WORK is fully underway to tear down an old warehouse building in Darlington.
Preparatory work to demolish the former Sports Direct building in East Street has been underway since May.
Bulldozers are now on the site and have started knocking down the building.
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The warehouse in Darlington, which was previously also a night club and bowling alley, has been vacant for some time and has been an eye sore for several years.
Previous plans to turn the building into a gym fell through and Darlington Borough Council purchased the site last year.
The council is knocking down the building to make way for future development.
It has now revealed it has earmarked the site for “quality residential development”.
A council spokesperson said: “The site has been earmarked for quality residential development, in line with our town centre strategy, and a number of developers have already enquired about taking it on.
“Any development will look to capitalise on the town centre location and will include green space and links to active travel for walkers and cyclists.”
Work to strip the internal fittings and remove asbestos has been going on for several weeks.
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It is expected to take about a month to fully clear the site.
Councillor Jonathan Dulston, leader of the council, was on site this morning. He said: “Major work is ongoing at the moment as we completely demolish the old building. It’s been a massive eyesore for the town for the last couple of years.
“We were successful in purchasing it as a council which is fantastic for our future ambitions for making this area of town a success.”
He added; “The good news is we’re getting this site ready for investment and we have had loads of people contact the council interested in coming to Darlington and investing in us.”
The building, which was originally built in the mid 1960s, was once home to the Magnet ten pin bowling alley as well as a two-storey nightclub.
The bowling alley ceased trading in the mid 1970s and was taken over by the Magnet Furniture Group and used as a retail showroom and depot.
It was subsequently used by Sports Direct until several years ago when the company moved premises to its current Cornmill Centre location.
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