GEORGE NEWS FLASH - The old building on the corner of Market and Meade Street which used to serve as a hostel for York High School, has been standing empty for longer than three years, and George residents are wondering what the future holds for this property.

Time and weather are taking their toll on the building as no maintenance work has been done since the school moved out.

Once a proud beacon as one of the most attractive buildings in the town centre and lighted up by the laughter and shenanigans of learners, it is now a picture of abandonment. The garden is overgrown and passers-by thoughtlessly throw their litter through the fence. Vandals have also had a chance to loot the interior before security guards were appointed, but the magnificent wooden flooring is still intact.

A business owner who wants to remain anonymous, complained that businesses in the CBD are trying to uplift the area, and neglect of this kind is not conducive to their efforts. "It is such a beautiful place and we truly hope that it will be renovated and utilised again."

According to Mr Carel Venter, spatial planner at the George Municipality, large grounds at the back of the building that border onto the George taxi rank are earmarked to be incorporated as a public open space into the planned public transport system.

Read more in Thursday's George Herald, and online.


This used to be the hostel's kitchen.

PHOTOS: ALIDA DE BEER, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST