UPDATE 17/12/14 15:40: Britannia Hotels reject the Council's 'cleverly drafted one-sided Forced Sale Contract' on the basis that it 'takes away all of their rights'...
BREAKING: Britannia Hotels reject Council's latest CPO: http://t.co/kVNTG9JaYL @ManFireStation pic.twitter.com/fNBQKMbJTW
— David Blake (@David8Blake) December 17, 2014
MANCHESTER City Council will push to seize Manchester's Grade II-listed London Road Fire Station - listed on English Heritage's 'at risk register' since 1998 - from the negligent Britannia Hotels group for a second time in four years.
“The building’s owners have shown a reckless abandon in their management of what is an incredibly important, landmark property"
On Monday 22 December members of the City Council's Executive committee will be urged to approve the move for a second Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the London Road Fire Station site - three years after the first CPO was rejected by Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles.
The Hale-based Britannia Centres Limited (BCL) - recently voted the UK's worst hotel provider for the second year running - acquired the Grade II-listed London Road Fire Station site in 1986 when the fire service relocated.
In 2010 the hotel group, owned by Alex Langsam, revealed plans to convert the 'ebullient Edwardian Baroque style' structure into a 227-bed, four-star hotel.
However, since their acquisiton of the site nearly three decades ago, Britannia have reneged on numerous commitments to begin work and the building has fallen into grave disrepair.
For some context on the battle for London Road Fire Station read here, here, here and here.
London Road Fire Station once upon a time
In September 2014, City Council leader, Sir Richard Leese, issued a six week 'last chance' ultimatum to Britannia, to either enter into a legally-binding implementation agreement to develop the property as a hotel or face a second attempt by the Council to secure a CPO by the Secretary of State.
Come crunch time on 17 November 2014 and Britannia's Chief Financial Officer, Robert Ferrari, finally responded to the Council's threat of a CPO by stating that Britannia were 'happy to enter into a development agreement with the Council's cooperation'.
However, the subsequent Council report (published on Tuesday 16 December and available to read in detail here) states "the Council has yet to receive a response from BCL" (1.28) and that "there is a significant history of the current owner failing to deliver redevelopment" (2.9).
The report also states that whilst the Council remains open to entering into an Implementation Agreement with Britannia during the CPO process, the Council has "no confidence that any scheme will be implemented in the near future" and that it is "unlikely that agreement will be reached with BCL within a reasonable timescale, or at all" (1.30).
London Road Fire Station has fallen into disrepair following nearly three decades of neglect
However, should the Council acquire control of the redevelopment, the report states that there will be considerable interest from "hotel operators not currently represented in Manchester who would see the Fire Station as a robust proposition" (5.4).
Robust or not, Manchester City Council will still have to persuade Parliament that the greater public benefit will 'outweigh the private loss' - which would be subject to compensation under the government's CPO code.
According to the report, should the Council acquire the building, the former fire depot could require between £6m to £9m in repairs. Though the Council hope that competition for the site between developers will incur 'no cost' to them (5.7).
Sir Richard Leese said: “We would still welcome a positive response from Britannia to our request for an implementation agreement as set out in our letter in October – but currently we are fighting for the future of this building and the significant contribution bringing it back in to use will give to the regeneration of Piccadilly.
Sir Richard Leese: 'Britannia have shown reckless abandon'
“The building’s owners have shown a reckless abandon in their management of what is an incredibly important, landmark property. Despite consistent public promises to develop the building, they have failed to make any tangible progress – and have therefore failed as guardians of this fine heritage building.
“This compulsory purchase order is an unerring commitment on behalf of the city council to bring life back in to London Road Fire Station – a property which Manchester people have waited long enough to see developed – and we will do everything we can to make this happen.”
The Council's pursuit of a second CPO has been met with 'cautious applause' by campaign group, The Friends of London Road Fire Station, who have lobbied tirelessly to see the historic building rid of Britannia but have often been left disappointed by a 'poor level of engagement' from the Council.
Emma Curtin, chair of the Friends, said: “The CPO is the move we have been hoping for. Manchester City Council were very generous to give Britannia one final month to start making good on its promise to begin restoration and redevelopment of the building.
"The fact Britannia failed to do so yet again, despite 28 years of opportunity, shows the time has come for positive action that any Government agency must support."
London Road Fire Station (image courtesy of londonroadfire.org)
The Friends secretary, Adam Prince, added: "It is more than time for Britannia to leave without any fuss, to not drag this out any longer by appealing the CPO. The Fire Station deserves a revival that meets inspirational community, public access and business needs.”
"It is time for Manchester City Council to engage with a talented pool of supportive citizens and allow them to be involved in the visions, needs and ambitions for LRFS."
Good news for campaigners then that should the Council be successful in securing ownership of London Road Fire Station, they intend to hold an 'open competition' to establish a scheme for the site.
All the meetings, agendas and minutes of Manchester City Council's Executive committee can be viewed here.
You can visit the Friends of London Road Fire Station campaign site at www.londonroadfire.org.
