19.10.2011

Crane restoration dithering

English Heritage has called for urgent repairs to be made to a grade II listed Babcock and Wilcox cantilever/hammerhead crane on the Isle of Wight.

The 99 year old crane, the only one left in England, is now said to be seriously at risk as the developer that owns it and the local council continue to dither or fight over its future.
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The Cowes giant cantilever crane

The crane and site below is owned by Peter Harrison Family Trust which wants to build houses under the crane and as part of the agreement is - or was - prepared to spend around £750,000 on the restoration of the crane.

The council objected to the development at the time on the basis that the area was zoned for marine employment and not housing. The housing recession did not help improve the situation but in the meantime the crane, which was last used in 2004 has continued to deteriorate.

We ran a report on the crane back in 2005, when it looked as though its restoration might have been imminent. Since then nothing appears to have happened. English Heritage says that it would be prepared to provide funding for immediate work as part of its Industrial Heritage at Risk campaign. Click here to see original 2005 report
Ed Checkley of the Cowes Hammerhead Crane Trust, a charity set up to preserve the crane said: "It's a landmark, it dominates the skyline, it was a living machine and it's the only part of the island's ship building heritage that's going to be left."