Work to transform Royton Town Hall into a "welcoming, family-friendly, multi-use building" is set to begin later this year, the council has said.
Refurbishment of the historic venue and adjoining Royton Library will create a new library area, improved community rooms and commercial space.
The council say the building will be made accessible for all users and will become much more energy efficient, supporting its commitment to becoming the greenest borough in Greater Manchester.
The project is part of Oldham's Creating a Better Place strategy – designed to boost regeneration across the borough and support its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic and Social Reform, said: “Royton Town Hall and Library is at the heart of Royton, and we have been committed to improving it for the community for some time.
“While we would’ve loved work to begin sooner, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic meant that we had to focus our efforts as a council on frontline services and supporting those most in need. We also formally reviewed the programme in Autumn 2020 to reflect on the financial impact Covid-19 was having.
“But Royton Town Hall remained a priority and Royton councillors have been pushing for it to progress, so we’re pleased to now be able to move forward with our vision for the building and will ensure work gets started before the end of this year.”
The council say the design meets the needs identified by the community through engagement carried out previously and will see the 1960s rear extension demolished, with the cleared area then landscaped to create a flagged area with seating.
The existing library area is to be sub-divided into two distinct areas. The first being a newly created refurbished library area and next to this, a commercial space which we would like to rent to a local business or social enterprise such as a café or use complimentary to the library.
A reception desk will facilitate both the new library area and offices for council staff - which will extend to the ground floor of Royton Town Hall.
Upstairs in the town hall, the existing community room will be retained and revamped to offer an improved area for the community to use. The refurbishment will also include a platform lift, accessible toilet and kitchen area.
The whole building will also benefit from the installation of additional sustainability and energy efficiency measures to reduce its carbon footprint, as part of the Green New Deal - an ambitious target of the council becoming carbon neutral by 2025 followed by the whole borough by 2030.
The proposals are due to be discussed by Oldham Council’s cabinet on Monday (26 July).
If approved, work will begin late 2021 and is expected to complete by June 2022.
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