The Hanover Building....

As well as Victoria Station getting some much needed tlc, the area outside is also having a makeover. Just across Corporation Street from the station is the Edwardian Baroque Hanover Building. It’s a Grade II listed building that is owned by the CO-OP. In spite of being Grade II listed it’s been neglected of late as this part of the city centre has been in decline for years.

But it’s now part of the CO-OP’s massive NOMA scheme, a plan to redevelop this part of the city, extend the city centre to the north and create a new business area to complement Spinningfields. They started doing this before the recession by building their new HQ building but then it all stalled. There was the recession, the CO-OP made some pretty disastrous banking decisions and there were the shenanigans of the former CEO that involved interesting substances and/or young men who could be hired out shall we say.

But it all seems to be back on track now. Plans for new offices and apartment towers are up and running and the refurbishment of the older buildings like this one are beginning. A series of tree lined streets and open spaces is being created to link Exchange Square to Angel Square to create an attractive environment.

This building will be used for retail and offices. There will be a glazed atrium in the centre. At some point in the past some one has had the idea that the arched windows on the top floor needed bricking up. And they have also blocked off the grand entrance on Corporation Street. When it was open you had to access the building by a side entrance. Sometimes you wonder what people were on when they made these decisions? Part of the plan is to restore the windows so that the facade looks like it did in Edwardian times and reopen the original entrance to give the building back its dignity. Other buildings in the area, like the little known Art Deco buildings behind this one, are also getting this treatment. I like this idea. I love new builds, especially if they are skyscrapers, but we should not allow older buildings, especially grand ones like this, to fall to disrepair and ruination. This is a good plan.
They are busy scaffolding the building at the moment.