Holdforths estate: Vandalised shop to be demolished

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A vandalised shop which has been a magnet for anti-social behaviour on the Holdforths area of Armley is to be demolished.

Council chiefs have granted permission for the demolition after the most recent tenant of the shop handed back his lease to the council following an incident which saw police attacked by a gang of around 30 youths.

The attack led to police successfully applying for the shop, in Holdforth Place, to be closed on a temporary basis.

When it was open, the shop had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour on the estate. Since its closure in July has been the subject of numerous break-in attempts and a fire badly damaged to its interior three months ago.

A council report approving the demolition said:

“Since the premises has become vacant … the Council have spent £2,100 on security and maintenance for the premises and West Yorkshire Police have reported the internal shell of the building is 70% damaged following the fire in October 2016.

“The cost to put the building back into a useable condition would be in the region of £20,000 to £30,000 and this would not necessarily guarantee that a commercial tenant would occupy the building as we believe it is commercially redundant following the Closure Order and the alcohol licence being revoked.”

The report adds that the area was densely populated until 2010 when a housing clearance project cleared the area immediate of housing with the intention of attracting developers supplying a higher spec of social housing.

Due to the economic downtrun nothing was developed, leaving a large area of undeveloped pedestrianised land. The report adds:

“This resulted in a significant drop in trade and a rise in the level of anti-social behaviour in the area. A 50% rent concession was
granted in March 2010 which was reviewed in April 2015 and further granted until March 2017.”

The building will be demolished within the next six weeks.

Read the report in full here.



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