THE demolition of an historic town centre building has been halted after Bolton Council admitted that its decision to tear it down was unlawful.

A conservation group, Save Britain’s Heritage (SBH), has been campaigning for weeks to save the former Bolton Community College Building in Clarence Street from destruction.

Now the council has conceded defeat over the way it handled the planning process.

The council wanted to pull down the historic red brick building, which is on a prominent development site, and replace it with a temporary 103-space car park, which it says will be needed to serve shoppers when the Bath Street car park closes in January.

The demolition was halted last month, when SBH obtained a High Court injunction. Now the council has agreed not to fight SBH in court for the right to demolish the building.

Bolton Civic Trust chairman Brian Tetlow said: “The trust does all in its power to preserve Bolton’s rich architectural heritage and it is regrettable that a building of substance and quality could have been considered for demolition when the council had recognised its value.

“We would sincerely hope that moves can be made quickly to repair the building and bring it into use.”

The lynchpin of SBH’s argument was the discovery of the council’s regeneration development brief, put together earlier this year, which praised Clarence Street’s historical, cultural and architectural value.

The council admitted in a letter to SBH that the decision to demolish the building was made without regard to the brief, which made it “unlawful”.

SBH secretary William Palin said: “We now hope the council will follow the advice of its regeneration team and seek ways in which this building can be brought back into use.”

A council spokesman said: “We have taken legal advice and chosen not to contest Save Britain’s Heritage’s claims. We are are looking forward to sitting down with them to discuss the future of the building.”

“However, we are disappointed that since the group started proceedings, they have been reluctant to talk to us.”