Grimsby Dock Tower repair plan approved

Plans for structural repairs to the Grade I-listed Grimsby Dock Tower have been approved.

Listed building consent has been granted, according to owners Associated British Ports (ABP).

It said work will include repairs to the parapets, the building of a new staircase, floor repairs and drainage work.

The 309ft (95m) tower was built in 1852 and used water stored in a giant tank to hydraulically power machinery in the port.

A spokesperson for ABP said: "We are pleased to have received listed building consent for the tower [and] the next step will be to carefully review the plan and programme of works.

"These works will be a long-term conservation programme."

It is hoped the tower will be able to open to the public for tours once the restoration work is complete, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Grimsby Dock Tower was completed on 27 March 1852 to power the hydraulic machinery of Grimsby docks.

Its height was to achieve the sufficient pressure needed to operate the machines. It was officially opened by Queen Victoria in October 1854.

The tower was built by James Meadows Rendel, the civil engineer who constructed the docks at Grimsby between 1844 and 1853.

If approval is given by North East Lincolnshire Council, the work could begin later this year, ABP said.

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