Growing up in Oldham, most of us became pretty adept at climbing by hanging onto drainpipes and jumping over fences – usually to try and get on to the roof of a building to get a badly kicked football down.
The residents of Oldham won’t need this parkour initiation any more though as work has begun on a brand-new ‘world class’ climbing centre on Egerton Street right in the town centre.
Oldham Council approved plans for the 20,000 sq ft facility last December, with it expected to become one of the largest indoor climbing centres in the UK. Work began this week on the site – one which benefits from an already rather steep incline – which will be reflected in the building’s design.
Inside the centre they’ll be offering a soft play area, Valo Climb interactive climbing walls, a cafe and viewing areas.
The good news here is that whilst they are a for-profit business, ‘Summit Up’ is the trading subsidiary of The Stoller Charitable Trust, whose purpose has been to provide opportunities to raise aspirations, support Oldham’s young people to reach the height of their ability and to provide a helping hand when it is most needed.
This means that all of Summit Up’s profits will go directly to supporting the youth of Oldham. Great stuff.
Summit Up is set to open in 2021.
………………………………..
