The community of Stalybridge has been left devastated following the demolition of a beloved historic asset.
Stamford Park Conservatory has stood proudly amongst the greenery since 1907, but Tameside Council gave the green light for bulldozers to come in and take it down on Thursday. It was described as a 'slap in the face' by a local campaign group who have been battling for six years to keep the site alive.
The Save Stamford Park Conservatory group claims it had been jumping through hoops for the council to get surveys done, and says it had gone through the proper channels to put forward a business case to take over ownership. But May 29 marked the day their hopes of keeping the piece of Tameside history was literally torn down.
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Jane Whittaker, chair of the campaign group who witnessed the conservatory’s destruction yesterday, said: “It was soul destroying to watch. It was emotionally draining.
“I was born in 1970 and my gran took me to the conservatory and I have been going ever since. I moved away to London and then I came back to Dukinfield where I’m from. My whole business is about putting back into the area and this community.
“Six years ago I was asked to join the fight against the council (to stop the demolition). We have done this the council route in every way. One thought I have as to why the council have done this is that they had five years from 2019 to demolish it otherwise they would have to start the process again.”
The council have stated their reasoning for demolishing the conservatory was due to health and safety concerns. Breaks-ins and arson attacks have occurred on the site, according to
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