Plans Announced To Demolish Derelict Factory

North Northamptonshire Council has announced plans to demolish the former Lawrences Factory in Desborough over safety concerns.

The historic building has stood derelict for nearly 30 years, is structurally unsound, and attracts high levels of anti-social behaviour.

A proposed sale of the site on Gladstone Street to the Co-Op fell through last year, and the council says demolition would reduce the risks the site currently poses.

The former Lawrence’s factory site PIC: ANDY CARPENTER

NNC said it spent nearly £50,000 on security measures at the site last year.

The demolition would cost around £381,000 and be carried out by specialist contractors, as the property contains asbestos.

The site, which dates from 1883, has been subject to various redevelopment proposals since its closure as a shoe factory in the 1990s, but none have ever progressed.

Council leader, Cllr Martin Griffiths, said: “Sites like this have such a negative impact on the communities they sit within by drawing high levels of anti-social behaviour and we’re committed to doing all we can to reduce this in the short term.

“But it’s also about looking further ahead and another of our corporate plan aims – prosperity.”

If approved, the demolition work would likely begin this summer.