Words & photos: John Baron
Work started today on the demolition of a former high school in Pudsey.
Hough Side High School closed in August 1992 and the site since used as Leeds City Council office space. The local authority has since earmarked the site for around 76 houses in its Site Allocations planning blueprint for Outer West Leeds.
The building, on Hough Top, has already been soft stripped, with re-usable items and timber materials removed.
It is now being systematically demolished by mechanical plant. The site will then be cleared of all demolition materials, consolidated and then finished in top soil and seeded.
Check out a slideshow of images of the demolition so far:
The building has had a variety of uses, and WLD reported in November 2019 that most council workers had moved out of the building, also known as Hough Top Court, and work to demolish the building was ‘able to take place soon’.
Demolition had been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A planning application for houses on the Hough Top site is yet to be submitted.
