DEMOLITION work is starting on the conservatory at Stamford Park, which has been at the centre of a public campaign to save it.
The structure, first built in 1907 and gifted by John Neild, has been the focus of attempts to see it remain.
But after being closed for nine years, work to take it down is beginning after planning permission was granted in 2019.
Vehicles, including a crane, are now on site and work is likely to start imminently, just within the five-year time limit Tameside Council has after the go ahead was given.
A replacement garden is likely to be put in its place as, according to documents, some of the original ironwork will be used to create pergolas.
A council report said: “It was subsequently completely rebuilt in 1982-84. It was later refurbished in May 2003.
“Due to the significant rebuilding of the Conservatory, including use of soft wood and polycarbonate rather than glass, the Conservatory was not a priority for funding as much of its historic integrity has been lost.
“The significant changes to the Conservatory also mean that it is not a listed building in its own right and is not separately protected.
“The Conservatory has been closed to the public since April 2015 after safety concerns were raised following a structural survey.”
And the application to knock it down added: “The survey was conducted using a high-level platform when the heavy metallic roof finial details were removed, due to concerns about their fixity in the rotten timber ridges.
“Further deterioration was noted in the rafters and hips extending to the ridge. Bolt fixings have become exposed in rotten timbers above the roof line where they provide fixity to the metallic brackets through the steel reinforced main rafter sections, and that support the higher roof sections.”
And when discussing how the site should be used, it added: “There will be a need to create a high-quality space and which brings the space back into the park.
“The site could be developed into a high-quality garden space featuring ornamental planting, some interpretation of the site, formal benches, paths and pergolas created from the original ironwork within the Conservatory.
“In addition, there will be an interpretation board explaining the previous history of the site and the two plaques from above each door will be laid into the garden.”
That is now set to begin, with the existing structure first being taken down.
When permission for the demolition was granted, more than 4,000 people signed an online petition calling for the structure to be preserved in the Grade II-listed park, which straddles the border between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge.
A Save Stamford Park Conservatory group has been vocal online about wanting it to stay and maybe bringing it back into use.
A small fire was recently started on the site, highlighting its insecurities and potential dangers.
However, the arrival of demolition vehicles, plus the erection of ‘demolition in progress’ signs means the structure is set to disappear.
Another iconic building being destroyed. I wonder which councillor is getting a back hander for this and let’s see what pile of crap will be put in it’s place if anything
I agree with Colin Boyle. I also can’t help but wonder whether the structure was deliberately neglected in order to favour demolition. A tragedy.
Why didn’t the 4,000 strong petitioners put their hands in their pocket to repair and maintain this old relic?
Council money can be better spent elsewhere! If you like conservatories that much they’re for sale at B&Q for a few hundred quid!
If the council kept this conservatory, after spending thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds fixing it (so that nobody gets killed by falling glass when inside) they will have to pay a salary to a small team of gardeners to keep the conservatory in check, plus install CCTV cameras, as no doubt todays youth would smash it to smitherines once the park was closed to visitors.
Sometimes in life you need to let go, the world is always changing, and keeping hold of a rotten old greenhouse isn’t the way to progress in life!
Knock it down, build a nice relaxing area, allow a couple of college kids to meet and have a romantic picnic and welcome a child into this world 9 months down the line!
You’re right – on second thoughts, why not bulldoze everything, and use every square inch of land for modular, functional housing units. This would create more jobs and prosperity. People don’t really need parks, which are infested by paedophiles and drug-addled youth, just the smile of their offspring. Every trace of history should also be erased, since this disturbs the mind, and saps the vigour. We should all get on with reproducing, and thank our lucky stars we live in such a free society, which most people in the world do not! A soar-away success for TMBC!
You just need to look at Alexander Park in Oldham. This was renovated and don’t see vandalism there. Plenty of people visit it and other places with conservatories. Such a pity Tameside don’t have pride in the park. I have many childhood memories visiting Stamford Park as a child. It’s now quite neglected.
The council not listening to what the people want yet again. Plus, this was a gift to the public!
Such a shame! If it had been renovated it could have been a beautiful Wedding venue that could be hired out and generate lots of funds for upkeep.
Typical Tameside! Let a building fall into disrepair, then declare it “too expensive” to restore, and then demolish it. Is that what’s on the horizon for Ashton Town Hall?
Is the “A Rayner” in the replies Angela Rayner, or is it a spoof? I think we should be told…!
Typical TMBC: refurbish on the cheap. then do no maintenance, then demolish: this time having misled the “Friends” group for 5 years. It all falls into a pattern: the demolition of Stalybridge Town Hall,(after years of neglect and a suspicious fire) the ruination and sale of the Riverside Walk, which really was the jewel in the crown for Stalybridge, the magnificent Hyde Library left as a rotting blot on the landscape, a £3million repair job for the roof on Stalybridge Civic hall, the closure and proposed demolition of Ashton Baths, and now a £9m estimate for the repair of Ashton Town Hall. But this doesn’t stop them from building fatuous white elephants, Tameside One being an example. Something stinks about all this…
Tamside Council spends money from the rate payers and lottery fund on doing places up and then not bothering with them for the next 10 to 15 years wonder why the eventually get to the point where they have to be demolished. Hyde Library is going to be one of them and I think Hyde Park could follow eventually it’s got to be maintained by volunteer workers and the bandstand which had a lot of money spent on it from the lottery Grant about 10 years ago is slowly looking dreadful. Go back into the history of Hyde and look at the various buildings we have had and they have all been demolished by Tamside Council. You all had the chance to kick them out on the 2 of May but yet they got voted back in with large majority. I voted Lib-Dem
So many errors in this reporting, you should really try to get your facts right before you push an article out like this.