Strike a light! Now Bakelite is an ’elf risk
FOR MORE than 30 years Patrick Cook has built his obsession with Bakelite into a peculiarly British tourist attraction.
Now his Bakelite Museum, which has 30 tons of classic objects, is four months from closure following a deadline imposed by fire safety officers.
Despite never having had a fire, and rarely hosting groups of more than eight, he was told a rooftop escape hatch is too small for today’s fatter visitor.
Mr Cook has fitted a fire alarm and emergency lighting but his attempt to provide an extra escape stairway on the side of his rented 18th-century Grade II listed watermill in Williton, Somerset, is facing opposition from planners.
Mr Cook, 61, says he is being crushed by “the kind of bureaucracy which stifles our country”. He warns the museum’s turnover cannot support costly alterations and fears he is the victim of a pincer movement by officialdom.
“Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue says we must have an alternative escape route,” he said, “but when I get plans drawn up, West Somerset District Council says they are not in keeping with the appearance of a listed building, even though I want to use Victorian industrial architecture designs. I don’t want to put visitors in danger but SOUND DESIGN: An art deco radio is among hundreds of exhibits it seems I am expected to provide a 100 per cent risk-free environment and I just cannot cope with that kind of evangelical attitude.
“This is a good picture of what is happening right across Britain. No one with any common sense would open a business in the face of this legislation. Bureaucrats have become too powerful. They are part of a multi-billion-pound industry which is just so insidious.”
Mr Cook’s collection includes hundreds of British domestic and art deco objects from the 20th century including a Bakelite camera, giant perming machine and even a coffin: “It is a part of our history and somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000 visitors a year love it.”
Fire service spokesman Jo Webber said: “We are working with the owner of the museum to help him make the required fire safety improvements. We understand it can be difficult to carry out certain building works in a listed building and we have allowed additional time for improvements to be completed.” Mr Cook, meanwhile, is contemplating his latest exchange with a fire safety officer.
He said: “He told me I needed to go on a oneweek course at a cost of £1,250. With rules like that I can’t see how we are going to survive.”