Approval for the demolition of the Crimea Tavern pub in Castleford:

Castleford is bleak, and losses like this will only make it bleaker.

Until the mid-twentieth century, the pub was at the centre of a High Street at the North end of the Town on the bank of the River Aire. Clearances, highway engineering, and de-industrialisation have left this end of Castleford bereft of any urban form. A dual carriageway, surface car parks, and dog shit infested grass verges replaced the Victorian urban grain.

The demolition is a continuation of this mentality. It was purchased by the Wakefield Council as part of the plans to regenerate the Riverside for £1.2m. At this price, any offers from potential publicans would clearly be excluded from bidding. Various other buildings have been purchased by the Council in an exercise of land assembly reminiscent of post war urban renewal – a period lamented by urban designers and conservationists ever since. Described as a ‘blight’ by local councilors, it seems that decisions makers in small towns are still unable to imagine a derelict building coming back to life. Shameful.

The images below compare Castleford from the 1950s to the modern day. Beautiful streets, replaced with nothing but tarmac.