Oldham's Conservatives have spoken out against the 'disappointing' Coliseum news and have claimed a failure by the council to find a new site is behind the move.

Oldham Coliseum Theatre has been the talk of the town for the past two weeks after it announced it had been forced to cancel all of its performances for the year from the end of March, including its festive panto, following a funding loss from Arts Council England (ACE).

In November last year, ACE decided which arts organisations across the country would receive a slice of its financial support through National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funds - and Oldham Coliseum didn't make the cut.

There has been an outpouring of support for the Coliseum, with petitions growing and fundraisers to 'save' it from possible closure.

Celebrities, including Maxine Peake, residents, Oldham councillors and MPs have all backed calls to rescue the theatre, however, the borough's Conservative MPs claim the Arts Council withdrew funding after local authority "mismanagement".

Royton North Councillor, Dave Arnott, said: "Like most people in Oldham, I was very disappointed to learn that the Oldham Coliseum Theatre has cancelled its planned productions for the rest of the year.

"The Coliseum is a charming building which my family and I have visited many times and have always enjoyed the experience.

"The theatre dates back to 1885 and holds a place in the hearts of many Oldhamers, young and old.

"It is one of the few remaining 'gems' in the town, albeit showing its age.

"On the face of it, things look bleak for the theatre."

Councillor Arnott and the Councillor for Royton North, Lewis Quigg, further claim while hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money have propped up the Coliseum for years, Oldham Council "should have progressed plans for a new building and a sustainable financial and governance model".

They refer to the fact that plans for a £27 million new theatre were scrapped in 2018 - which the Coliseum had hoped to relocate into.

But Arts Council England (ACE) said in an exclusive interview with The Oldham Times that the reason the Coliseum missed out on National Portfolio funds boils down to its application which assessors deemed "very high risk".

READ MORE: Why the Oldham Coliseum was refused funds - and its roadmap for the future

ACE's North Area Director, Sarah Maxfield, explained: "The major factor was that what they were proposing just didn't make a strong case for investment of public money and it was also assessed as being a risk in terms of our responsibility to make sure that public money is spent well."

Meanwhile, annual audits from the Coliseum on the Charity Commission website reveal the theatre has been operating at a loss for some time with audience numbers dwindling and a high turnover of management and trustees in a short space of time.

The Arts Council has now given £1.85 million to Oldham for the Council to develop a new programme of theatre and talent development - the same figure which would have been given to the Coliseum.

The Tories said it is notable that ACE has not withdrawn support for Oldham and said the decision "isn't an attack on the arts in Oldham or the North".

Royton North Councillor, Lewis Quigg, added: “Rightly people question whether public money should be spent subsidising projects such as theatres that are not financially or commercially viable.

"The failure to put on shows people wanted to watch and not woke nonsense is part of the reason.

"But in Oldham’s case, there is more to this sorry story than meets the eye."

Councillor Quigg said it was "galling" to see the same Councillors along with MPs "up in arms" over the Coliseum when, he said, "they are the same people who mismanaged the whole affair in the first place".

"It is why I am calling on the board of trustees of the theatre to resign with immediate effect."

The borough's Conservative councillors said they would now like to see the council engage with them, the theatre board, the Arts Council, the government, local businesses and other regional theatres to find a "workable solution" to support the theatre.

Leader of Oldham Council, Amanda Chadderton, said: “It is highly disappointing, if unsurprising, that the Oldham Conservatives are seeking to make political gain from the very sad situation at the Oldham Coliseum.

“Frankly the way Oldham Conservatives are conflating a whole range of issues, adding a whole number of factors together and hoping something sticks is low even for them.

"I won’t be taking any lessons from the Party who bankrupted the country and made working Oldhamers mortgage, energy and food bills go through the roof. 

“It is equally unsurprising that, in their desperation to criticise the Labour council for the Coliseum’s challenges, they don’t appear at all clear on their own argument.

"Snubbing the Coliseum’s shows as ‘woke nonsense’ and saying theatres aren’t financially viable - while simultaneously blaming the Council for previous plans for a new theatre falling through - makes no sense whatsoever."

Councillor Chadderton also said plans for a new theatre have changed over the years as "previous plans became unviable and costs rose".

She continued: "Oldham Labour has remained committed to a new theatre throughout this process.

“I do, however, have some good news for the Oldham Conservatives.

"While they’ve been rattling off reams of misleading allegations to the local media – and hoping they’ll be desperate enough to print their smears  - we have been getting on with the job.

“They have called on us to get around the table with the Coliseum, the Arts Council and others   - we’ve been doing that, with meetings almost daily. And they’ve called on us to drive forward plans for a new theatre – this is happening too, and detailed discussions are ongoing.

“We would welcome councillors of all parties to join us as we drive our arts and culture plans forward – rather than heckling from the stalls.”