Concrete Jungle - Removal Begins

A quick visit to the town centre today revealed the extent of demolition work already well underway on the blot on the landscape structure formerly known as 'Wilkos'. Contractors have gutted the internal area of the retail store and now beginning the process of tearing down the outer facade of the structure facing on to Dickson Road. Inevitably road closures and detours of traffic around this pivotal area are giving drivers headaches, as well as requiring Blackpool Transport to adjust the routing of many of its services.

The grimness of the structure and its concrete underpinning is revealed with the initial removal of external walls facing on to Dickson Road. To be fair to the Wilko business - the structure was designed and constructed well before the company took on available ground floor space and embarked on its retail operation at this site - and had previous occupiers before Wilko moved in. The multi level car park was never viable with minimal users and usually empty floors. I believe Royal Mail took on part of the upper floor to store its fleet of delivery and mail vans.

Finally at long last - the enormous concrete edifice is undergoing expert attention by demolition contractors. The western side (Dickson Road facing) of the structure being the first to receive removal work as seen above. Images by John Woodman taken today.