Cowdale power house

Cowdale Quarry was opened by the New Buxton Lime Co c1901. The company was taken over by the Buxton Lime Firms in 1908 and shortly afterwards a bank of limekilns and a range of other buildings were constructed in concrete.

The quarry and works closed in 1956 but most of the concrete structures remained. This is the entrance to the powerhouse with the Buxton Lime Firms initials and construction date of 1909. If you look closely you can see that the initials of the then manager Thomas Ryan that were underneath the date have been removed after he left to join a rival firm.

In a typical example of deceit and local authority incompetence this listed building was demolished after a developer applied for a section 80 demolition order on the basis that it was in a dangerous condition. The department that issues such orders did not, of course, consult with the planning department and the result was that this fine structure was unneccessarily lost. Permission to develop the site was refused. The lack of joined-up thinking and operating in local authorities is unacceptable.