By John Baron
A senior council planning officer has acknowledged that deciding the future of the dangerous Armley Conservative Club building is a ‘tricky balancing act’.
Adam Ward was updating a packed Armley Forum public meeting at Armley Community Hub on planning applications at derelict sites in the area.
WLD reported last week on fresh plans to demolish the building, off Theaker Lane, which an engineer’s survey claims poses an ‘immediate risk to life’ following an arson attack in September 2024 and ongoing vandalism.
Mr Ward said: “We’re fully aware of anti-social behaviour, with police called out on numerous occasions, along with the fire brigade.”
He said the council ‘did not dispute the structural survey’ that accompanied this application and ‘accepted the poor state of repair’ and danger the building presented.
Labelling the club as a ‘positive building’ in a Conservation area, Mr Shaw added: “We have to try and balance the issues with the preservation of historic assets. It’s a tricky balancing act.”
Mr Ward encouraged Armley residents to have their say on the demolition proposals, which can be viewed in full – and commented upon – here.
Similar demolition plans by applicant Richard 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.
Previous proposals to develop the site have proven unsuccessful. WLD reported in July 2024 that plans to build housing had been refused. 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.
Theaker Lane Clinic site
Mr Ward said there had been no work carried out to transform the eyesore former Theaker Lane clinic and build 18 apartments in two, four storey blocks.
Planning permission was approved almost two years ago and Mr Ward said the applicant – WTS Armley Ltd – had a year left to start work at the site before permission runs out.
The derelict site, just off Armley Town Street, has sat empty for many years and has been subjected to vandalism, arson and anti-social behaviour.
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