A HISTORIC former Bolton foundry has been demolished over safety fears.

Contractor J Freeley carried out the demolition of the 32,000 sq ft building at Church Bank, which housed Booth Industries and later The Wharf Foundry, at the request of Bolton Council, which had deemed the building unsafe.

The 14-acre Church Wharf area was earmarked for a £210 million mixed-use scheme on the edge of Bolton town centre until the financial crash of 2008.

The downturn led to the scheme, including 340,000 sq ft of offices and more than 230 family town houses and apartments, a cinema, cafes, bars and restaurants, a hotel, shops, pedestrian routes and public spaces being mothballed, when partners Ask Developments and investment firm Bluemantle dropped the idea.

A revised scheme, chiefly for residential development, is expected to be put forward by Bluemantle in the first half of 2015.

Built in 1873, the foundry was used for engineering and metal works and in its heyday was a major employer supplying factories and mills around Manchester.

The building had lain derelict since the early 1980s and became a target for break-ins and theft. It deteriorated into a dangerous state after parts of the roof collapsed.

Manchester-based Freeley liaised closely with the Environment Agency to agree a safe working strategy for dismantling the building, which ran alongside the river.

As well as demolishing the former foundry, Freeley removed asbestos from the site, made good retained party walls to adjacent buildings and boundary walls, installed new fencing, and carried out drainage and tree clearance works.

During the 14-week project, 250 tonnes of cast iron and steel were removed from the site for recycling.

Freeley’s managing director John Freeley said: “Our experienced team succeeded in dealing with the challenges of demolishing a substantial, dangerous building, while ensuring that party and boundary walls were left in a safe and stable condition.

“We worked closely with the Environment Agency, as environmental concerns played a big part in the project, which called for sensitive and careful dismantling."