See demolition of city centre car park from the air

Built in 1971, Wakefield Council closed the city centre car park on July 15 for work to start.

A vets building was also demolished as part of the work. Buildings and homes around the site were emptied and roads were closed during the explosion as a safety cordon was put in place.

Speaking earlier this year, Denise Jeffery, Wakefield Council’s deputy council leader, said: “The car park has reached the end of its lifespan and by demolishing it we hope it will help attract developers who are interested in investing in this part of the city.

“The multi-storey car park will be replaced within 12 weeks with a surface level long-stay car park, which will remain until a developer is found for the wider area."

Coun Jeffery said: “We hope that by demolishing the car park and the current vets building that we can make the area an attractive prospect to potential developers interested in providing a quality hotel in the city centre.” The works were funded by a £1.1m grant from the Leeds City Region.