Dawlish Signal Box to be demolished

[whole diary]

[trainer]

Strangely, I find Preston Bus Station better than anything in 60s Coventry (apart from the Cathedral) and at least the concrete shopping centre in that city is for the chop (if it hasn't been chopped already).  BNM is of course right to say this is all subjective and I agree that the Dawlish signal box should have been protected earlier.

I have on my lifetime seen so much concrete go up and now be swept away (Birmingham City Library now on its third incarnation since 1970, New Street Station likewise in a second major transformation and the old Bristol Bus Station a memory) that I suppose I have not accepted it as a permanent form of building like the brick stone and wood of earlier generations. Aesthetics is a funny old business and coupled with the desire for constant change, some eras seem more or less stable than others.  I'm glad the brutish can be loved.   

[JayMac]

As for the term 'Brutalism'. It has nothing to do with architects being brutal. The term has its roots in the French word 'brut', meaning 'raw'.

[bobm]

Just to complete the story....



..and something missing from view from the beach...

[smokey]

Re: The view from the Beach, yes I note the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) has moved. 

When was Dawlish Box taken out off use? Was it in use till the End, when Exeter Panel took over?

Something I find strange about a Signal Box is that during it's life, a Signalbox is staffed often by just one Signalman (later Signaller) but many were staffed 24/365! (Well up untill the late 1960's when Trains no longer ran on 25th Dec)
A man could spend most off his working life in a Signal box, and with 50 years service, he could spend a total of over a FULL 15 years in the building.

[SandTEngineer]

When was Dawlish Box taken out off use? Was it in use till the End, when Exeter Panel took over?

Dawlish SB^▸ (Signal Box) closed on 27 September 1986.  Exeter Panel took over the area effective from 17 November 1986.

[Chris from Nailsea]

It's obviously of only academic interest now, but just out of idle curiosity: what happened to the local signalling requirements in those seven weeks between September and November 1986? 

[bobm]

I was reminded tonight of a holiday I spent in South Devon in 1984. I took some snaps along the sea wall and, in those pre internet days, I wrote a letter to "The Signalbox, Teignmouth Station, Devon" giving times of the trains I had photographed and enclosed an SAE. By return of post I got a letter with all the details including the train reporting numbers!  Gold dust back then. The letter even arrived before the prints came back from Bonusprint.

Not sure you could write to Exeter Panel and ask these days!

[SandTEngineer]

It's obviously of only academic interest now, but just out of idle curiosity: what happened to the local signalling requirements in those seven weeks between September and November 1986? 

CfN:  I would probably think that they ran the Winter service with Dawlish switched out of circuit anyway so the loss for a few weeks didn't matter.  Remember that train services then were not as frequent as now.

There is a sequence of photographs showing the demolition  here http://antony-christie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/the-demolition-of-dawlish-signalbox-3rd.html

[Chris from Nailsea]

Thanks for your thoughts, SandTEngineer - yes, that does seem the most likely explanation. 

Sad indeed to see the final four days of a structure which had previously withstood all that the sea could throw at it over so many years - many thanks to Antony Christie for recording those final moments. 

[JayMac]

Earlier in this thread I argued for the architectural merits of Preston Bus Station.

The building was living on borrowed time having failed to gain listed status on two previous occasions.

English Heritage have now granted it Grade II listed status and the local authority have decided against challenging that decision, and will now work with EH and other parties to secure funding to refurbish the building.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this lover of the best of 1960's architecture applauds the decisions of EH and Preston City Council.

From the Lancashire Evening Post:

Preston Bus Station will be refurbished not demolished

Preston Bus Station will not be demolished after it was revealed the city council now intends to refurbish the building.

The Government granted the 44-year-old structure Grade II listed status last month.

Preston Council wanted to knock down the building and put up a new station in its place.

It said it could not afford the station^s ^300,000-a-year running costs or the ^17m to ^23m revamp and could still have applied for a certificate of demolition.

But in a spectacular U-turn, council leader Peter Rankin said he was now in talks with County Hall chiefs over possible funding.

Coun Rankin said: ^We^re looking at ways with our partners to see how we can refurbish the building to a greater or lesser extent. We can^t afford just to leave it. It^s a huge challenge for us but I^m determined we will find a way of doing something to lever in some funding to improve the building.^

The Government granted the building Grade II listed status after an application from English Heritage.

The move was opposed by Preston Council, which voted to knock down the station and build a new facility in its place last December.

Coun Peter Rankin said he had been angered by the Minister for Culture Ed Vaizey, branding his decision to not visit Preston before making his ruling ^absolutely scandalous^.

However, he said he believed the outcome was ^inevitable^ because the minister was a fan of British Brutalist architecture, and that while he was ^disappointed^, he did not want to fight the decision.

He said: ^I very quickly said we^re not going for a judicial review. The legal advice was we had a very slim chance of getting the judges to overturn the minister^s decision. And I wasn^t too keen to follow the idea of applying for consent for a listed building to be demolished. It would involve a public inquiry, a lot of money throwing at it, which we can^t afford, and it would take quite a long time. At the end of it the building could still be there, so I^ve decided along with my colleagues we^re not pursuing that course of action. My personal view is we^re in a dilemma, the same dilemma we^ve been in for quite some time, that we can^t afford to operate it or refurbish it. But, and this is a personal view that I haven^t yet discussed with my colleagues, we can^t afford to leave it as it is. We can^t afford to let it crumble for another 44 years.^

Coun Rankin met with 17 delegates from English Heritage when they visited Preston on October 18.

They are now writing a report for the council.

He said: ^We^re in a situation where we need quite a lot of support and help, but we need funding most of all. Although English Heritage cannot give us money, they^re very influential people and their support is crucial to us to make any headway with finding money for this historic building. We have to grasp the nettle I feel and do as much as we possibly can, as quickly as we possibly can, to lever in some funding into the building. Talking to English Heritage was part of that process and we^re talking to Lancashire County Council.^

Because the bus station has been listed, the council can now apply for Heritage Lottery Funding from the National Lottery.

Meanwhile, campaigners have argued ^8.3m of funding put aside by County Hall for a new bus station should be used for refurbishment.

Coun Rankin said: ^There is a new administration, officers are talking about options and I^m hoping after I return from holiday next week we^re going to be able to conclude our decision.^

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said it could not comment at this stage as talks between the authorities were ongoing.