WORK to begin demolishing the Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre could start as early as December.

An application has been made to Wyre Forest District Council to demolish the former leisure centre site, in Bromsgrove Street. Council chiefs must now decide whether they want to approve the method of demolition and details of works of restoration on the site.

The application states the expected date for the beginning of the work is December 2016, and it is expected to be completed by May 2017.

The demolition of the Glades is to prepare the site for redevelopment and the application states it has also become an “eyesore” and has been targeted by anti-social behaviour.

The Shuttle reported in August that Wyre Forest District Council cabinet members agreed at a special meeting that the site should be cleared as soon as possible so that the regeneration of that part of town could get underway without delay.

Cabinet members had agreed the development framework for the Kidderminster Eastern Gateway area - which would see a mixture of uses on the land around the Bromsgrove Street area of the town - at its previous meeting in July.

Previously, Councillor Marcus Hart, leader of the council, said: "I am pleased that the cabinet has been able to act swiftly to get the redevelopment of the Glades site underway by undertaking the demolition; we recognise the importance of the message that this gives to developers and our local community that we are not prepared to let the site lie idle, but rather than we want this first phase of redevelopment to act as a catalyst for future phases of the Kidderminster Eastern Gateway."

The Glades officially closed its doors for the final time on Saturday, July 2, following 30-years of service, to pave the way for the new multi-million pound Wyre Forest Leisure Centre.

Since its closure, it had been a target for vandalism, arson attacks and trespassers.