A COMMUNITY building in Christchurch has been demolished for “safety reasons”.
The sports pavilion at Barrack Road Recreation Ground has been flattened following months of debate into its future.
An application was submitted by BCP Council in November to demolish the building, which was in a state of disrepair after being targeted by vandals.
The building was levelled before BCP Council planners had approved the scheme earlier this month.
Speaking after the plans had been tabled, the local authority said the pavilion needed to be demolished for “safety reasons”.
Their spokesperson said: “The Barrack Road Recreation Ground is a popular facility for local people. Unfortunately, the disused pavilion building on the site has continued to be the focus of vandalism and anti-social behaviour in recent years.
“We have therefore taken the decision to board up the pavilion in the interests of health and safety.
A planning application has now been submitted to demolish the building and if approved, works to demolish the pavilion building and an adjacent storage building will begin at the end of December.”
The pavilion building has remained a topic of conversation for elected leaders and local authorities for months.
The site is owned by BCP Council, but Christchurch Town Council are in the process of taking ownership.
At a meeting in November, members of Christchurch Town Council agreed to write to BCP Council to accept the transfer of assets.
In the same meeting, it was determined the skateparks at Two Riversmeet Arena and Watermans Park will also have their ownership transferred to the town council.
Christchurch Town ward councillor Mike Cox said the pavilion at Barrack Road Recreation Ground had been ‘neglected’ under BCP Council’s ownership.
He added that the town council had wanted to take responsibility of it for ‘a long time’.
Speaking in November, Cllr Cox said: “Now, the state of it the building is utterly and completely dilapidated.
“BCP have been utterly negligent in its ownership of the pavilion, as a result of which they’re having to knock it down, and someone will have to pay for the cost of putting a new one up.”
At this stage, it is not known if there are plans for a new building on the site.