By John Baron
New plans have been submitted to demolish the ‘unsafe’ Armley Conservative Club building, which engineers claim poses an ‘immediate risk to life’.
Developer Richards Banks has applied to Leeds City Council to demolish the empty building, which was was subjected to an arson attack in September 2024.
A structural inspection of the Armley Conservative Club site, off Theaker Lane, was carried out by Wetherby-based Dart Engineers in April.
In a report submitted with the planning application, Dart Engineers concludes: “In the engineer’s opinion, the structure is unsafe and presents an immediate risk to life. The building is considered to be beyond viable repair and demolition is strongly recommended.”
The report adds: “The building has sustained extensive fire damage, resulting in the widespread destruction of the roof and internal floor structures. Consequently, the building has lost the primary elements that provide lateral restraint and overall structural stability. The external masonry walls are now effectively acting as freestanding elements and exhibit signs of distress consistent with this condition.
“Both chimney stacks are observed to be leaning and are no longer restrained by the roof structure. In the engineers opinion, these elements are unstable and present a significant risk of collapse. The condition of the building is further exacerbated by prolonged exposure to the elements, ongoing material degradation, and evidence of unauthorised access.”
The report concludes: “Demolition is strongly recommended without delay to prevent potential injury or death from trespassing parties.”
Previous proposals to develop the site have proven unsuccessful. WLD reported in July 2024 that plans to build housing had been refused by council planners. Eleven terraced houses would have been built off Theaker Lane as part of the proposals, which were first submitted in 2022.
Armley Conservative Club was established around 1895 and was based at The Dennison Hall. It later moved to The Primrose Hall and then to its present location at Far Field House.
The latest demolition plans can be viewed in full here.
Similar plans by Mr Banks were refused by the council last August. The council considered the building to be a ‘positive building in the Conservation Area’ and that insufficient information has been submitted to verify that the building was structurally unsafe.
- Read more of WLD’s coverage of Armley Conservative Club here.
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