Venue of town's only Beatles gig to be demolished

A 120-year-old former snooker hall where the Beatles once performed is set to be knocked down ahead of plans to replace the venue with flats.

The former site of Oldham's Grand Theatre, a entertainment venue which opened on King Street in 1908 and later became a cinema, has been approved for demolition by local authorities.

It comes as Developers Footprint Design have submitted plans to turn the former complex into a tall red-brick block of more than 100 apartments.

After closing as a cinema in 1961 it later, briefly, became a concert hall called The Astoria Ballroom, where The Beatles performed their only Oldham gig in 1963.

The building on King Street has stood empty for several years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

At one point it was used for cue sports under the name of Riley's Snooker Hall, and was last used as a training ground for the Rainy City Roller Derby team under the name of the Thunderdome.

The site originally started out as the Grand Theatre, a performance space designed by London architects Thomas Taylor and Ernest Simister who also designed Chadderton Town Hall.

In 1937, Gaumont Super Cinemas took over the building, gutted the auditorium and transformed it into stalls and one circle seating totalling 1,842 to open their 1930s cinema.

It became disused and was nearly demolished in 2008-2009 before being taken over by the roller derby group.

If plans to revamp the site area approved, the tower would also include a ground floor car park with spaces for shops and cafes.

A date for the demolition has not been set, but the work is expected to take 12 weeks.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.