Remains of historic former day care centre site to be demolished
The remains of The Hollies, a former day care centre in Werneth, Oldham, will be demolished to make way for 27 new homes due to extensive vandalism and anti-social behaviour. The site, originally a Victorian mansion and support centre for the elderly and those with mental health struggles, has been vacant since 2005. Greenstone Properties, the landowner, plans to build large family homes, though objections highlight the historical significance and intended community benefit of the site.
A former care home site in Werneth is set to be cleared after years of neglect, vandalism and a blaze left the remaining buildings beyond repair.
Oldham Council’s charitable trust committee voted on Monday (17 March) to demolish the last structures at The Hollies, off Frederick Street, so 27 new family houses can be built.
The main Victorian mansion was pulled down in 2021, but several stables and outbuildings have since become magnets for fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour. Members agreed their removal is now the only way to unlock the long-planned housing scheme.
Manchester-based Greenstone Properties, which bought the 3.5-acre site in 2017 for £916,500, intends to build 12 six-bedroom and 15 five-bedroom semi-detached and detached homes. The developer says the scheme will “provide high-quality, large family-sized houses in a sustainable location”.
The land was originally gifted to Oldham under the William Taylor Hague trust and ran for decades as a day centre for older people and those with mental-health needs. It has stood empty since 2005, however, and successive councils have struggled to bring it back into use.
An earlier deal to sell to Greenstone Construction collapsed, but the authority kept the buyer’s £42,500 deposit—money that later helped meet the £38,000 cost of demolishing the main house. The £916,500 purchase price remains under the control of the trust’s trustees and must, under the original deed, be distributed to charities that relieve sickness or poverty.
One resident, whose husband was treated at The Hollies when it operated as a mental-health facility, told the committee: “The intention was that the building and its grounds should be used for the benefit of the citizens of Oldham. It should never have been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that demolition became the only option.”
Councillors acknowledged the objection but concluded that demolition was “necessary and reasonable” to allow the site to be brought back into constructive use.
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