Oldham pop-up theatre approved despite loss of parking spots

On Wednesday, April 17, Oldham Council's planning committee met to discuss plans for the 167-seat Roundabout theatre to be erected for three months.

The theatre, which is being delivered by the company behind Oldham Coliseum, will see live performances and activities beginning at the end of this month through to July.

Now, the plans have been approved despite the loss of 35 total parking spaces, including two electric vehicle charging bays and two disabled spots.

The area of the car park where the theatre will be erected (Image: Google Maps)

At the meeting, Cllr Angela Cosgrove questioned whether the two disabled bays would be replaced, which Highways officer, Wendy Moorhouse, said would not be the case.

Mrs Moorhouse said a suitable number of disabled spaces still remained in the town centre, but that the nearest ones at The Tommyfield pub were not fully accessible, like the ones at the southeast corner of the Civic Centre car park.

Cllr Cosgrove said: "My issue is these ones we're losing are fully accessible, so if you're in a wheelchair you can take the wheelchair to the side of the car.

"The ones at The Tommyfield you can't, you have to leave somebody in the middle of the road, so that's my concern that we're not replacing [them] with fully accessible bays."

The highlighted area shows where the theatre will be set up (Image: Google Maps)

Head of planning at the council, Peter Richards, acknowledged there would be an impact but that the spaces would only be out of action temporarily and said the scheme would bring wider benefits.

Meanwhile, Cllr Steve Bashforth said it was "another interesting scheme" and that he hoped it would be a "resounding success".

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Works to erect the theatre will being today (Friday, April 19), with the official opening set to be on Thursday (April 25) before closing on Sunday, July 14.

What the pop-up Roundabout theatre will look like (Image: The Production Office)

Coliseum at the Roundabout will host a variety of events over the coming months, many of which will be free to attend.

Some Oldham Theatre Workshop groups, in partnership with the Coliseum, will also be using the Roundabout, such as its LumenUS group for young people with special educational needs, Chrysalis, which works with adults with a range of physical and learning disabilities, and its creative youth council.

The pop-up theatre is set to provide opportunities for aspiring theatre technicians and creatives and will offer participants in the scheme a bursary and access to the theatre space for a week to progress their work and any new ideas they are developing. 

The proposal was approved unanimously by all 11 members present.