Council vandalism

When it was decided to close Royal Park School, the ruling Labour group promised to retain the building for community use. But then in May 2004, the Lib Dems and Conservatives took power and failed to honour the pledge made that was made by their predecessors. And so the building has been allowed to lie empty for several years, and now, the council wants to demolish it.

Earlier this year, it was reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post that developers had demolished historic Elmfield Infants School in Morley. In his defence, the developer stated, “We had no other choice due to the vandalism of the building. If someone had been injured, there would have been problems for us as directors”.

The argument used by the developer to justify his action is identical to the argument being used by Leeds City Council to justify the proposed demolition of Royal Park School. What is being proposed here is legalised vandalism. Just because it’s Leeds City Council that’s instigating this and not a private developer doesn’t make it alright – it actually makes it worse. Leeds City Council should be using its resources to support the community in Hyde Park, not tearing it down.