Bulldozers reducing Telford & Wrekin Council offices to rubble
[gallery] The rest of the building might be rubble, but Telford & Wrekin Council's name sign was today clinging on resolutely to the remains of the former civic offices as the bulldozers do their business.
This is all that remains of the building, which is being demolished by new owners Asda to make way for a new superstore.
Once the store is open, the supermarket giant intends to close its existing base in Telford shopping centre.
Demolition work started three weeks ago and very little of the four-storey building is left standing.
Once it is completely demolished, contractors expect to have to spend several more weeks on the site moving and compacting the rubble before building work can start.
In all, demolition is expected to take six weeks. The new store is due to open in March next year. The civic offices, made up of Malinslee House and Walker House, was the council's main base from the mid 1970s but after 40 years 800 employees left the building last December.
Many moved to Addenbrooke House in Ironmasters Way and others relocated to offices at the new Wellington Civic and Leisure Centre and to Granville House in Donnington.
The building was a major landmark in Telford town centre but few people posting on the council's social network sites seem sad to see it go, with most branding it ugly and an eyesore.
The Asda superstore will be built over two levels and the 44,000 sq ft superstore will be built on stilts above a 500-space car park.
Site bosses have said the superstore, which will also include a petrol station, will be ready to open in March 2014 in time for when Asda's lease is up on its town centre site.
Frank Nolan, project manager working on the site, said 97 per cent of the materials removed from the site would be reused in the new building.
The progress being made to improve Telford's shopping facilities are in contrast to problems with Shrewsbury's plans for a £150 million redevelopment.
Developers for the New Riverside centre today admitted it faced an uncertain future because of the current economic climate. The "best case scenario" would be for work to start in early 2015.
