Ex-funeral parlour could be converted into apartments 'with storage space for headstones'

An ex-funeral parlour in Oldham could be converted into five apartments - arranged around a space to ‘store and display headstones’. A planning application submitted to the council last week shows plans to transform Jarvis House on Jarvis Street, which used to be home to Oldham Muslim Funeral Services, into living quarters and a workshop for headstones.

Oldham Muslim Funeral Services moved to a new site on Manchester Road in 2019. But a memorial service provider, run by the applicant Mr Mohammad Riswan, still operates from Jarvis Street.

If approved, part of the building would continue to operate as a memorial service, creating and selling headstones and ornaments to commemorate loved ones, with a large workshop space on the ground floor.

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But plans show part of the ground floor divided off into a self-contained flat with at least four bedrooms with ensuites. The first floor is set to be renovated into a one-bed and a two-bed apartment and two bedsits.

The new layout could contain up to ten bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with seven en-suites.

The two-storey building is located in a residential area close to Alexandra Park. It currently has a yard outside, which has four parking spaces.

The application is for a ‘retention of extension and change of use’, which would give the developer permission to create a ‘mixed use’ space including living space alongside commercial space. But it’s possible that the developer may need to apply for planning permission to split the building into five units.

Under ‘Permitted Development’, housing developers do not need planning permission to split a house into two apartments but may require