Elvis has left the building... in pieces

Elvis has left the building... in pieces

11 November 2015

DOWN Council’s former Strangford Road headquarters in Downpatrick has been demolished.

After contractors spent several weeks stripping materials from the interior of the former local authority’s administrative nerve centre for recycling, bulldozers moved in last week to demolish the building which was at the heart of local government for four decades.

The Strangford Road site will be sold but the remains of Downpatrick’s old workhouse — which was an integral part of the council’s former headquarters — will remain in place as it enjoys protected status which prohibits its demolition.

Demolition contractors, who discovered the former council HQ was constructed with red bricks from the former Killough Brickworks during the stripping out process, also found tightly packed straw was used to insulate the former council debating chamber.

A suite of garages used as storage areas by the former council were bulldozed last month while specialist contractors spent time removing some asbestos which has been identified at several parts of the old headquarters building.

Bulldozing the main building, while retaining the old workhouse was a delicate operation, with the work carried out by Elvis Kirk of Kirk Contracts, from Killyleagh.

It was his job to ensure the remains of the old workhouse, one of 130 constructed in Ireland, was protected from the demolition work going on around it. Demolition using heavy machinery got underway on Thursday of last week and was completed several days later.

Mr Kirk’s firm was responsible for bulldozing the former Pound Lane Clinic and St. John’s Home in Downpatrick, in addition to the former casualty department and nurses homes and admin buildings at the former Downe Hospital site.

The Strangford Road site is expected to be placed on the open market for sale in the New Year.