Oldham Coliseum: Arts Council backs plans for town's new theatre

Arts Council England (ACE) said it was "absolutely committed" to supporting performing arts in Oldham after cutting funding to the town's historic theatre.

Oldham Coliseum is set to close on 31 March after losing its entire funding from ACE.

Campaigners are battling to save the building but Oldham Council said it was not fit for purpose and has unveiled plans for a new £24m theatre.

ACE said it was "fully behind the plans" for the new theatre.

Actress Maxine Peake was among hundreds of campaigners who attended a public meeting at Oldham Coliseum on Tuesday in protest over the planned closure.

The star, who is originally form Bolton, hailed local theatres as the "lifeblood" of communities and led a chant of "hands off Oldham".

Representatives for ACE were invited to the meeting but did not attend, with a symbolic empty chair placed on stage.

The theatre, which has a 135-year history, said it had been unable to come up with a rescue plan following the funding cut and had entered a consultation period with all staff.

A spokeswoman for ACE said Oldham Coliseum was "a well-loved fixture" and "understandably many people have strong feelings" about its future but it was too "high risk" for further investment.

"Oldham Coliseum Ltd has been facing financial and governance challenges for some time and as guardians of public money we could not invest in an organisation which we assessed to be such a high risk", she said in a statement.

She said the building was owned by Oldham Council and had "never been part of our funding to the company".

"ACE is absolutely committed to supporting arts and culture for the people of Oldham, and we're standing by our commitment to invest £1.85m in performing arts in the town and overall our investment in the arts in Oldham will be higher than ever before", she added.

She said £360,000 of support would be provided once funding ends on 31 March.

Amanda Chadderton, Labour leader of Oldham Council, said the existing building had asbestos and a "litany of problems".

The council said it would submit plans in the summer for new theatre on Union Street with auditorium seating between 300 and 350 and a smaller 120-seat studio.

It is due to formally accept £1.85m from the Arts Council on Monday for cultural activities in the borough for the next three years while it is built.

ACE said it was "fully behind the plans" which "will ensure there's brilliant theatre in Oldham for people to enjoy for years to come."

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