A Building Collapsed in Oldham

The Council Is Now Blocking Questions

Oldham Council spent years covering up the systematic rape of children. It suppressed evidence, protected perpetrators, and punished the people who asked questions. That is not an allegation. It is a matter of public record, confirmed by statutory inquiry and documented across hundreds of pages of official evidence.

A council capable of that is capable of covering up anything.

Which is why, when a building collapses in the town centre and the council's first response is to block the journalist asking questions, nobody who has watched this institution should be surprised.

What Happened

A building partially collapsed in the centre of Oldham on Tuesday 24 March, injuring five people and putting two in hospital. Around 40 people required temporary accommodation overnight. We are not discussing fatalities today because of luck rather than because anyone was adequately protected.

The building at 31 King Street had known structural issues, and works were already underway to address them. A neighbouring property had been demolished, leaving a side wall exposed to the elements. The risk had been identified before the works began. The building collapsed during them.

What has now emerged makes this significantly worse than a building in poor repair that its owners failed to fix in time.

Twenty-Three Days

On 1 March 2026, 23 days before the collapse, concerns about the building's structure were reported to both police and Oldham Council. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended. Large cracks were visible in the external brickwork. A man who works nearby called 999 that morning because it was visually obvious the building was not stable, adding that if one brick had gone, the whole structure would have gone with it.

A council building surveyor assessed the site. The surveyor's conclusion was that the building was not in immediate danger of collapse.

Twenty-three days later, it collapsed.

The fire service confirmed they handed the matter back to the owner after their attendance on 1 March. Councillor Ghafoor claims a structural engineer was instructed the following day and that a building notice was submitted to the council on 9 March. Scaffolding was then erected around the site.

What works were carried out between 2 March and 24 March?

The scaffolding went up. The structural engineer was supposedly engaged. The building notice was submitted. And for 22 days, what happened before the building fell down?

The Owner

The building is owned by KKS Investors, a firm whose directors are Councillor Kamran Ghafoor, a serving member of Oldham Council, and his business partner Sameer Zulqurnain. KKS Investors has owned the property since 2019.

Ghafoor is not a man without history on the question of property standards.

In 2012 he was convicted and fined £1,500 for renting out a private home that was unfit to live in. He pleaded guilty. At the time he claimed the delays to repairs were down to money problems. He later changed his position and claimed he had been singled out by the council for campaigning against a landlord licensing scheme. Oldham Council's statement after that court hearing was unambiguous: the council had given the landlord plenty of opportunities to put the faults right and he had failed to do so, adding that this could have put his tenants at risk.

That was 2012. The record since has not improved.

Last year, eight children and 16 adults were evacuated from another property on King Street owned by Ghafoor. The council said it was forced to take urgent action to move the residents to new accommodation after Ghafoor failed in his duty to maintain a decent place. Ghafoor blamed the council, claiming the disrepair was the result of its own management failures and that he was being scapegoated for political reasons.

At Oldham Council's Annual Council Meeting on 21 May 2025, cabinet member Councillor Elaine Taylor stood up in the chamber and referenced Ghafoor as the landlord in connection with a property on King Street. Ghafoor threatened legal action. The statement was made on the floor of a public council meeting by a serving cabinet member. It is on the record.

This is the man who now tells us he is a responsible landlord who followed all instructions given to him.

Ghafoor has issued a statement claiming;

• a structural engineer had been instructed
• professional contractors engaged
• scaffolding erected
• building control notified
• and the works properly managed
• He says the cause of the collapse is not yet known and that he is cooperating with authorities.

These are verifiable claims. Either the paper trail supports them or it does not.

What the paper trail already shows is that a building with visibly cracked external brickwork, formally assessed as a dangerous structure by the fire service on 1 March, sat untouched for 22 days before collapsing onto a busy town centre street.

Ghafoor's statement presents the erection of scaffolding as evidence of responsible action. It is not. Scaffolding is a working platform. It allows contractors to access a structure. It does not hold a building up, brace a failing wall, or provide any structural support whatsoever. A building with a collapsing wall behind scaffolding is still a building with a collapsing wall. The structure at 31 King Street proved that point on 24 March. It came down with the scaffolding still attached.

The Questions I Asked

Yesterday I wrote to Shelly Kipling, Chief Executive of Oldham Council, copying in the council leader, opposition leaders, the borough solicitor, and Councillor Ghafoor himself. I asked five questions about what the council knew, what inspections had been carried out, whether enforcement notices were issued, what oversight was in place, and whether the incident had been referred to the Health and Safety Executive.

I have since been informed by a senior council source that my email has been blocked.

What we now know makes that silence harder to explain.

A member of the public stood outside 31 King Street on 1 March and could see with his own eyes that the building was not safe. He called 999. He told the Manchester Evening News that if one brick had gone, the whole structure would have gone with it. He was not a structural engineer. He was a man standing on a pavement looking at a building.

A council building surveyor then attended the same site, looked at the same cracked brickwork, and concluded the building was not in immediate danger of collapse.

Twenty-three days later it was rubble.

The question of how a trained professional reached the opposite conclusion to a member of the public standing in front of the same building, and whether the fact that the building was owned by a sitting councillor with a documented history of property offences had any bearing on that assessment, is one the council should be answering urgently. The decision to block those questions is not a communications failure. It is a choice.

Why This Is Not Surprising

This pattern will be familiar to anyone who has followed Oldham Council's conduct over the past decade. The rape gang scandal did not survive institutional silence by accident. It survived because those in positions of authority consistently chose to manage information rather than act on it. When members of the public dared voice concerns, the Council mobilised the police to silence them. That reflex does not disappear when the subject changes.

The council surveyor who attended on 1 March concluded the building was not in immediate danger. A member of the public who called 999 the same morning could see with his own eyes that it was. Twenty-three days later the public was right and the surveyor was wrong. The question is not only whether the surveyor's assessment was negligent. It is whether a councillor's ownership of the building had any bearing on how that assessment was handled, recorded, or acted upon.

That is not a conspiracy theory. It is a conflict-of-interest question that any competent authority would be asking right now.

What You Can Do

There are three things you can do right now.

1. Report it to the HSE

The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for investigating serious construction incidents. It does not matter that the Council claims to have reported it. Fill in the report form directly on their website at www.hse.gov.uk. A partial collapse with injuries in a busy town centre, 23 days after a formal dangerous-structure assessment, is exactly what that form exists for. The more people that raise concerns, the less what took place can be 'managed'.

2. Write to Oldham Council

Send the following to the Chief Executive of Oldham Council. Copy in the leaders of each political group on the council.

shelley.kipling@oldham.gov.uk arooj.shah@oldham.gov.uk alex.bougatef@oldham.gov.uk howard.sykes@oldham.gov.uk Kamran.Ghafoor@oldham.gov.uk max.woodvine@oldham.gov.uk lewis.quigg@oldham.gov.uk

Subject: King Street Building Collapse – Urgent Questions

Dear Chief Executive,

I am writing regarding the collapse of the building at 31 King Street on 24 March 2026.

It has now been reported that concerns about the structural condition of this building were formally raised with Oldham Council on 1 March 2026 — 23 days before the collapse. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended the site. A council building surveyor carried out an assessment and concluded the building was not in immediate danger. The fire service then handed the matter back to the owner.

The building collapsed 23 days later, injuring five people and leaving 40 without a home overnight.

The owner of the building is Councillor Kamran Ghafoor, a serving member of Oldham Council. Councillor Ghafoor has a 2012 conviction for renting out a property unfit for human habitation. In 2025, eight children and 16 adults were evacuated from another property on King Street that he owned. At Oldham Council's Annual Council Meeting on 21 May 2025, a cabinet member described him in the chamber as a criminal rogue landlord.

Given the seriousness of this incident and the public interest in how it was handled, I would like clarification on the following:

• What records exist of the council's assessment on 1 March 2026, including the surveyor's written findings and any actions recommended?
• Was Councillor Ghafoor's ownership of the building known to the surveyor at the time of the assessment?
• What conflict-of-interest safeguards were in place given that the owner is a serving councillor with a documented history of property offences?
• Were any enforcement notices issued or considered between 1 March and 24 March 2026?
• What communications took place between council officers and Councillor Ghafoor between 1 March and 24 March 2026?
• Was the building notice submitted by Councillor Ghafoor on 9 March 2026 reviewed, and if so by whom and with what outcome?

This is a matter of public safety. A trained council professional assessed a building as safe. A member of the public who called 999 the same morning concluded it was not. Twenty-three days later the public was right. The council must explain how that happened.

I would appreciate your response within the statutory timeframe.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]

3. Submit a Freedom of Information Request

Go to whatdotheyknow.com and submit the following request to Oldham Council. Every submission is published publicly, which matters.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to make a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

This request relates to the building at 31 King Street, Oldham, and the collapse which occurred on 24 March 2026.

Please provide the following information:

1. Councillor Declarations of Interest
Any declarations of interest made by Councillor Kamran Ghafoor in relation to 31 King Street, any associated companies, or any council discussions, meetings, or decisions concerning the property, for the period 1 January 2020 to present.

2. Internal Communications Involving Councillors
Copies of internal communications — including emails, messages, and meeting notes — involving councillors and/or senior officers that refer to 31 King Street, its structural condition, any concerns about safety, or any planned or ongoing works, for the period 1 January 2024 to present.

3. Meetings and Briefings
Records of any meetings, briefings, or discussions — formal or informal — where 31 King Street was discussed, concerns were raised about its condition, or decisions were made regarding oversight, enforcement, or action. This includes agendas, minutes, and notes.

4. Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interest
Records showing how Oldham Council identified and managed any potential conflict of interest arising from a serving councillor being connected to the ownership of the property. This should include internal guidance or advice sought, communications between officers, and any decisions taken to mitigate or manage the conflict.

5. Communications with Councillor Kamran Ghafoor
Copies of correspondence between Oldham Council officers and Councillor Kamran Ghafoor relating to 31 King Street, its condition, any repair works, or any regulatory or enforcement matters, for the period 1 January 2024 to present.

6. Escalation or Risk Discussions
Any internal communications or documents that discuss risks associated with the building, concerns about potential collapse or structural instability, or whether action should be taken prior to the incident, for the period 1 January 2024 to 24 March 2026.

If any of the requested information is exempt from disclosure, please specify the exemption relied upon and provide the reasoning as required under the Act. If the cost of complying with this request exceeds the appropriate limit, please advise how the request may be refined.

I would prefer to receive the information in electronic format.

Yours faithfully,

Nobody died on 24 March. The questions that follow a near miss are the same ones that follow a fatality, and Oldham Council has responded to them by blocking the campaigner who asked. A council surveyor told the owner his building was not in immediate danger. Twenty-three days later it was rubble on a busy town centre street, and 40 people spent the night without a home. The man who owned it had a conviction for renting out an uninhabitable property, a cabinet member had called him a rogue landlord on the floor of the council chamber, and the council had previously evacuated children from another property he owned on the same street.

This is a council with a history of criminal cover ups. The only question is whether they will be allowed to do it again.

I’m Raja Miah MBE. For seven years, I led a campaign that exposed how senior Labour politicians helped protect Pakistani rape gangs. The people of my town helped force the national inquiry.

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