Asbestos find sees iconic clock facing bulldozer

AN iconic piece of Nuneaton town centre skyline cannot be saved from bulldozer. There were plans to not only save the clock in New Century Way but also preserve it for years to come.

But BAM Construction, which is carrying out the demolition of buildings on New Century Way as part of the works for the new Hampton-by-hilton hotel and early ground works for a new multi-storey car park on the former Abbey Street car park, said it cannot be saved.

They had planned to remove the clock before the building is demolished. But checks have unearthed a huge reason why this cannot happen - asbestos.

A spokesman for BAM Construction said: “Unfortunately our demolition and survey specialists have advised us that the presence of asbestos means they cannot retain the clock from the tower without taking risk to exposure. We have enquired into this carefully and sadly have been unable to find an alternative to preserve it.”

As we reported in our newsletter, the demolition works have started on the Queens Road end of New Century Way and will work all the way along towards the Abbey Street end. Every building, bar the former India Red pub, is set to be demolished, to pave the way for the area to be opened up.

The demolition works actually form part of Phase 2 of the Abbey Street development. Phase 1 of the project primarily focuses on the construction of the new Hampton-by-hilton hotel and early ground works for a new multi-storey car park planned for the part of the car park land.