Hooray for London Road fire station – and the activists saving our buildings
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Version 0 of 1. If you have ever stepped off a train at Manchester Piccadilly, you may have paused a moment to appreciate the splendour of the building that looms on the other side of the road. London Road fire station was built and opened over 100 years ago, with all the bombast of a great city in its prime. Vast in size, remarkable in detail and serving as the gateway to the city centre, it is the apotheosis of Mancunian construction. If you have dallied long enough to look more closely, you may have noticed the broken and boarded-up windows, the damaged and decayed brickwork and features, and the grimy stains of neglect. Having been in use throughout most of the 20th century, not only as a fire station but also as council offices and a coroner’s court, it was decommissioned as a public building in 1986. Shortly afterwards, the Britannia Hotels chain bought it, with plans to convert it to commercial use. For whatever reasons, those plans fell through and the rot, quite literally, set in. For 29 years, the building sat untouched and neglected. On several occasions the council attempted to persuade and cajole the owners either to use it, or sell it on to someone who would. But to no avail. Despite holding Grade II-listed building status, there were increasing fears that it would decay to such an extent that demolition would become the only viable option. Then something remarkable happened: the people of Manchester stepped in – ordinary residents who cared enough about the city and its proud heritage to force a change. I last wrote about the fire station on Comment is free exactly two and a half years ago, on the day the Save London Road Fire Station campaign launched its first petition. It was a small and simple step, but one that paved the way for public meetings, lobbying of local and national government, drawing up of viable alternative plans for the building and engaging local press. It all added up to a tireless, persistent and effective campaign. Nearby, the refurbished Gorton monastery is now one of Manchester's most stunning and successful community assets Now it has been announced that Britannia Hotels has finally and conceded. The building is to be sold on the open market, and campaigners’ dreams of seeing the building restored to glory for mixed use by commerce and community now seem likely to be realised. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this happy story is that it is anything but unique. Just a mile or so to the north sits Ancoats Dispensary, a magnificent Victorian hospital that also sat empty for decades, sad and neglected. At one point it was even approved for demolition by the council. Community campaigners stepped in. They established a charitable trust and raised over £800,000 through crowdfunding, grants, pledges and matched donations to fund full restoration for community use, in a development that is expected to be worth millions to the immediate local economy. A couple of miles to the south, the refurbished Gorton monastery is now one of the city’s most stunning and successful community assets. Less than 20 years ago it was approaching ruin in private hands before activist-squatters moved in, setting off a chain of events that culminated in a community trust takeover. There is a common thread to all these examples, and indeed countless others. Britain’s heritage has been allowed to drift into the grip of a free market that simply cannot quantify or monetise the proper value of centuries of heritage, culture and community. The formal, state-mandated protective mechanisms – primarily through the English Heritage listing system and local authority planning regulations – are regularly shown to be inadequate, toothless or prone to disintegrating in proximity to serious economic power or political influence. Related: Squatting is not just about occupying homes, it's about preserving history | Ally Fogg Right across Britain, at this very moment, ordinary citizens and community campaigns are putting to shame politicians and bureaucrats in their efforts to protect the built heritage of the urban environment. Deep in the heart of London, a row of magnificent 17th-century houses on the Strand faces demolition. Parts of this block survived the Great Fire of London but may not survive the expansion plans of King’s College next door. The development is being resisted not by planning officials or councillors, but by local people. There is a similar story in London’s East End, where the Spitalfields Trust is fighting property developers to spare the Blossom Street warehouses from the wrecking ball. From one capital to another: the future of the historic Coal Exchange in Cardiff seems reliant upon a vibrant public campaign after the building’s holding company went into liquidation. All these campaigns, and dozens more like them around the country, should take immense succour, courage and inspiration from the success stories in Manchester. The story of London Road fire station is just the latest to prove it: where the free market fails, with determination, persistence and canny campaigning skills, ordinary people can and will succeed. |