Bretton Hall college demolition starts under hotel plans

Demolition of old college buildings is part of developing the hotel at Bretton Hall

Demolition is under way of college buildings in Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) to make way for a hotel and spa complex.

Bretton Hall is a Grade II*-listed building in the park and housed an arts college before it closed in 2007.

Planning permission was granted in 2014 to convert the hall into a hotel and spa with conferencing facilities.

Kay Mellor, John Godber and Reece Shearsmith attended the college before going on to their artistic careers.

Mark Gatiss, who writes for Doctor Who and helped to create TV's Sherlock, also attended the college.

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The YSP attracts about 400,000 visitors per year.

Based near Wakefield, Yorkshire Sculpture Park has 500 acres of parkland, indoor galleries and opened in 1977

The hotel is being developed by Rushbond with Wakefield Council and YSP

The hotel complex is part of a wider plan for the redevelopment of the Bretton Hall Estate and the demolition is a "major phase" in the plans, according to Wakefield Council.

The college was founded in 1949 and became renowned for courses in the arts and education, by its last year it was home to about 2,000 students as a campus of the University of Leeds.