CONTRACTORS demolishing Crewe's Royal Arcade say the town's former JD Wetherspoon pub will be levelled by the end of next month.

Derbyshire-based Cawarden, who have been clearing the former shopping units on the Queensway/Victoria site since November last year, have also revealed how they plan to reuse most of the rubble and material they have generated in the town's future leisure/retail scheme.

Work is drawing to a close after the town's former BHS store was demolished last week. But knocking down the former Gaffers Row pub at the top end of Victoria Street will have to wait while a planning application is processed.

Former shopping units between Queensway and Tower Way, adjacent to the town's clock tower are also currently intact. Big Bill has been taken down in stages, with now little remaining on the Crewe skyline after the removal of six of its floors.

Developers Peveril Securities have made a separate planning application to Cheshire East Council for the demolition of the former pub, which closed in January 2018; the authority can approve those works under its delegated powers in the coming weeks.

Cawarden, who working for the developers' construction arm Bowmer and Kirkland, are emphasising how environmentally-friendly their project is.

The demolition firm says 98 per cent of all material will be recycled. Most of the hard-core is being crushed on-site to be re-used in the future town development. It says the process will help reduce vehicle movements and divert waste from landfill sites.

Big Bill's clock faces and bells have already been preserved after they were dismantled by a specialist team before Christmas and transferred to Crewe Heritage Centre for a future exhibition.

Cawarden Demolition Director Malcolm Lowes said: "The work at the vacant shopping site has been hailed as a 'significant milestone in the town's transformation' and we are pleased to be working on behalf of the developer to bring future plans for the site to life.

"It's one of our flagship sites and we are proud to bring our 35 years of demolition experience and expertise to this scheme."

Cheshire East Council has said planning applications for a multi-storey car park and a new bus station are expected to be made in the coming months, with work expected to start before the end of the year.

The delivery of the retail and leisure development of the site, which include an eight-screen Empire Cinema, bowling alley, restaurants and shopping units, won't take place until the new bus station and car park are complete in the spring of 2023.

But an interim bus station, which will be an upgrade on the current rundown interchange, is expected to be operational by the summer of 2022.