Dorman Long Tower - Listed Building Status

‘Great Monuments in places where people want to go’ Have a think about that. The Dorman Long Tower was a great monument and could have had a multitude of uses. I was speaking to a chap tonight who had secured arts funding for a huge projection by a well respected artist.. the project sounded fantastic and included archive footage of historical works involving the site and the works of Dorman Long. Redcar council were fully behind this and it was originally due to be installed March 2020 (covid meant this was delayed) this was one of many exciting projects involving the structure most of which had funding backed and secured. That will most likely go elsewhere now. It sounded very much like we could have had an industrial heritage/modern art building (similar to the Baltic but with a greater emphasis on industrial heritage and brutalist architecture) Pehaps this is where Ben Houchen is getting the £9m figure from? (it certainly wasn’t the cost of cleaning up a completely intact concrete box) This isn’t money that could go towards the NHS by the way, these are funds that go towards heritage and culture sites across the UK.. most likely these funds will be now be used instead to redecorate a private stately home and provide extra funding to well funded opera or ballet companies. Ben Houchen made the decision himself to have the building de-listed in order to gain favour with a certain crowd of conservatives MP and donors who will no doubt look after his future career interests. Brutalist Architecture is heavily steeped in socialist utopian ideology and stands the polar opposite to Conservative values, add into this the towers huge connection to a successful nationalised industry and an all powerful Teesside conurbation (which the Conservatives have fought to minimise, undermine, undervalue, re-name, split, cut, divide and conquer) and you have the tories number one target for destruction. De-listed by in the four hours by the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the first four hours of her tenure. Pretty busy morning with the introduction to her new job, tweeting thank yous to her old colleagues, visiting the natural history museum, taking photographs.. and really getting to grips with the architectural merits of a 1950’s concrete structure, the context of the heritage asset at the same time citing irrelevant internal aspects and it’s curtilage as reasons to de-list. She must have picked up her architectural acumen from that time she was on ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ - it certainly reads that way.


Let’s be realistic. It was never going to be turned into an art museum. The Baltic in Newcastle is in a good location, just a nice stroll over the river.

The Dorman Long tower was well out of the way. Just an abandoned industrial building in the middle of nowhere. People should stop romanticising it.

Focus on building things for the future that have more use and access, not try to save some old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.
 
Let’s be realistic. It was never going to be turned into an art museum. The Baltic in Newcastle is in a good location, just a nice stroll over the river.

The Dorman Long tower was well out of the way. Just an abandoned industrial building in the middle of nowhere. People should stop romanticising it.

Focus on building things for the future that have more use and access, not try to save some old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.
Yep, the area it's in is nice as it is right by the quayside, and is surrounded by hotels and easy to get to. The art is often kooky but it's worth goi go to just for the views on a good day. You would never get that sort of use where it is.
 
Battersea Power Station is just getting the finishing touches. Much of it, including the 4 chimneys, was demolished and rebuilt. They even found money to give it it's own underground branch line, to the delight of estate agents. This is where 'leveling up' is needed.
Let’s be realistic. It was never going to be turned into an art museum. The Baltic in Newcastle is in a good location, just a nice stroll over the river.

The Dorman Long tower was well out of the way. Just an abandoned industrial building in the middle of nowhere. People should stop romanticising it.

Focus on building things for the future that have more use and access, not try to save some old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.
'old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.'

You could say the same about Battersea Power Station.

Derelict? Demolish most of it and rebuilt replica , including the 4 chimneys.

Access? Spend billions extending the Northern Line, opening next week.

By comparison, we are talking about spending loose change on the DL tower.

Ironic though, that the last building to bear the name 'Dorman Long' is made of concrete!
 
Battersea Power Station is just getting the finishing touches. Much of it, including the 4 chimneys, was demolished and rebuilt. They even found money to give it it's own underground branch line, to the delight of estate agents. This is where 'leveling up' is needed.

'old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.'

You could say the same about Battersea Power Station.

Derelict? Demolish most of it and rebuilt replica , including the 4 chimneys.

Access? Spend billions extending the Northern Line, opening next week.

By comparison, we are talking about spending loose change on the DL tower.

Ironic though, that the last building to bear the name 'Dorman Long' is made of concrete!

Again, Battersea power station isn’t in the middle of nowhere. It’s right next to Battersea Park and in a built up area with train access and bus etc. Ripe for quick development.

Dorman Long tower was sat on a waste land with nothing around it. Who would wanna try to invest in that? Nobody would, it would be a waste of money. It wasn’t even that big either, whatever you preserved it for wouldn’t generate enough to warrant building train infrastructure to serve it.

I thought they were also supposed to be redeveloping the whole area around the riverside stadium 25 years ago? What happened to those plans?

If they can’t even do that around a football stadium where thousand of people flock, why would they do it for an old wasteland in the middle of nowhere?

Have to be realistic and stop being sentimental about some old useless eyesore that nobody will miss in a weeks time.
 
Battersea Power Station is just getting the finishing touches. Much of it, including the 4 chimneys, was demolished and rebuilt. They even found money to give it it's own underground branch line, to the delight of estate agents. This is where 'leveling up' is needed.

'old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.'

You could say the same about Battersea Power Station.

Derelict? Demolish most of it and rebuilt replica , including the 4 chimneys.

Access? Spend billions extending the Northern Line, opening next week.

By comparison, we are talking about spending loose change on the DL tower.

Ironic though, that the last building to bear the name 'Dorman Long' is made of concrete!
And how much are they selling apartments for in battersea power station?
 
Battersea Power Station is just getting the finishing touches. Much of it, including the 4 chimneys, was demolished and rebuilt. They even found money to give it it's own underground branch line, to the delight of estate agents. This is where 'leveling up' is needed.

'old useless sh1t tip in the middle of nowhere.'

You could say the same about Battersea Power Station.

Derelict? Demolish most of it and rebuilt replica , including the 4 chimneys.

Access? Spend billions extending the Northern Line, opening next week.

By comparison, we are talking about spending loose change on the DL tower.

Ironic though, that the last building to bear the name 'Dorman Long' is made of concrete!
Just been reading about it, Battersea power station cost £9bn to redevelop, and its taken decades to get to where it is now. £9m to stop it falling down for 2 decades is not loose change.

You're right though its absolutely in the middle of nowhere, not a recognisable thing in sight, terrible views no doubt and awful place to commute from. The same idea would 100% work in Redcar, with people paying £2.8m for a 3 bed apartment with a view of the new windfarm factory and slagged wasteland.

1632052314197.png
 
‘Great Monuments in places where people want to go’ Have a think about that. The Dorman Long Tower was a great monument and could have had a multitude of uses. I was speaking to a chap tonight who had secured arts funding for a huge projection by a well respected artist.. the project sounded fantastic and included archive footage of historical works involving the site and the works of Dorman Long. Redcar council were fully behind this and it was originally due to be installed March 2020 (covid meant this was delayed) this was one of many exciting projects involving the structure most of which had funding backed and secured. That will most likely go elsewhere now. It sounded very much like we could have had an industrial heritage/modern art building (similar to the Baltic but with a greater emphasis on industrial heritage and brutalist architecture) Pehaps this is where Ben Houchen is getting the £9m figure from? (it certainly wasn’t the cost of cleaning up a completely intact concrete box) This isn’t money that could go towards the NHS by the way, these are funds that go towards heritage and culture sites across the UK.. most likely these funds will be now be used instead to redecorate a private stately home and provide extra funding to well funded opera or ballet companies. Ben Houchen made the decision himself to have the building de-listed in order to gain favour with a certain crowd of conservatives MP and donors who will no doubt look after his future career interests. Brutalist Architecture is heavily steeped in socialist utopian ideology and stands the polar opposite to Conservative values, add into this the towers huge connection to a successful nationalised industry and an all powerful Teesside conurbation (which the Conservatives have fought to minimise, undermine, undervalue, re-name, split, cut, divide and conquer) and you have the tories number one target for destruction. De-listed by in the four hours by the new Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the first four hours of her tenure. Pretty busy morning with the introduction to her new job, tweeting thank yous to her old colleagues, visiting the natural history museum, taking photographs.. and really getting to grips with the architectural merits of a 1950’s concrete structure, the context of the heritage asset at the same time citing irrelevant internal aspects and it’s curtilage as reasons to de-list. She must have picked up her architectural acumen from that time she was on ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’ - it certainly reads that way.

Put aside the pros and cons of keeping the actual tower or not, something about the whole way this has been done stinks. Pulling down the tower in the dead of night after quickly being delisted following a few conversations behind closed doors doesn't suggest transparency does it?
It was always set for demolishen, the last minute interference by people who had ignored the structure for 45 years was a nuisance factor nothing more. As soon as they are not needed the ici towers can go as well, romantic nonsense from people who don't work in industry but like looking at them.
 
It was always set for demolishen, the last minute interference by people who had ignored the structure for 45 years was a nuisance factor nothing more. As soon as they are not needed the ici towers can go as well, romantic nonsense from people who don't work in industry but like looking at them.
I’ve done well then, ignoring it for five years before I was born!
 
Who said they should , no one on this thread, I gave an insight to working there and demythogilised this romantic notion by some of Teesside’s roots born of iron and steel and how we should all revere it. It was a job nothing more. One poster wants the tower to stay at any cost, i see no point and neither do the people who have the final say and pay the bills for it.
I'm very late to the party but went to the national coal mining museum a couple of years ago. Seeing the things they did and went through was sobering and made me proud of those men. Monuments and preserving the heritage of our industrial past is important I think so people can see what you and many others like you did on the name of progress at the time.
 
Pehaps this is where Ben Houchen is getting the £9m figure from? (it certainly wasn’t the cost of cleaning up a completely intact concrete box)

Tees Valley Combined Authority said an independent report by engineers Atkins had found that during its time of non-operation, concrete carbonation has caused the embedded steel reinforcements to corrode, which has resulted in significant cracking and weakening of the concrete, with general age-related wear-and-tear also taking its toll on the tower.

The report also stated it could cost between £7m and £9m to secure the structure and keep it maintained, and even then it would still have to be demolished in the next two decades.


The authority said demolition costs would double or triple – not accounting for inflation – if it was retained, due to new developments and structures that would be built surrounding the tower as part of future investments on the site.

Or alternatively, Houchen got the £9m figure from a report from an independent firm that knows what they're talking about.
 
Where's the relevance?, like comparing apples and ballbearings.😆
The furnace and the gas tanks next,and all the other paraphernalia surrounding this defunct industrial landscape.
Exactly
Not sure why someone brought it up but cost seems to upset people. Cost the developers will easily recoup. Not sure the same would have happened to the dorman long tower. Although like Battersea, they could still rebuild it I guess
 
I'm very late to the party but went to the national coal mining museum a couple of years ago. Seeing the things they did and went through was sobering and made me proud of those men. Monuments and preserving the heritage of our industrial past is important I think so people can see what you and many others like you did on the name of progress at the time.
Gave people a wage and working pride and that was its main purpose, I went there because I couldn't get a job anywhere else, out of school and into work in those days.
 
I think it's probably the right outcome but I think the whole process seems fairly shabby and arbitrary. The original listing was based on a set of criteria that fall far short of reflecting the broader costs and benefits of keeping the building. The timescale of the delisting and subsequent demolition suggests that Nadine Dorries possesses administrative superpowers hitherto unsuspected.
 
Back
Top