Decision on Loughborough industrial site postponed again

Turbine Hall, which sports the distinctive “Brush” sign, would remain intact if plans go ahead

BBC View of the Falcon Works industrial estate, still known to locals as Brush Works, as seen from Loughborough railway station — Turbine Hall, which sports the distinctive “Brush” sign, would remain intact if plans go ahead

A decision on plans to demolish part of a historic manufacturing site has been postponed for the second time.

The application to demolish some of the buildings at Loughborough’s Falcon Works on Nottingham Road and construct new buildings on the site was initially scheduled to be submitted on Thursday.

Planning officers at Charnwood Borough Council had advised councilors to reject the plans, but changed their recommendation to “defer” after receiving late submissions from developers.

Planning committee members agreed to delay the decision to allow officials to consider more detailed plans.

A decision was made on the application, made by Falcon UK MLI Property Unit Trust. previously postponed in July.

The Turbine Hall, also known as the “Brush Building” or the “Falcon Building”, is not part of the demolition plans.

An application for the site has been submitted to the council in 2023.

Google An aerial image of the site at Loughborough. — An application for the site has been submitted to the council in 2023.

Loughborough MP Jeevun Sandher had taken to social media ahead of the meeting to support the redevelopment, which the company previously said would provide 770 full-time jobs and around £50m of investment a year in the local economy.

Council leader Jewel Miah had also written to the committee to support the proposals.

At the meeting, Angie Fenton, speaking on behalf of the developers, said the buildings proposed for demolition could not be reused and that delaying the decision risked “the development never taking place”.

Officers and some committee members were concerned that the application contained “narrow justification” for the demolition of locally listed buildings.

However, locally listed buildings do not share the same planning protection as nationally recognized sites.

Several of the brick buildings on the right have been demolished in the last three years.

Google Several of the brick buildings on the right have been demolished in the last three years. — Several of the brick buildings on the right have been demolished in the last three years.

The first factory was built on the site in the 1860s to manufacture train parts, before the Anglo-American company Brush Electrical Engineering took over the Falcon Works in 1889.

Janine Dykes, built heritage expert at consultancy RPS, said the heritage damage caused by this development was “low because the elements being demolished have little or no architectural or historical interest”.

Nine of the 12 councilors on the committee agreed to defer the application until a future date to be decided.

In deferring the decision, councilors agreed to allow officers to determine the application if, after consulting on the revised proposals, they recommended approval.

If the updated proposals do not win approval from officials, the application will return to the committee.