ALBERT DOCK POST WAR HISTORY AND DECLINE Albert Dock, Liverpool Lancashire England

Post War history and decline

By the time World War II had finished the Albert Dock's future looked bleak. The owners of the dock, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB) were in financial crisis and chose not to repair any of the wartime bomb damage, adopting an attitude of 'if its not broke don't fix it and if it is broke we still won't fix it'.^[19] At the same time a change in geo-political orientation towards Europe, coupled with the advent of containerisation meant the whole docking system in the city of Liverpool suffered as newer, stronger ports emerged elsewhere in the UK.^[20] None the less the architectural and technological value of the docks was recognised in 1952 when the Albert Dock was granted Grade I listed building status.^[16]

Despite this recognition, the increasing debts of the MDHB meant that by the 1960s the company was eager to get rid of the Albert Dock. Having considered demolishing the buildings and redeveloping the land,^[17] the MDHB soon entered negotiations to sell the land to Oldham Estates, a property developer owned by Harry Hyams.^[19] Many plans for the site were developed including one that envisioned the development of a mini city that would provide 10m sq feet of letting space, hotels, restaurants, bars and underground parking in the drained dock basin.^[21] With the council reluctant to allow such a grandiose development to occur and with the huge public opposition to it (inspired at least in part by the work of Quentin Hughes), Oldham Estates were forced into scaling-down the plan and so in 1970 returned with a new vision known as 'Aquarius City', which had as its centrepiece a 44-storey skyscraper. Once again the plan failed to develop and no sooner had it been announced, than the MDHB's financial problems reached crisis point, Oldham Estates withdrew their deposit and the whole scheme fell through.^[19]

The Albert Dock viewed from the River Mersey in 1979

With the MDHB on the verge of bankruptcy a decision was taken to shut down and sell off the whole of the south docks system. The warehouses were emptied and in 1972 the Albert Dock finally closed down. The Brunswick Dock gates, which separated the South Docks system from the River Mersey, were opened allowing tidal movements in and the process of the clogging up the docks with sewage polluted silt began.^[22][23] In many senses just as the Albert Dock's development had symbolised the prosperity in the Liverpool at the time of its construction, its subsequent decline after World War II symbolised the collapse of the local economy as a whole.^[24]

Throughout the early 1970s plans continued to emerge for the redevelopment of the Albert Dock site and the whole of the south docks system in general. Many of these plans were quite extreme including Liverpool City Council's suggestion to use the dock basin as a landfill site. The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), the reincarnation of the now defunct Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, however felt it could get more money by filling in the dock basin with sand and selling it as developable land and not derelict land. One plan for the Albert Dock that was taken more seriously was the idea that it become the new home of Liverpool Polytechnic (now John Moores University). The government was even willing to provide £3m in funding but like so many other plans this too fell by the wayside.^[25]

The creation of Merseyside County Council (MCC) in 1974 brought new hope that the Albert Dock could be redeveloped, with the MCC placing a high priority on its development. They soon entered negotiations with the MDHC and in 1979 eventually negotiated a deal to take over the running of the south docks.^[26] Despite this seeming step forward political wrangling between the MDHC (the dock owners), Liverpool City Council (the local planning authority) and Merseyside County Council (the group now responsible for redeveloping the docks) continued to hinder any development plans.^[25] Fed up with the in fighting the newly elected Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher decided that the city was incapable of handling regeneration initiatives itself and under the guidance of the 'Minister for Merseyside' Michael Heseltine, set up the Merseyside Development Corporation in 1981 to take over the responsibility of regenerating and redeveloping Liverpool's south docks.^[24][27]