Council says it cannot afford to restore grade II listed 1962 building
For sale: one grade II listed icon of post-war architecture in need of some TLC.
It emerged this week that Plymouth City Council’s crumbling civic centre by Jellicoe, Ballantyne & Coleridge is on the market, after plans to demolish the 15-storey block were scuppered by its listing.
The 1962 centre was listed in 2007 following a campaign by the Twentieth Century Society. It is seriously corroded but the council says it can only afford to carry out urgent repair work, including erecting a canopy over the entrance and a covered walkway to protect people from falling masonry.
A price has not been put on the centre, and privately council sources doubt they will shift the “white elephant”.
The sale was announced amid a growing debate about how to conserve crumbling heritage buildings during the squeeze on public finances.
Ian Bowyer, the council’s cabinet member for finance and property, said Plymouth Council had spent some £650,000 on basic repairs over the past two years.
“In the current financial environment, we would rather see this money spent on front line services,” he added.
A feasibility report by Avanti Architects concluded that the building might be adapted for a number of new uses including residential or hotel.
Simon Ramsden, English Heritage’s team leader for Devon and Cornwall, agreed that restoring the building was “more economically viable and sustainable” than tearing it down.
He said EH would consider helping fund a renovation once it had been established whether a buyer could be found.
Ramsden pointed out that Planning Policy Statement 5, issued in March, allowed for the mothballing of heritage buildings during a flat property market.
Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, said that the building was key to Plymouth’s identity as a post-war town and it was a “great shame” the council could not find the funds to restore it. But she agreed that mothballing could be the answer.
“There are going to be lots of buildings that are not going to be used for another 10 years – there is an argument that the Heritage Lottery Fund should provide funding for mothballing,” she said.
3 Readers' comments