'It's a monstrosity, there's no need to keep it - it's holding our town back'

People in a Salford town say a landmark building should be knocked down as part of regeneration work. Lancastrian Hall and Central Library, built in 1969, sits opposite Salford council's offices at the Civic Centre in Swinton, next to Swinton Square shopping centre.

The building has been shut for nearly a decade, since the library service relocated to Swinton Gateway in 2015. Locals say the derelict building is an 'eyesore' and a symbol of Swinton's decline, calling for new investment in the town.

Plans to change Swinton have been in the pipeline for years, with the council having already spoken to residents about what they want to see - a project known as the 'Swinton Vision', reported to have cost £350,000.

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The town hall says there is 'overwhelming support' to demolish Lancastrian Hall and that Swinton is looking 'increasingly dated and tired, with too many empty buildings and shops'. But the plans have yet to result in improvements in the area.

Calls to level Lancastrian Hall as part of Swinton's regeneration have been backed by Robin Garrido, leader of the council's Conservative opposition.

He described the building over the road from the council's offices as a 'monstrosity' of a building and said there is 'no reason to keep it' in its current form. "It needs to come down and the buildings that are part of it, we need to start off with a fresh piece of paper," he added.

He has also said regeneration work in Swinton should include council buildings, proposing to convert empty offices into temporary accommodation for the homeless over winter and eventually knock down the newer part of the Civic Centre to build more social