Battersea Power Station

Yet another company is trying to develop the Battersea power station site. A Malaysian consortium is proposing to spend £8 billion (on phase one) building 800 homes, hotels, restaurants, gym and theatre. This is a risky project. They plan to demolish and rebuild the power station chimneys at an estimated £11m. Previous developers have ripped the roof off and the heart out of the massive building only to go into administration when it became time to invest. And no matter how powerful the law, no matter how important the Listed building, no local authority can afford to press beyond a Building Improvement Notice.

Why mention this in an Ipswich Society Newsletter? Because Ipswich has similar buildings at risk (albeit on a much smaller scale), buildings where the heart has been ripped out, where the main reason for Listing is no longer present and where no developer can afford replacements that meet the Listed building status. The former Tolly Cobbold brewery at Cliff Quay has lost all its mash tubs and brewing vessels, (but see page 23 for latest news - Editor) County Hall its copper cupolas and interior decorative joinery, and the former Burton, Son and Sanders offices in College Street are a sad reflection of their former importance.

John Norman