Senior councillor backs campaign to save Wolverhampton landmark
A senior councillor has called for Wolverhampton University to rethink its plans to demolish a landmark building in the city and to close its sports hall.
Last month vice-chancellor Ebrahim Adia announce plans for a shake-up of the university's estates.
The controversial plan will see the university sports centre in Deanery Place closed to make way for a new medical school, while the landmark School of Art building next to Molineux will be demolished, having been declared surplus to requirements.
The university's campus at Priorslee, Telford, will also close.
Councillor Simon Bennett, leader of the opposition Conservative group on Wolverhampton Council, said the demolition of the School of Art - also known as the George Wallis building - would be 'wasteful', 'environmentally irresponsible', .and strike a blow against the city's creative heritage.
Councillor Bennett said he was also concerned about the loss of the building's lighting display, which he said was an important and popular work of public art in the city. The building is adorned with brightly coloured tube lights which illuminate in sequence at night.
"The display correlates with the city’s motto, 'out of darkness cometh light', and demolishing the building not only depletes the university’s assets, but also removes one of the biggest legacies our city has to offer," he said.
