When bulldozers demolished York Barbican swimming pool

It was a hugely controversial move, coming three years after the closure of the pool.

The Barbican pool was closed in June 2004, followed shortly afterwards by the rest of the sports and leisure centre.

In July 2007, sad residents watched as a couple of digger trucks rolled in and contractors started removing tiles from the swimming pool roof.

The demolition workers were preparing the former car park and bowling green for the construction of apartments and a hotel.

The pool closed despite the best efforts of campaign organisation, Save Our Barbican group (SOB).

Concerned about the loss of sporting facilities and the scale of the proposed new buildings, they fought a long, but ultimately unsuccessful, campaign against the closure.

At the time of the demolition, former SOB chairman Ernie Dickinson said: "People from around here are very sad to see it go. When they see what is going up in its place, they will be even more upset.

Pupils from Naburn Primary who wanted to save the Barbican pool from closing in 2000

"The site should not have been sold off for a hotel and apartments. We wanted to see an updated pool and leisure complex."

After bitter disputes, the site of the Barbican was finally sold off for £6.385 million to developer Barbican Venture (York) Ltd.

Barbican Venture sub-sold parts of the site to other companies. The sale included a hotel and residential site, and a 250-year lease on the Kent Street Car Park.

Planning permission was granted to Golden Tulip Hotels for a 125 bedroom, four-star hotel with a pedestrian link to the Barbican Centre within three years.

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The hotel was scheduled to open for business in the autumn of the following year. It was supposed to have a walkway linking the hotel with the Barbican Centre's refurbished 1,500-seater auditorium, which was sold by the council to entertainment operator Absolute Leisure.

Developer Persimmon Homes was expected to build at least 230 apartments within four years, 25 per cent of which were to be affordable housing.

What actually happened? The Barbican was reopened as a venue by its new operators SMG in May 2011 after a £2 million refurbishment.

In rubble - the Barbican swimming pool after demolition

We are still waiting for Persimmon to develop the site for housing - and squatters temporarily took over the site in protest in the summer of 2021.

In July 2016, the Staycity Aparthotel - with 197 rooms - opened on the site of the former swimming pool.

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