Swift demolition progress made on Bolton College
Demolition contractors are making swift progress on the site of the old Bolton Community College.
The contractors have said they expect to complete the razing of the 17 buildings on the 1.7-hectare site before the end of the year. The site will then be readied for the building of a new housing development.
The Manchester Road buildings, the first of which were built in the 1930s, have been standing vacant since the college relocated to its new premises in Deane Road last September.
No development has yet been identified to take its place, but a Bolton Council spokesman said that the site will be marketed for residential works.
"A number of major house builders have expressed an interest in the site," the spokesman said. "It will be promoted as a residential development opportunity towards the end of the year or early next year."
The demolition is taking in all of the campus buildings and incorporated structures, including the Excel Leisure Centre and the derelict public house and cottages that run along Lower Bridgeman Street between Westbrook Street and Gorton Street.
Bolton and District Civic Trust chairman, Brian Tetlow, said it was very sad to see the college come to such an end.
"The building was quite iconic on a major route and it is a pity it has to go," he said. "One would only hope that the architecture of whatever replaces it is suitable for a major route."
