NEARLY 48 years ago, it was announced that Radcliffe was to get a new state-of-the-art civic hall - priced at £225,000.

Adjusted for inflation in 2019, the building cost just shy of £3,000,000, but would be demolished little more than 40 years later.

In November, 1972, the council unanimously voted to go ahead with the proposal for the hall after hearing that the original estimate had been slashed by £30,000.

The cut in cost was originally challenged, but members were assured that there would be no material alteration to the design of the building.

Alderman Richard Fletcher said that the savings would mainly be made on reduced car parking, as well as the ceiling and seating design.

The well-used hall was used for many purposes over the years, including community events, shows and weddings.

The hall, which was located on land adjacent to the nearby St Thomas’ Church, replaced the previous hall in Mellor Street.

The building, designed by Manchester-based architects Cruickshank and Seward, was made of hand-made bricks with timber beams in the roof,while it originally boasted three bars and a main hall which doubled as a theatre.

It was officially opened 14 months later by Prime Minister Harold Wilson on March 30, 1974. Just two days later, on April 1, Radcliffe was absorbed into the Metropolitan borough of Bury as counties and districts across the country changed.

However, as time goes on and needs for the communities change, the hall bowed out in April 2016, ahead of being demolished to make way for a new affordable housing development.

Building work on dozens of new homes, which were funded by a £1 million grant from the Homes and Communities Agency, commenced in the summer and was completed a couple of years later.

While original developers had planned extensive landscaping, including an avenue of trees on the approach to the hall, the demolition resulted in the loss of 111 trees from the Thomas Street area.

81 of the trees were set to be replaced.

As with many buildings which have played a part in communities over the years, a petition was launched to attempt to save the now-named Civic Suite.

More than 500 people signed an online petition calling for the Civic Suite to be saved, describing it as “an iconic, historic, and architecturally significant building”.

Representatives of Bury Green Party, who campaigned against the closure, had criticised the council for not consulting residents before taking the decision to shut the venue and said the land was never meant for housing.

However, all efforts proved futile and the bulldozers called time on a small piece of Radcliffe history.