Concourse House was demolished
New development in Stockport, my home base.
I don’t use the language of architects, town planners or marketing professionals. I just use layman’s language along with simple photographs, articleclips and a few sketches
In this article, I need to send out a very clear message and many people in the local area or connected with it are of the same opinion. Stockport is an attractive borough with varied urban, suburban and rural landscapes. I featured it in my article Stockport Dawn to Dusk. The town centre is historic but underdeveloped and fairly quiet at night.
Paris has its Eiffel Tower, Berlin its Brandenburg Gate and Stockport has its railway viaduct, completed in 1840. It dominates the town and is a key structure in the development of railways, one of the largest brick-built structures in the world. Since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by the viaduct, but the viaduct and Stockport have been under-appreciated in the past. Just a scruffy old thing people said about the viaduct and the town itself, well, not exactly picture-postcard, grey, grimy, not the sort of place tourists would visit. Yes, that was the attitude in the past. Maybe that’s why they put up two office blocks in the 1960s, partially blocking the view of the viaduct. I’d always hoped they’d be knocked down like others in Manchester city centre. I remember when buses used Mersey Square as the terminus, then a new bus station appeared in the 1980s.
A big improvement with shelters and more space. But times change. In other towns around Greater Manchester, new state-of-the-art interchanges have appeared. When would it be Stockport’s turn? Finally, a design was agreed, probably the biggest and best new transport interchange in Greater Manchester. An innovative new building with an oval cutout section inside for the buses. Heated concourse, proper facilities, electronic timetable displays, and a roof garden with pedestrian access half way up Wellington Road South as well as a link and bridge to the station. The only negative factor, an oversized residential block. Residential blocks are often added to regeneration projects to raise money.
At least this one is only blocking a small section of the viaduct on the south side. And the link with the station is badly needed. As well as a new bus interchange, an old mill complex on the west side of the viaduct is to be refurbished and turned into apartments. Weir Mill stands next to the River Mersey. It was first constructed around 1790, fifty years before the railway viaduct was built above it. It’s a grade 2 listed building and has been standing empty for years. Like similar mills in Manchester, it is to be transformed into a place for people to live, retaining its unique character and charm. All good and great that it is finally happening.
But there is one downside. On the east side of the viaduct, a new apartment block is planned. Its location is right in front of the viaduct around half way across.
It’s several storeys taller than the viaduct
And is located so close, it almost looks as if it’s attached to the viaduct.
It blocks the view of part of the viaduct from the town centre. It’s already partially blocked by those two office buildings. I find the building shocking. Around 4000 people have signed the petition entitled “Don’t hide our viaduct.
Save Weir Mill”. I’m a photographer and occasional sketcher. For me, Stockport Viaduct is not just something to carry trains, it’s an artefact of the industrial revolution, whose design harks back to Romans, a magnificent feat of engineering still in daily use after nearly 2 centuries. It’s a work of art, depicted by LS Lowry, Trevor Grimshaw and other artists. The new bus interchange looks fabulous. It will be one of the most innovative buildings of its kind anywhere: safer, warmer, more pleasant, more attractive, better connected than ever before. The revamp of Weir Mill on the west side of the viaduct will finally bring these historic structures back to life, which is great thing. But a tall, modern block, placed directly in front of the middle of the viaduct? No, it’s wrong, it’s a mistake.
It reminds me of Concourse House, Liverpool, featured in my last article, built in the 60s directly in front of Lime Street Station, built in the 19th century.