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Boizot vows to save Great Northern
THE man who returned the Great Northern Hotel to the splendour of its Victorian heyday today pledged the building would only be demolished "over his dead body".
THE man who returned the Great Northern Hotel to the splendour of its Victorian heyday today pledged the building would only be demolished "over his dead body".The Great Northern Hotel – which has stood opposite Peterborough railway station since 1849 – has been earmarked for demolition as part of multi-million pound plans to regenerate the area.
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Do you have memories of the Great Northern Hotel? E-mail hannah.gray@peterboroughtoday.co.uk, or call her on 01733 588726.
The proposal is made in a Station Quarter Development Brief, which sets out a future vision of the train station and the surrounding area.
The brief suggests the Great Northern Hotel – owned by Pizza Express founder Peter Boizot – "would need to be removed to create sufficient space on the city side of the station".
Today, Mr Boizot, who has spent "millions of pounds" on renovating the hotel in the last 14 years, said: "I realise some fool could come along and demolish it, but it will be over my dead body.
"As far as I am concerned, the entrance to the station will be moved 200 yards north and the hotel will stay. I will not allow it to be demolished and will fight any proposal tooth and nail.
"I hope it remains in Peterborough for a long time, even after I am gone."
Mr Boizot's rallying call has been backed by Peterborough Civic Society – a group campaigning to preserve the city's heritage – Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson and the city's longest serving councillor Charles Swift, who are jointly calling for the historic hotel to be incorporated into the Station Quarter project.
However, Steve Compton, the acting chief executive of Opportunity Peterborough – the body charged with driving forward the city's growth – said demolition of the building was "not set in stone".
Mr Compton said: "The development brief assumes that the Great Northern Hotel would go. We need to determine whether that is the right course of action.
"We need to work out if we can build a world-class station with the hotel still in situ."
But, Mr Jackson said: "The Great Northern Hotel is part of Peterborough's heritage as a railway town. There is no way anyone can come along with a ball and chain and destroy the hotel, just to put up an office block in its place.
"Network Rail, National Express East Coast and Opportunity Peterborough need to think before they propose demolition of any buildings, especially ones with architectural merit."
In 2006, Peterborough Civic Society tried – and failed – to get the Great Northern Hotel listed building status, which would have protected it against development.
While the group is not opposed to the demolition of the '70s extension at the rear of the hotel, it wants the Victorian part of the building incorporated into the future development of the area.
Continued on next pageVice-chairman David Turnock said: "Over the years, Peterborough's heritage has been demolished because of expediency. We consider that this clean slate approach is doing the same with the Great Northern Hotel."
Chairman Peter Lee added: "Places such as Birmingham and Leicester have many fine Victorian buildings, but in Peterborough there are few. The Great Northern Hotel is one of the best examples of what we have got."
Cllr Swift, a former mayor who holds the Freedom of the City honour, worked on the railways as an engine driver for 48 years, and he said today: "The hotel is the last bastion of Peterborough's famous association with the railways. It must be retained."
Do you have memories of the Great Northern Hotel? E-mail hannah.gray@peterboroughtoday.co.uk, or call her on 01733 588726.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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