Demolition plans for historic industrial site could be thrown out
Plans to demolish buildings on a historic manufacturing site in Loughborough, known as ‘the Brush’ by locals, could be blocked at a Charnwood Borough Council meeting tomorrow (Thursday, July 25).
Falcon UK MLI Property Unit Trust wants permission to replace parts of Falcon Works with new industrial, storage and research buildings.
However, council officers are recommending the planning committee deny the proposal.
The developer aims to create nearly 310,000 sq ft of new floor space in two phases at Falcon Business Park, starting with the demolition of some locally listed buildings with architectural or historical significance.
The iconic Turbine Hall, built in the 1920s and a familiar sight to Loughborough railway station travellers, will not be demolished.
The first phase involves constructing six buildings, a site office, and two substations, with outline permission sought for phase two.
Brush Electrical Engineering, once a major employer in Loughborough, operated on the site since the 1860s.
American company Wabtec acquired most of the operations in 2011, announcing the plant’s closure in 2021. Parts of the complex are now vacant and disused.
Council officers has criticised the location of some proposed buildings, highlighting the “significant harm” to locally-listed buildings.
They stress the historical and communal value of the 19th-century industrial structures. The council meeting starts at 5pm today and will be streamed on YouTube.
