UPDATE 17/11/14 (3pm) - Britannia respond to deadline with vague letter stating intent to work with Council on London Road Fire Station:
Britannia trying to hinder a decision on London Road Fire Station. Waiting on council response http://t.co/tet8QCG0NS pic.twitter.com/DHOzg26zdf
— David Blake (@David8Blake) November 17, 2014
UPDATE 17/11/14 (5pm) - Council issue 'holding statement' while they consider their next move:
A Manchester City Council spokesman said: "We are considering the contents of this letter, which we have not yet formally received, and will make a statement on our position once we have had a chance to do so."
UPDATE 18/11/14 (7am) - Fire Station campaigners plead with supporters to email Council leaders directly to pursue Compulsory Purchase Order:
☆Please email h.bernstein@manchester.gov.uk; r.leese@manchester.gov.uk asap & support CPO #Manchester must win #LRFS! pic.twitter.com/xHCMHIYDRo
— FriendsOfLRFS (@ManFireStation) November 18, 2014
BRITANNIA Hotels, recently voted the UK's worst hotel provider for the second year running, has until the close of today (Monday 17 November) to sign a legal declaration to redevelop Manchester's landmark London Road Fire Station.
The building's current owners have presided over its deterioration and disuse. Despite making public commitments to bring it back into use.
Should Britannia fall short, Manchester City Council have stated their intention to secure a new Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the crumbling Grade II-listed building - completed in 1906.
Compulsory purchase powers allow authorities to obtain land to carry out a function which Parliament has decided is 'in the public interest' without the consent of the owner.
Britannia, based in Hale, have owned London Road Fire Station since 1986.
The council did make a similar move for the building back in 2010, but the CPO was rejected in November 2011 by the government after Britannia made promises to begin work on the deteriorating structure.
Nothing has happened and the building has been 'left to rot' for nearly three decades.
For some context read our stories here, here and here.
London Road Fire Station is in a poor state of disrepair
On Friday 14 November, campaign group Friends of London Road Fire Station presented the council with a petition of 5,350 signatures asking that the building be saved from Britannia.
Adam Prince, a campaigner for the group, told Confidential:
"We're behind the council's CPO and really want to work with them to save this hugely at risk Manchester landmark and finally seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to so something exceptional with the building.
"We want to see a community space, museum exhibitions, art spaces, retail at ground level, perhaps even a glazed courtyard with botanical gardens. Something exciting and dynamic for Manchester."
Council leader, Sir Richard Leese, said in September:
“London Road Fire Station is a wonderful landmark building with the potential to make a significant contribution to the regeneration of the Piccadilly area.
“But over more than a quarter of a century, it has been allowed to blight this part of the city centre instead. The building's current owners have presided over its deterioration and disuse. Despite making public commitments to bring it back into use, they have so far failed to demonstrate any genuine intention to do so. In this case, their inaction speaks louder than words.
"The people of Manchester have waited long enough for this fine heritage building to be brought back to life, and we will do everything in our power to make sure this happens.”
News on the future of London Road Fire Station is expected by the morning of Tuesday 18 November 2014.
