PRESS RELEASE:
3rd March 2025
SAVE, The Georgian Group and The Council for British Archaeology join forces to call for a review of the government’s controversial decision not to list one of Manchester’s earliest surviving cotton mills.
Leading national heritage organisations have today (Monday 3 March) announced their decision to challenge the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport’s decision not to list Medlock Mill, an important industrial building in Manchester. In a highly unusual move, Lisa Nandy rejected the advice of Historic England, the government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, and refused the listing of Medlock Mill in January 2025.
SAVE, a national heritage campaigning charity, and The Georgian Group, the government’s statutory adviser on buildings 1700-1840, along with other national heritage groups including The Council for British Archaeology and The Victorian Society strongly supported listing the building in recognition of its exceptional significance as an early Manchester spinning mill which, as stated by Historic England, is “potentially the oldest standing textile mill in Manchester”.
The Secretary of State’s decision not to list follows the approval at Manchester’s planning committee in May 2024 of controversial plans to substantially demolish the historic mill and build a highly invasive 37-storey student accommodation block at its centre. Under the submitted plans, the mill’s interiors would be lost, jeopardising important evidence of early power transmission technology which Historic England sought to list. Only three of the original facades would be partially retained.
Buildings are listed for their architectural or historic interest according to legislation designed to protect and celebrate the historic environment. The Secretary of State’s decision on Medlock Mill, also known as Hotspur Press, was predicated on uncertainty about the age of the building’s first phase of development (which dates to either 1794 or 1801).
However, Historic England strongly recommended listing regardless of this uncertainty as either the “oldest or second oldest” cotton mill in Manchester, identifying it as a “significant survival of the city’s early textile industry.”
In Manchester, the growth of the cotton trade drove the city’s expansion, leading it to become the world’s first industrial city and by extension powering the UK’s Industrial Revolution. Medlock Mill has an important part to play in illustrating the rapid and significant developments of this time.
Adding Medlock Mill to the National List would not put a stop to new development. Instead, listing would make sure that changes to this remarkable building are sympathetic and sensitive to what makes it special, allowing it to continue to contribute to the growth of the city.
The review process can overturn a listing decision if there is evidence to indicate the decision-making process was faulty.
Dr Anya Lucas, Director Designate of The Georgian Group, said: “The absence of any compelling reason not to list this important industrial building – combined with overwhelming evidence in support of designation and a detailed and authoritative recommendation to list from the government’s own statutory adviser on the historic environment constitutes clear grounds for a formal review. To refuse to explain or justify this anomalous decision risks undermining sector and public confidence in the listing process. We urge the Secretary of State to rethink.”
Henrietta Billings, Director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “It is highly unusual for the Secretary of State to go against the clear advice of his own heritage advisors and to refuse listing of what is unquestionably a hugely important mill for Manchester and its history. Regardless of whether it dates back to 1794 or 1801 – it is one of the city’s earliest surviving cotton Mills and a rare physical link to the people who helped build the wealth of this city. We believe the decision-making process in this instance needs a rigorous review.”
Catherine Bell, Listed Buildings Casework and Advocacy Manager for the Council for British Archaeology (CBA), “Listing Medlock Mill is not an obstacle to adaptively reusing it for housing. Listing is a management tool that ensures changes to Medlock Mill are achieved in a way that aligns with and best reveals its historical importance as an important piece of Manchester’s story. Listed industrial buildings are centre pieces of heritage led regeneration schemes across the country.”
Background
Historic England’s detailed recommendation made to the government found that this historic mill was significant for four keys reasons:
- As the oldest or second oldest spinning mill in Manchester, in a city at the centre of the industrial revolution
- As a good example of an early non-fireproof mill construction in Manchester, before fireproof mills became the new standard
- The wealth of evidence for power transmission technology that survives within the mill
- As the oldest in a group of important mills in Manchester, known as the Chorlton-on-Medlock mills
As large-scale, robustly constructed buildings, historic mills have the flexibility to take on a variety of new uses without the need for excessive demolition which threatens what makes them special.
Historic England estimate that disused mills could accommodate around 42,000 new homes or create 84,000 new jobs. These valuable historic places could meet demands for new homes, boost local economies and celebrate what makes our cities unique.
You need not look far in Manchester to find exciting examples of mills in new uses. Take Crusader Mill near Piccadilly station, now reused as stylish apartments, or Beehive Mill, operating as a co-working space. In Bradford, Lister Mills is a beacon of successful reuse. Once the largest silk mill in the world, it has been transformed into almost 300 homes, with office, retail and community space.
There is a real appetite for historic buildings. Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric, the Manchester-based developer behind Crusader Mill, said enquiries about flats in their reuse projects outnumber interest in newbuilds by a factor of four.
There is no statutory timeframe for listing reviews.
For more details, please see Listing Review Request Form for Case no 1490850_The Georgian Group and Letter to the Secretary of State Listing Review Request Medlock Mill
For more information, please contact office@georgiangroup.org.uk
Images: SAVE Britain’s Heritage, Header image: View of Medlock Mill from Cambridge Street