Residents call for action over 'neglected' water tower

Residents fear the Victorian water tower on Frederick Drive has been "forgotten" and is attracting anti-social behaviour

A neglected water tower sitting in the middle of a housing estate has been described as an "eyesore" by residents.

The Victorian water tower on Frederick Drive in Walton, Peterborough, was part of the former Sages Factory - most of which was turned into houses and Brotherhood Retail Park in 2014.

Residents fear the "forgotten" tower is attracting anti-social behaviour including drug dealing.

Owner Stone Investments Ltd plans to convert the tower into flats and said it would add a new steel fence around the site.

The water tower was part of the former Sages Factory

The tower was designed by city architect Alan Riddle in the early 1900s.

In 2022, renewed planning permission proposed the tower would consist of six floors of housing, for four flats. But the owners said they were keen to keep the historic look of the tower.

Over the past few days, Liberal Democrat councillor for Walton and Paston, Nick Sandford, reported the fencing around the building had collapsed, which made it "look untidy and accessible to vandals".

Mr Sandford said: "The owners have allowed the tower to get to a bad state.

"We have had reports of kids playing in it and even climbing on it. There have been some recent reports of people spotting drug dealing inside the building too.

"The residents are fed-up and just want the owners to get on with the development of the site."

Councillor Nick Sandford said it was "frustrating" to see the tower in this state

There were calls from residents and local councillors urging Peterborough City Council to take enforcement action against the property developers.

But the council said it was not involved with access and site safety and it was a matter for the Health and Safety Executive.

However, a spokesperson for the council said: "We have in this instance been proactive and let the owners know the site is unsecure.

"They did respond to say the fencing would be replaced to secure the site."

The broken fence will be replaced with steel fencing within the next few weeks

Mohammed Bilal, director at Stone Improvements Ltd, said new steel fencing would be placed around the site to make it secure.

"We have commenced work onsite since planning has been approved but are waiting on steel beams to be delivered as this is a specific requirement for the project," Mr Bilal said.

"Due to our commitments with other ongoing projects, this was put on the backfoot, but we look forward to getting the work started."