Under threat again
THE unique overhang warehouse at Brentford on the Grand Union Canal is under threat of demolition once again.
It was in 2007 after a lengthy Public Inquiry the Secretary of State finally refused a Planning Application, submitted by ISIS Waterside Regeneration, for the redevelopment of a site in Commerce Road alongside the Grand Union Canal basin above the Gauging Locks at Brentford.
But since summer there have been ongoing discussions between the developers, their associates, and members of the Brentford local community and other interested organizations including the Inland Waterways Association, concerning the future of the warehouse, which the IWA wish to retain, stating:
Only example
'This historic structure includes the only example of a fully covered transhipment wet-dock in London and will be yet another instance of disappearing waterway heritage unless imaginative ideas for its potential use are forthcoming very soon.
'The Inland Waterways Association believes the building should be retained as part of Brentford's regeneration programme, and is keen to offer a wider audience an opportunity to present their suggestions to the developers. Please spare a few moments pondering how best to conserve this important piece of waterways history—send your ideas and suggestions to:
Roger Squires (email:
John Ashey (email:
Who will forward them to the developers, ISIS Waterside Regeneration, who are expected to present the preferred option in early February.
Towpath runs
The IWA had objected principally to the inclusion of proposals of plans to demolish the transhipment wet-dock, through which uniquely the towpath runs.
This wet-dock is attached to and forms part of an adjacent pair of large warehouses at the northern end of the site. Disappearing waterway heritage is of particular concern to the IWA, and the loss of this dock is contrary to its policy ‘to encourage the conservation of the built heritage of the waterways'.