Fire-hit Bradford church demolished - but should it have been?

Demolition crews from Thomas Crompton started dismantling the former chapel on Undercliffe Road on Wednesday morning, as ordered.

Most of the historic church has already been taken down while the foundation stone, laid on June 14, 1884, has been saved.

Bradford Council said it had instructed the owner to demolish the building after the authority's building control service deemed the building unsafe.

• Latest: Fire-ravaged church 'needed to come down', Bradford demolition company says

Work to demolish the church began on Wednesday morning.

But email correspondence seen by the Telegraph & Argus appears to suggest the building wasn't "immediately dangerous" to the public. 

Steve Hirst, Bradford Council’s senior building control surveyor, visited the site on Monday evening and concluded that "the building wasn’t in danger of collapse".

The senior member of staff told interested parties that the ground floor appeared relatively undamaged while the roof structure and floor joists were largely in place, thereby providing restraint to the walls.

Mr Hirst concluded "in its present condition any conversion/renovation is likely to be very expensive."

The T&A approached Bradford Council for an updated statement explaining the contents of the surveyor's email and a full explanation on the action that was later taken to demolish the building.

The Council did not respond by the time of publication.

In the last statement from the Council, a spokesperson said: “Officers from our building control service inspected the building on Monday.

“The fire has rendered it unsafe so it will shortly be demolished and cleared by the owner.”

It comes after a T&A reader poll showed an overwhelming majority of people were against demolition of the church (81 per cent).

Just 19 per cent of the 538 participants said they would support demolition.

“It’s one of the oldest buildings around here,” one man said, as workers carefully removed the church’s foundation stone.

“A lot of local people remember it being a church, so there’s a lot of sentiment. It’ll be sad to see it go because it’s been a view outside my house for a long time.

“I’m surprised the building wasn’t listed because it’s a part of local history.”

Another local resident said: “It’s another community building we’ve lost. It’s part of the history of the area.”

One resident who lives in Undercliffe said: “I was so angry when I heard about the fire.

“For someone who has lived here so long, I’ve seen the bingo hall down the road destroyed by fire last year and now this building has been destroyed.

“Buildings like these are a part of history. The old churches have a lot of history.”

Fire at Bradford church - what we know

The T&A understands the fire began around 3.30pm on the first floor before spreading upwards.

While the fire impacted most of the roof, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue removed any remaining roof slates to enable the fire to vent through the roof.

It also made it safer for passers by at risk of falling slates.

Earlier this month, a planning application to demolish the church and build shops and industrial units in its place had been submitted to Bradford Council.

The chapel, based at 114 Undercliffe Road, had most recently been used as a workshop.

A decision on the application was expected in May.

Speaking after the incident on Tuesday, Si Cunningham, the councillor for Bolton & Undercliffe, said: "I’m aware that the building was subject to a recent planning application, and due process will be followed as it should be with any planning matter."

He added: "We’d like to thank West Yorkshire Fire Service and local police for their swift response.”

Firefighters from stations across the district spent most of Monday evening tackling the incident as smoke clouds rose into the sky.

Crews from Bradford, Shipley, Fairweather Green and Stanningley stations attended.

The cause of the fire remains a mystery, though it is believed to have been deliberate.

Bradford CID has since launched a police investigation.

Enquiries are ongoing, West Yorkshire Police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact 101, quoting log number 1242 of April 25.

Speaking at the time of the fire, one eye witness told the T&A: "The roof is not in a good way. There's smoke coming from the roof. A lot of the roof is gone."