Star date: 24th January 2019

WORLD FAMOUS GAS HOLDERS DEMOLITION COMPLETE

The demolition of the Salford gas holders has now been completed, and the enormous structures made world famous by Ewan MacColl's Dirty Old Town have now been wiped off the face of the earth.

All that remains of the gasworks is a wall, which wasn't in MacColl's original lyrics, and a plaque on the wall detailing the history of the area.

Full details and photo archive here...

'I found my love by the gasworks croft...'

It was five years ago, as Salford residents lamented the bulldozing of the blue Salford Quays cargo cranes, that a lady approached the Salford Star informing that the next piece of heritage vandalism would be the destruction of the nearby Liverpool Street gas holders.

'Unthinkable' we said 'The gas holders are an iconic landmark, made world famous by Ewan MacColl's Salford anthem Dirty Old Town...they wouldn't...they couldn't...'

It was in May 2017 that the notice went up from the National Grid, that the locally listed gas holders were to be 'dismantled', with permission granted by Salford City Council, as such "designation does not afford protection to the structures".

The demolition notice was met with absolute horror by Ewan MacColl's wife and songwriting partner, Peggy Seeger, who told the Salford Star: "The gasworks skeleton, rusty or not, is magnificent...If we didn't live in a land-grabbing commercial system, the gasworks scaffolding could have been strengthened and turned into latticework for climbing plants.

"The internal spaces could hold a maze, a secret garden, a cafe, trees…fountains… secret spaces to discover...somewhere unlike anywhere in the world" she added "Good for the environment and Salford's fresh air, and a magic place for children of any age..."

Which all fell, as usual, on deaf ears, with the Council announcing that the surrounding wall would be saved and 'celebrated', even though Peggy confirmed that there was no mention of a 'gasworks wall' in the original song lyrics. It was the 'gasworks croft'. (see previous Salford Star article – click here)

It was in May last year that the demolition team arrived to dismantle the structures (see here), and by June there was a music protest outside, plus a petition imploring the National Grid to think again: "They are iconic buildings and they could be made into much better structures, a community hub for all of Salford" explained Katrina Bell, who started one of the petitions "I just don't want to see them go they've been here that long." (see here)

However, the National Grid confirmed that it would not re-think anything... "As the Salford gas holder is no longer required, the structure is being dismantled" the company told the Salford Star "This is the first step in making redundant brownfield land available for future use.

"We recognise the historic interest in the Salford gasholder and are working closely with stakeholders, including Salford Council and local community groups, to leave an engaging legacy that celebrates its role over the years" it added (see here).

The 'engaging legacy' turned out to be a boring plaque on the wall, detailing the history of the area, and by October last year, the demolition team had moved in to begin the demolition (see here).

In December, with the first gas holder already demolished, the Salford Star added the gasworks to its mausoleum of old Salford within our Salford Precinct exhibition, as Nigel Pivaro sang Dirty Old Town to mark their passing, while announcing that a bolt from the structure, obtained by the Star, had been passed onto the MacColl family (see here and see here).

This week, the final remnants of the Dirty Old Town gasworks were wiped from the site, sold for scrap metal, as another piece of Salford heritage disappears from the face of the earth...

'We'll chop you down like an old dead tree...'