now fallen beyond the point of salvage.
"We need to carry out demolition works as quickly as possible here to minimise the potential health and safety risks this building now poses to the public," Hibbert explained. "The issues here are structural and serious and a collapse could now occur without any warning or external cause."
