Concerns raised over future of eight of Hull's most historic buildings including docks and bombed cinema - with some of their owners refusing to speak to council

The buildings, including a cinema bombed in the Second World War, former churches and a disused factory, have been subject to efforts to get them restored.

A council report has detailed where these efforts have go to and it stated some could soon be restored to their former glory with a new lease of life.

But others are not so lucky as they continue to languish in ruin with no interest in redeveloping them having materialised.

The Strand

The former boarding and architecture school, in Brunswick Avenue near Beverley Road, remains a ruined but stable shell after it was gutted by fire in 2016.

Council officials are continuing to monitor the condition of the building which has been subject to compulsory purchase efforts from current owners Kimiti Investments Ltd since 2021.

Progress on the compulsory purchase order (CPO) has been hampered by attempts to sell the Brunswick Centre, also on the site, falling short.

Both buildings featured in a council strategy document drawn up in 2021 pitched at potential developers and the council has been exploring interest from the market in it.

George Lambert Memorial Chapel

No application or further enquiries have been made to buy the Grade II-listed church, in Lambert Street, off Newland Avenue, since it went up for auction in September 2022.

A blaze swept through the George Lambert Memorial Chapel in 2015 and the shell of the front of the building propped up by scaffolding is all that remains.

The church went under the hammer as a result of the council forcing the sale of the building after its owners failed to repay works debts to the authority.

Ownership of the building is split between Lambert Properties (Hull) Ltd and North Drive Properties Ltd.

One enquiry was made about buying the building as of February but no sale has materialised.

The Chapel was built as a Primitive Methodist church in 1893.

Hennebique concrete workshop

The disused Caroline Street factory built at the turn of the last century could be set for restoration if talks on a forthcoming planning application come to fruition.

Plans for the restoration of the factory, north of Ferensway, could be lodged as early as this month.

It currently belongs to Allam Developments Ltd, a company belonging to Hull City FC’s former owners, and is deemed to be in poor condition.

A marketing campaign was ongoing last year to attract interest to convert it into flats.

A local engineering firm was interested in buying the building for business use in November but nothing came of it.

The building, made out of reinforced concrete using the Hennebique method and part of the disused Rosedowns factory, is the only surviving structure of its kind in England.

National Picture Theatre

The bombed-out cinema in Beverley Road could soon see works begin on its restoration as a museum and memorial space.

The process to tender a contract for works to the National Picture Theatre was being finished as of August.

It comes around two years after a successful bid for £277,600 in National Lottery Heritage Fund cash to finance the project.

The ruins of the cinema, which opened in 1914, are among the last bombed sites from the Second World War still standing in the UK.

A Luftwaffe bomb fell on the National Picture Theatre during an air raid on Hull in March 1941.

The 150 people who were inside watching Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator at the time managed to escape.

Hydraulic tower and pump house

The owners of the pumping house which once operated in St Andrew’s Dock could soon be ordered to repair it depending on the progress of council reviews.

An application was granted to install underground pipes for a district heating system to serve the pump house hydraulic tower and the nearby Insurance and Boston buildings in February 2021.

But that is dependent on the wider redevelopment of the former dock site which is home to the Lord Line Building which has been plagued by vandalism.

An inspection deemed the pump house and hydraulic tower buildings, which were built in the 1870s, stable in May.

Castle Buildings

A decision on changes to plans for the Castle Buildings site was awaiting a decision as of August but talks have continued to progress with the council and developers Wykeland.

Developers took scaled-back plans to the council’s Planning Committee in April after soaring inflation rates pushed up the cost of the project which was first approved in 2019.

It involved the refurbishment of the Castle Buildings, in Castle Street, and the building of a nine-storey hotel .

The Earl de Grey pub, which dates back to the 1840s, is also set to be rebuilt brick-by-brick as part of the project.

The Castle Buildings, listed for their curved front features and maritime heritage, were built in 1900.

They were home to the offices of steamship owners and brokers close to the city’s docks.

Trafalgar Street church

It is hoped that works to convert the former Central Baptist church into an events space and gym could be finished by next Spring.

Costs for the works, originally slated to finish by late 2022, were put under review after the previous contractor pulled out of the project.

Issues were resolved in August leaving officials confident that the plans for the conversion approved in 2017 would be realised.

The Trafalgar Street Church, which faces out onto Beverley Road, was built in 1904.

Former City Temple

The newest addition to the Buildings At Risk Register, in Madeley Street by Hessle Road, is set for urgent works to make it structurally secure.

They follow an arson attack in May which led to the back section of the building being demolished.

Council officials have since tried to contact owners Hessle Road House Ltd but they have not responded as of August, meaning the authority may have to do the works.

The City Temple was a non-conformist church built in 1879.