OTLEY Civic Centre, which earlier this year campaigners said was in danger of collapse, has been put on the Save Britain’s Heritage Buildings at Risk register.
In recent years Leeds City Council has refused two planning applications for the building to be transformed into apartments, and it remains standing empty.
Liz Fuller, buildings at risk officer at Save Britain’s Heritage, confirmed the civic centre was nominated for inclusion on the register by a member of the public “who lives locally and knows Otley and the building concerned very well”.
She said the register, now in its 34th year of documenting the country’s endangered structures, “exists to bring disused historic buildings of all ages which could be repurposed to national attention. The register highlights historic buildings that are vacant and whose future is uncertain.
She said: “Our central aim is to raise awareness of these forgotten buildings and ultimately to bring them to the attention of new owners or custodians who are able to repair them, return them to use and secure the buildings’ future.”
Otley Civic Centre is deemed so important the organisation is planning to make it its “building of the month” in August.
The entry on the register reads: “The Mechanics Institute is a handsome and substantial Grade II listed building, standing on a public square at the centre of this West Yorkshire town just north of Leeds.
“Built in 1870 as an educational institution for the working population, it is designed in a dignified neo-classical style with five rounded headed windows lining the dominant first floor, with the central window flanked by rusticated pilasters. The rusticated ground floor has a central porticoed door: a cultured and refined palazzo standing with a back-drop of Yorkshire hills.
“The Mechanics Institute hosted many lectures, theatrical productions and events in its history and later became a base of the Otley Museum and town council offices. It has been closed since around 2010 and was owned by the council until sold to a developer in 2020. It desperately needs a use which would preserve its character and make good use of its original features.”
Liz added: “Although the listing entry does not describe the interior, we have had reports from locals who remember the striking double height theatre or performance space on the first floor, presumably lit by the five tall windows which are such a prominent part of the building’s design.
“On the ground floor there is a lecture theatre. The interior is likely to have a rich selection of other original decoration which contribute to its character.”
She said the owners of the building had submitted plans for the conversation to apartments in 2022, which included “the complete stripping of the interior of historic fittings. This application was refused after a range of objections and as a result of deficiencies in the application. Another application was made in early 2023 which appeared to be substantially the same scheme, only with fewer units.
“It again was deficient in a number of respects and did not have a Heritage Statement. It also drew many objections including from the conservation team and, as a result of such issues, was refused,” she said.
“At the same time, news of serious concerns for the structure emerged as a result of dry rot and the building was declared unsafe to enter. It is currently on the council’s Heritage at Risk list and the conservation team have been working with building control to ensure that the current owners stabilise the building with structural scaffolding.
“We understand that such discussions are still ongoing and that some scaffolding has been erected along one side of the building and internally.”
Liz said the building “deserves far better than this” and the conservation team have advised any scheme to convert it should seek to preserve the historic characteristics of the building.
She said: “This is an important building for Otley and a notable historic building in its own right. A great deal of co-operative work will be needed to find a viable scheme, but a workable proposal is needed soon.”
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