Remains of historic site to be demolished

A derelict site in Werneth that has ‘suffered extensive vandalism and a fire’ is to be bulldozed.

The Hollies, a former day care centre on Frederick Street, will be put forward for demolition to make way for new homes.  

The main building on the site was knocked down in 2021 but several abandoned stables and outbuildings continue to attract anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping, a charitable trust committee heard on Monday (March 17). 

The committee decided the demolition was necessary so plans to build 27 new semi-detached and detached houses on the site could progress. The proposals, submitted by owners of the land Greenstone Properties, feature 12 six-bed and 15 five-bed houses. 

Developers said they will ‘provide high quality large family sized houses in a sustainable location’. 

The site was originally endowed to the Oldham community through the William Taylor Hague trust and operated as a support centre for the elderly and those facing mental health struggles. But since 2005, the Victorian mansion and its outbuildings have stood empty. 

Over the years, the abandoned buildings have attracted urban explorers and undesirable behaviour to the area, according to the council. 

The town hall was given permission to sell the Hollies in 2011, on condition that the money would be ‘distributed immediately to charities established for the relieving of the sick or of poverty’. 

The first attempt to sell the land to Greenstone Construction failed. The council retained a £42,500 deposit which was used to cover some of the £38,000 demolition costs.

Greenstone Properties finally succeeded in buying the land for £916,500 in 2017. The money is currently still under the remit of the Trustees Committee. 

While councillors agreed it was ‘necessary’ and ‘reasonable’ to approve a demolition, an objection to the new housing development argued the buildings ‘should never have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent it required demolition’. 

The objector, who described how their husband had been treated at The Hollies while it was a mental health facility, added: “The intention was that the building and its grounds should be used for the benefit and the citizens of Oldham”.