Demolition

It’s the end of an era as the demolition of Baildon Branch Library and Ian Clough Hall (two sides of the same building) begins in earnest. 

Another example of a local authority, through national austerity policies, being unable to afford maintenance, repair or upgrade of a building, so demolition is presented as the only feasible option. The resulting empty plot will be sold off for development, so a public asset will be lost to private hands.

The library isn’t lost. It has reopened in a temporary space while a new (much older) building across the road is redeveloped to house it. There is no news yet as to what development proposals will be brought forward for the site. Hopefully not a supermarket or a drive-through. And as the plot is just at the end of my street and I pass it all the time, hopefully nothing too ugly.