Viewpoint Ex-mayor says crane listing should topple tower plans
ADECISION to give four electric cranes on Bristol harbourside listed building status could have a knock-on effect on a ‘landmark’ development proposed at Wapping Wharf, according to the former mayor of Bristol.
However, the man leading the plans says the new block would ‘sit comfortably alongside’ the iconic cranes.
George Ferguson, who led an emergency campaign to save the cranes almost 50 years ago, said he was pleased they had been given Grade II listed status by Historic England, and said this should now help stop ‘damaging’ plans to build a big residential development on land nearby.
Stuart Hatton, managing director of Umberslade, the man who created the Wapping Wharf development on old industrial land between the M Shed and the Gaol Ferry Bridge, in June revealed plans for ‘Wapping Wharf North.’
The scheme includes a ‘landmark’ of up to 12 storeys high, with shops, restaurants, takeaways, flats and workspaces. Businesses currently at Cargo’s shipping containers would be moved to a new, permanent home.
Mr Ferguson said part of the protection given to a building or structure when it is listed by the Government was that its ‘setting’ should be protected too – and that meant the cranes should be clearly visible and prominent on the skyline around this popular part of the Floating Harbour.
“I know they are not St Mary Redcliffe Church spire, or the Clifton Suspension Bridge, but it’s probably
as strong an image of Bristol than those two landmarks – the cranes lined up on the harbourside,” said Mr Ferguson, who was mayor of Bristol from 2012 to 2016. “It’s absolutely right that they are listed like this and it should now mean extra protection not just for them but for their place on the harbourside and the skyline,” he added.
“We’re now wrecking other parts of the city with tall buildings coming up everywhere, but the harbourside has managed to avoid this happening, and is all the better for it – it’s now one of Bristol’s jewels, and attracts people to come and
live, work and visit,” he said.
There were once cranes all along the historic industrial docks but the last ship was off-loaded there in 1974. Mr Ferguson led a team of volunteers in the mid-1970s to raise £3,000 in a week to buy two of the cranes when they were being sold off for scrap by the council.
In response to the former mayor’s comments, Mr Hatton said he also welcomed the listing of the cranes but disagreed with Mr Ferguson’s view, saying his plans for a 12-storey building nearby would ‘sit comfortably alongside’ the now-listed M Shed cranes.
“We welcome the listing of the
cranes on Bristol’s harbourside, which provide an important reminder of the area’s industrial past as well as helping to make the harbourside the major tourist and leisure destination it has become today,” he said.
“Wapping Wharf has enhanced the reputation of this part of harbourside with its popular array of independent shops, businesses and restaurants and strong sense of community. Our vision for the final phases of development is to build on this success and complete the neighbourhood by providing a permanent home for the independent businesses.”