Elmroyd, Brighouse
Plans to demolish a former Victorian care home in Brighouse:
This Victorian villa can be seen on maps dating to 1893, and is possibly much older.
More recently having functioned as a care home the facility shut in 2016 following a litany of scandals in the delivery of their care service.
Back in 2017 residents objected to the conversion of the building into ‘bedsit’ flats for fear of an increase in a transient population. Consequently, the owner has looked into other options, with demolition presumably being most convenient politically and financially. I can’t help but feel the people of Brighouse have missed an opportunity to keep this building in perpetuity.
Healdfield Pub, Castleford
Application to knock down this pub in Castleford:
A red brick pub integrated into the rows of terraces that surround. Unremarkable to a passerby, but it is always a sad loss to see an old town pub disappear, particularly in a town such as Castleford which has been turned over by the wrecking ball over the last 50 years. It is tragic to look at maps of Knottingly or Castleford from just 50 years ago, and see the proliferation of pubs, and public spaces that have been lost. This process continues…
Old Coroner’s Court, Sheffield
Demolition notice submitted to Sheffield to demolish the stunning Coroner’s Court in Sheffield:
A complex and unfathomable series of events has resulted in the green light given to knock this beautiful and historic building down to ‘slab level’. The machinations surrounding the redevelopment of the site are detailed in this excellent piece in the Sheffield Star:
www.thestar.co.uk/retro/controversial-demolition-of-sheffield-old-coroners-court-gets-go-ahead-40213
Last year pressure from local heritage groups managed to delay the demolition and redevelopment of the site, with Firestone Developments withdrawing their application. Sadly, even the most novice of planning consultants can advise that demolishing a building does not require consent, and this is the strategy to adopt if you encounter pesky militant locals.
A loss or Sheffield, particularly in an area that is attempting to regenerate itself. Heritage is always key to regeneration. To be cynical, the branding of a new urban quarter requires tangible historic context and this is a lesson developers need to learn.
More pubs up for demolition
Two pubs with applications hanging over their heads:
The Omnibus in Middleton, South Leeds:
A grand red robust building. Seen as a lynchpin for the envisioned new community of Belle Isle, as the city expanded during the formative years of town planning principles of the garden city, with notions of spaciousness, public life, and leisure, were still redolent in this public housing project. A new local pub of course, was seen as vital in this milieu.
A sad loss but it looks like the pub will make way for a new care home, which the area desperately needs.
Some such pubs have recently been listed, namely post war modernist examples that quite rightly deserve to be protected. Yet it would be prudent to retain some examples of the first wave urban extension pubs, and the ideals that the Utopian planners attempted to realise. If lost, places such as Belle Isle no longer reflect that vision, and become mere suburbs.
In Barnsley, The former Fitzwilliam inn is threatened with demolition:
Although looking tired now, the white and blue painted facade was once striking. The pub survived a similar application in 2014 and hopefully will be saved again. As this side of Barnsley regenerates, it is incumbent on the planners to recognise that a historic pub would provide much needed amenity for Barnsley’s new urbane apartment dwellers.
Think on Barnsley Met Borough Council.
The Shears Pub, Liversedge
Application to demolish historic pub in Kirklees:
The harrying of the Spen Valley continues. This pub is an incredibly important landmark in Yorkshire, serving as a meeting place of the Luddites. The 138 comments from neighbours are testament to the value this pub has in this community. If only councils would listen to their electorate a little more.
Or at least listen to the plea of the bbc:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-48076753
Built in 1773, the building should qualify for automatic listing status as stipulated by Heritage England. I will be incredibly shocked if the case officer does anything but immediately refuse the application.
I know there is a handy motorway junction nearby, and Ikea is just down the road, but at some point Kirklees needs to put a moratorium on the destruction of social infrastructure in the Spen Valley.
Joseph Nutter House, Bradford
Application to demolish former public building in Horton Park, Bradford:
Built by Victorian philanthropy, this orphanage was gifted to the city in an expression of civic pride in 1888. The building has latterly become a college, retaining its status as a public building in Bradford. The turrets and ramparts make for unique elevations, and the building is vital to the context of the surrounding parkland.
This article in the Telegraph and Argus captures the incredulous response so many have felt upon seeing this application go in.
Objections from the Bradford Civic Society, the Victorian Society, and many members of the public show how meaningful this building is to the people of Bradford and West Yorkshire.
Echoing the words of the Civil Society, there is no evidence that the building is in a state of disrepair. It is not enough to claim a vacant building is a risk to safety or a magnet for anti-social behavior. This spurious statement seems to be an increasing generic line fed to planners from the consultants’ playbook.
I hope Heritage England can expedite a spot listing over the next couple of weeks before a determination, and foil Mr Mohammad Farid’s plans.
Gatehouse in Bradford
Plans to demolish a listed gatehouse in Bradford:
(image from Telegrah and Argus)
Dating back to the 1860s and no longer able to support itself, plans to flatten this building are being determined by Bradford Council.
An excellent piece by Chris Young in the Telegraph and Argus details the case very well.
The loss of a listed building to extend a car park is unacceptable, particularly as Bradford have already seen 6 listed buildings demolished within 3 years.
Springwood House, Elland
Demolition of Springwood House in Elland:
The expansion of neighboring Overgate Hospice involves the destruction of this Victorian house to extend car parking facilities on site.
A handsome building in the increasingly harried town of Elland, the loss of this building will be a great shame to the town. Buildings such as this remind the people of Elland and other such small towns in West Yorkshire that they have a prosperous and proud history, in spite of current economic circumstances.
Earlier iterations of the plans showed the building adapted to become a cafe, which would no doubt complement the adjacent cricket ground. Yet as is often the case, when the planning process plays out over a number of years, aspects of betterment or planning gain as lost to ensure ‘viability.’
Wibsey Park Lodge, Bradford
Retrospective permission to flatten Wibsey Park Lodge in Bradford:
Disgraceful practice by Mr N Rahim. Nobody in the development industry is unaware that demolition requires planning permission. Yet he went ahead and cleared this beautiful and historic park lodge. Mr Rahim weighed up his choices, and knowing the council will only give him a cursory slap on the wrist, he can now go on and make his money from 4 detached houses without the need for an expensive and protracted development control process.
A delightful building with a tall red brick chimney contrasting with the slate and stone of the house. Victorian Parks need their lodges to make sense of their history. If only the council would enforce their legislation and make him rebuild it brick by brick. Set and example. At the very least, I dare Bradford Council to refuse permission for the development of the site.
As it turns out however, the building was sold to Mr Rahim by Bradford Council in the first instance. Interesting. I hope everyone is reading between those very obvious lines and arriving at the same conclusions I have.
Bingley Science and Technical School
Plans to demolish Bingley Science and Technical School:
Bradford Council have been forced to sell this handsome building following an extensive marketing campaign which have proved unsuccessful in finding a new tenant. Interestingly a covenant attached to the building states it must only be used for local educational purposes. A very noble Victorian ambition indeed, however this clause could be the death knell of the school, as this imposed flexibility precludes a potential conversion to housing.
The Victorians and their institutions, slowly dismantled as civic society is subjected to the bottom line.
Couldn’t the free school movement have snapped this up from the council? I’m sure a peppercorn price could have been negotiated with a community group intent on setting up a free school for the sake of saving the building. This is near Ilkley after all.
The Demolition Register 