DEMOLITION work has started on one of the largest buildings at York’s Nestlé factory, prior to the site’s redevelopment.

The side of a former office block near Wigginton Road, built in 1914, has been removed, exposing the interior to passers-by until the rest is demolished.

The company today defended the project following criticism, saying such buildings were not listed, did not meet environmental standards required for modern buildings and were not fit for a modern multi-site development. But it said some other buildings on the site, including the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Library and the large building on Haxby Road known as Cream Block, were important architecturally and would be kept.

“Nestlé has worked closely with English Heritage and City of York Council to ensure important architectural and historical heritage is maintained, including the library and Cream Block,” said a spokesman.

His comments came after a surveyor, Glen Cranfield, contacted The Press to tell of his surprise and sadness to see the building being demolished, saying he felt it was a landmark and part of York’s history which should have been preserved.

The redevelopment of the southern end of the factory site is part of a restructuring of the York factory launched in 2006, which has also seen investment in new buildings and equipment in the modern, northern end of the factory.

The spokesman said Nestlé was working hard to minimise any impact on the local community from the demolition project. “The first few months of the project has seen the demolition contractor setting up the site’s security perimeter, removing all of the fixtures and fitting from about half of the buildings, filling in three artesian wells and creating a waste handling infrastructure to achieve recycling targets built into the contract,” he said.

“A full dust and vibration monitoring system has been set up around the perimeter of the 20-acre site.

“Water sprays and a fence misting system are being used to minimise any dust that may be blown from the site.”

He said an outline planning application for a mixed development of the site is due early in the new year.