Dear Councillor Brind
Re: Let it stand or let it fall?

I was interested to read the above-mentioned article in the Waltham Forest Guardian for week ending Friday, September 25, 1987. Prior to giving my vote for or against preservation, I would take this opportunity of mentioning, a few points.

I was the Borough Engineer & Surveyor to the old Leyton Corporation from 1958 to 1962, resigning to take up a similar appointment in Islington from which I retired in 1980.

I have continued to take an interest in developments in Waltham Forest. Incidentally, your Council are to be congratulated upon the renovated and improved Central Library in Walthamstow. I await with interest the completion of other works in progress in that part of your authority's area.

It was during my appointment with Leyton that the old refuse destructor works at Auckland Road were reconstructed as a refuse transfer depot, and I was responsible to the Council for the carrying out of the works. Upon completion of the scheme, refuse was conveyed in bulk transporters to South Ockendon in rural Essex. Demolition of the chimney at that time was not practicable as a limited amount of burning of refuse continued and hence the need to retain the chimney. Nevertheless, the chimney was reduced in 'height, the reduction, if I remember rightly, being in the order of 3 or 4 metres.

I would not have thought the character of the chimney justified it being listed as a building of historic or architectural importance. When I recently visited the site the brickwork appeared in fair condition and, I should say, the bricks would be of some value in the event of demolition. Should the chimney he retained, remedial and pointing works will be necessary, and this will present a heavy recurring cost to the Council.

I feel that your Council should agree to the chimney being wholly demolished. I would further suggest that the memorial stone erected in 1896 be retained and re-located on a suitable site. I put forward two sites for re-locating the plaque namely,

Either. After demolition of the chimney, the area on which it now stands, together with a small adjacent area, be suitably paved, and some of the bricks from the demolished chimney incorporated in the paving. The plaque could then be laid flat within the newly paved area. The area within the vicinity of the chimney is being used for the parking of skips and as a mechanical shovel compound. I would not consider that taking some of this asphalt paved area would cause any problems.

Or. The plaque to be erected on the external wall of the building that is now being used as a weighbridge office and mess room.

I 'trust my remarks will be of some interest and, in the meantime, I await with interest the decision of your Council in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
John T. Lewis

When we talked yesterday you suggested I write to you to request that consideration be given to the listing of a very tall chimney at the Auckland Road waste transfer depot, Leyton. The chimney was built in the 1890s by the old Leyton council (I think---certainly the names of the councillors who opened it can still be read on the plaque attached to the chimney). It is probably one of the tallest(if not the tallest) brick built factory chimneys remaining in London built in this era. In Burnley, for example, there used to be 300 chimneys of this size and now I believe there is only one and that's a museum.

The chimney is not being used and it costs the North London Waste Authority (which owns it) about £5,000 a year in maintenance.

Obviously the attraction of demolishing it (cost £10,000) is very strong. However, senior officers of NLWA would like to keep the chimney if they possibly could and listing (which might attract grants) would strengthen their hands.

It seems to me that since work is currently being done at Auckland Road it would be possible to slightly alter the layout of the depot to make the chimney accessible by a separate entrance (I must admit that this would be difficult). If it was separately accessible then the chimney might become the centre piece for an industrial museum. It is certainly worth a visit.

Anyway, since we don't seem to have enough listed buildings and some of the listed buildings we've got at present aren't all that interesting (Leyton town hall?) I thought this might be food for thought.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Jonathan Brind

Dear Councillor Brind

CHIMNEY - AUCKLAND ROAD WASTE TRANSFER 'DEPOT

Thank you for your letter of 3rd July in confirmation of our earlier telephone conversation. I have found out that some initial thought was given to possible listing of the chimney structure some years ago by the GLC Historic Buildings Section; but this suggestion was not felt worth pursuing at the time, and it was certainly not included in our recommended local list. I will pass on your thoughts to English Heritage for their further consideration, but with the new list recently published, and with other notable buildings omitted, which we have for many years pressed to be included, I don’t hold out much immediate hope for success on this one.
Yours sincerely
Robert Bennett
Chief Planner
Please address all communications to Director of Development quoting reference BLD