Historic building near Carrow Road could be demolished under new plans
Carrow Bridge House which has stood next to Carrow Bridge since the 1920s could be knocked down
Last updated 23rd Jan 2023
An abandoned historic building familiar to football fans passing it on their way to watch Norwich City play is set to be demolished.
Carrow Bridge House, which has stood next to Carrow Bridge since the 1920s, could be knocked down, five years after previous plans to flatten the site were rejected.
An application to demolish the building, which is less than 200 yards from the football ground, has been submitted to Norwich City Council, the same authority that rejected knocking it down in 2018.
The latest plans will see the building knocked down with a promised “like-for-like” replacement.
A planning statement, submitted by Slough-based developer Wexham Homes, said: “The current building is old, outdated, uninhabitable, with structural defects, therefore, unfortunately, it requires replacing with an identical building.”
A statement by a consulting engineer also said the home is likely to need a “significant amount” of repair work if it was to be used as a house again.
City Hall’s own design and conservation officer, Historic England and the Environment Agency all objected to the 2018 plan but have yet to comment on the latest scheme.
Previous objections focused on the harm demolition would cause the wider conservation area, which includes the medieval Boom Tower on the opposite side of the river.
Historic England also objected to the loss of Norwich’s only ‘bridge house’, saying not enough information had been provided to properly assess the impact of demolition and the Environment Agency said there was a lack of a flood risk assessment.
Carrow Bridge House was placed up for auction at the end of October 2019, after Norfolk County Council, which owned the building, failed in its demolition plan.
The eventual winner of the online auction, held by SDL Auction, splashed out £254,500.
The home has been empty since its last tenant, Reginald Dann, was moved on in 2017.
Mr Dann called on whoever bought the house to make good use of it but the home has been empty for six years.
He had lived in the home from when he was just 12 years old before being reluctantly rehoused in 2017 due to the home’s deteriorating state and the county council aiming to have it demolished.
Wexham Homes has been contacted.