Plea to save 'symbolic' building

The building was designed by George Bond and built in 1904

Heritage campaigners have appealed for an Edwardian building on a quayside in Medway to be saved from planned demolition.

The 105-year-old Aveling and Porter building in Strood is to be knocked down in 2010 to make way for housing.

Campaigners from local and national heritage groups said the building was a rare symbol of the area's industrial history.

But Medway council said preserving the building would waste taxpayers' money.

The factory, which is featured on the council's Visit Medway website, was designed by George Bond and built in 1904 as part of the Aveling and Porter steam engine factory site.

The company employed more than 1,000 people in Strood at its peak.

'Crucial' for regeneration

In a statement, Medway Council said: "It would cost an estimated £800,000 to repair the building, which is not a good use of council taxpayers money.

"The redevelopment of the site is due to begin in the new year and is a crucial part of the area's regeneration with plans to build much needed affordable housing for local people."

The unitary authority said the structure was unsafe and should be sold off for development.

You can find hardly any remnants of our industrial past

Jim Preston, industrial archaeologist

The City of Rochester Society last month presented a petition with 1,000 signatories to councillors asking for the building to be saved.

SAVE Britain's Heritage has suggested that it could become the centrepiece of a quayside development.

Jim Preston, industrial archaeologist for the Council for Kentish Archaeology, said: "I did a recent survey of the valley and you can find hardly any remnants of our industrial past. So this is symbolic of it."

"Both the firms that occupied this building, Aveling and Porter and Wingets, were international brands and I think it is important that we maintain something associated with them or else we've lost our whole industrial heritage."

Inspectors from English Heritage have previously examined the site and decided it should not be given listed building status.