A CENTURY-old part of Leigh is to disappear forever.

The massive Leigh Brewery, built by George Shaw & Co in Brewery Lane, has received the death sentence from council planning chiefs.

They have given permission for the Grade Two listed building to be demolished to make way for new homes to be built by Elite Homes (North) Limited of Eccles.

But the company must first submit a scheme for redevelopment as well as a full archaeological survey which must be approved by the Secretary of State.

The council has spent the past two years trying desperately to find ways of saving the building, one of the last remaining parts of old Leigh, but the building is in disrepair and no alternate use could be found.

Elite Homes has said it will rebuild a parapet at the other side of the site and will retain the well known George Shaw sign and other bits and pieces of the building, including several sculptured plaques and terracotta finials.

Council planning officer John Sloan told the planning committee: "Despite the importance of the building to Leigh, it is in an extremely-poor condition and any benefits to the community are minimal."

A copy of Elite Homes plans will be placed in Leigh Library for local people to read, but the plans for new homes on the site met with strong disapproval when they were first mooted three months ago.

Chairman of Leigh Civic Trust Stuart Hide said: "I am opposed to any listed building being demolished, unless it is a particularly dangerous condition.

"We are reaching the stage in Leigh when we are not going to have anything left of historic interest."

In recent years the brewery building, which was built in the Edwardian era, was used for carbon processing.

But to many Leigh residents it has always been a comfortable feature of the town's mighty industrial past.

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