Lucky escape for Liverpool’s Albert Dock?

Liverpool’s Albert Dock. Harry Hyams’ proposals for its redevelopment included draining the dock, filling it in and constructing a glass-and-steel skyscraper, according to Bob Lamb. Photograph: Don McPhee for the Guardian

Visitors who experience Liverpool’s historic Albert Dock may consider themselves fortunate to enjoy the enclosed dock, now a marina, and Jesse Hartley’s fine brick warehouses. In the early 1970s, Harry Hyams’ (Obituary, 23 December) Oldham Estates obtained outline planning permission for the commercial development of the Albert Dock and warehouses. The project, under the fanciful name of Aquarius City, required the demolition of the warehouses, to be replaced by office blocks. More damaging was the intention to drain the dock, fill it in and construct a glass-and-steel skyscraper. The permission granted effectively inhibited for quite some time alternative proposals. Hyams only developed one important site in Liverpool, adjoining Lime Street station – a controversial office block with twisted columns, now demolished, designed by architect Col Richard Seiffert.
Bob Lamb
Chester

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