A Sad Postscript ... the Demise of an Iconic Building

A sad postscript to the history of St. Paul's Methodist Church, a once proud and iconic building in the town ...
In the early hours of Thursday 21st February 2019, on the corner of Rochdale Road and Crompton Way, a large section of the church's roof collapsed. It fell onto the road at one side of the building, the car park at the other side and a nursery next door. Roads were closed, and diversions put in place, as the debate began about how this situation should be dealt with and, most importantly, by whom.
It was only by the greatest good luck that no-one was injured when the massive brickwork collapsed, apparently without any warning.
Time passed and an amount of £300,000 was reported as having been spent, erecting scaffolding and making the site safe, although in no way usable!
The building had been considered in dire need of extensive repairs for many years, and was unused as a church. The Primary School had moved to new premises, on Salts Street, in 1975; it would be known as Beal Vale.
Writing this, almost 3 years later, no decisions seem to have been taken, or made public, on the final fate of the building. Hopefully, the situation will be resolved sooner rather than later.

Return to St Paul's main page HERE