Heritage groups urge rethink on plans for supermarket

Last month, the town council recommended for approval the plans by Netto for a food store on the site of the Abraham Ormerod Centre, where killer doctor Harold Shipman began his career, and the former Olympia cinema.

But Save Britain’s Heritage, the Cinema Theatre Association, the Twentieth Century Society and the Ancient Monuments Society say the plans should be rejected because of the impact on the conservation area.

A Twentieth Century Society spokesman said: “The society does not believe that the loss of these buildings has been properly justified.

“Both buildings are from a similar period and are indicative of that part of Todmorden’s history, it would be deeply regrettable if this period of the town’s past were demolished to make way for architecture designed specifically to hark back to an earlier period.

“Todmorden has very few buildings of this kind and the society believes a new way could be found to reuse the existing fabric and provide a modern shopping facility on the site.

“In the light of the above, the society strongly object to the loss of these buildings and would urge Calderdale Council to refuse this application.”

The buildings at risk officer for Save Britain’s Heritage, Rhiannon Tracy, added: “We believe that the hospital and cinema are capable of reuse and could be included in an imaginative scheme which still provided the necessary facilities for Todmorden.”

The Ancient Monuments Society’s secretary, Matthew Saunders, claimed the designs were “oversized and banal”, while the Cinema Theatre Association’s architectural and heritage advisor, Eva Branscome, added: “We consider replacing this original Art Deco facade with a mock Victorian mill for the new supermarket on the site as unacceptable. The facade should be retained in any redevelopment scheme of this site.”

Calderdale councillor Ian Cooper said English Heritage had refused to list the Abraham Ormerod Centre, adding: “I would have no objection to it being demolished for the benefit of Todmorden as a whole.”

Netto declined to comment.