CONTINUITY IN ARCHITECTURE

Further to a post earlier this year the potential fate of Manchester Town Hall (Alfred Waterhouse), its Extension and Central Library (E. Vincent Harris) becomes clearer. The Manchester Evening News story about the future of the most significant urban and architectural ensemble in the city should raise fears in the minds of any concerned citizen. Among the questions that occur are

- why does a library and a town hall need shops?

- will cars in the new underground carpark be exempt from the proposed congestion charge?

- what has happened to the spirit of civic pride which produced these great buildings, and why does it have such a faint voice in the deliberations of the council?

Manchester Evening News story