Manor House Nursing And Residential Home, Lightcliffe
Demolition of a nursing home to make way for 14 dwellings in Lightcliffe West Yorkshire:
Difficult to date this building, but it certainly has historic qualities that would be sad to lose. Architecture aside, surely it must be the wrong direction to be losing care home stock as our population ages? Why not some enabling development in the grounds to keep the place going?
Mediocre urban design rears its ugly head once again:
Has the architect even visited the site? Why waste time and money doing something like that?
Edwardian house in Dewsbury
An attractive town house in Dewsbury with marvellous high chimneys is to be demolished to make way for an extension to a religious building.
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/planning/application_search/detail.aspx?id=2015%2f92174
This is an interesting case, as the loss of the building in question would be to allow for the extension of a religious building. I respect that the council needs to offer provisions for the building of places of worship – West Yorkshire’s Muslim community has become part of the quintessential character of the region. As such I suppose this location is as good as the next, but it remains that this is the loss of an attractive old building the likes of which can no longer be built.
I would challenge the developer to see if such an old building could be modified into a mosque, or perhaps even look to some of our redundant industrial buildings or the methodist churches and schools that we are in the process of losing. That would be an interesting integration of cultures, and be a unique addition to the industrial landscape of the region.
Broomgrove Club, Sheffield
Application to demolish Broomgrove club in Sheffield, for the erection of a couple of houses:
I don’t know much about this building, but it certainly had some utility for the local community which will sadly be lost. Whats more, the net gain from this development is only one dwelling. And realistically a second dwelling could be added to the existing curtilage. This is further loss of the civic architecture the Victorians left us, not due to redundancy of the building, but because their legacy – prestige and primacy of social institutions, and participation in society – has been eroded. This is a serious concern for our culture.
Duke of York pub Sheffield
Another corner site pub in Sheffield is being demolished as part of a wider site clearance on behalf of Lidl, purveyors of continental shrink-wrapped groceries.
Lidl already have a supermarket on this block, so this demolition is to make way for a cap park extension. Specifically, the plans show the footprint of the pub being replaced by a trolley storage unit.
Just another reminder that after all the rhetoric from local governments about pursuing sustainable development, we are losing a community asset to facilitate further the culture of driving to a supermarket to fill your car with groceries. Of course, anything can be described as sustainable thanks to the caveat that economic growth or job creation is an important ‘pillar’ pf sustainability. I’m of the opinion, that if development doesn’t meet all the criteria for sustainability, then it is not sustainable, with no exceptions. Come on Sheffield, don’t let them extend their car park to further this urban void!
The Demolition Register 