Watch: Donnington social club gets demolished for housing

The club, in Wellington Road, Donnington, closed in 2011 and bulldozers arrived earlier this month.

Demolition work is under way to pave the way for redevelopment of the site where nearly 30 affordable homes will be built for the Wrekin Housing Trust.

The club closed in 2011 and residents have claimed it has become an eyesore and a safety concern. The housing trust wants 100 per cent of the new homes to be affordable, social rented housing.

In a report to the meeting, planning officer Daniel Owen said the redevelopment of the site would have a "positive impact" on the area. He denied the development would lead to a detrimental impact on amenities and roads in Donnington.

The club opened in Wellington Road in June 1966 after moving from COD Donnington and an extension to the building was added in December 1987.

It was a popular centre for social events and considered an important part of the community in Donnington. But it shut its doors for the last time on April 2, 2011, with the social club's committee was forced to close it as it was no longer financially viable.

Since it closed, it has deteriorated significantly. Much of the building was destroyed in November 2011 when a fire ripped through part of the clubhouse.

Outline permission was granted in 2012 to Planning Prospects Ltd to build 25 houses on the site. But those development plans were not taken forward due to challenging economic circumstances, according to the firm.

When the club closed in 2011, Ernest Hedgecock, from Ketley Bank, who had been a member since 1948, said he was devastated at the closure of the club which he had used every day. He said: "I feel terrible. I don't feel so much for myself but for the youngsters that are coming through playing snooker and bowls."

With the building now being flattened, those memories are soon to be all that remains of the much-loved facility – but councillors have welcomed the development of the site which has sat empty since its closure.