Hull’s Arc building up for sale a second time

The landmark Arc building on Castle Street in Hull had been put forward as a new visitor centre at the Humber Bridge.

But the idea was turned down by members of the Bridge Board and the building – minus its turbines which have already been sold – is on the market again for £75,000.

There is pressure now for the building to be moved as the council car park where it is sited will be needed for the improvements to Castle Street. Made of five up-ended caravans, with an array of mini turbines, the original idea was to move it round the city to promote architecture. But that never happened.

Property developer Terry Hodgkinson, who was the chairman of the regional development agency between 2003 and 2010, said: “It was going to replace the tourism information centre (at the bridge). It was a great idea, but they really wanted to sit back and have a bit more thought about car parking issues rather than just plonk the Arc where it is now.

“In all, it was about £200,000-odd to put in a new mezzanine, connect it to the services, repaint it – if they do a new visitor centre, it will cost at least three times more than that.

“Hull (Council) has given us a bit of an extension. We have really got to get rid of it in the next couple of months.

“It is a pity they can’t come to some sort of arrangement and use it for City of Culture. It is a prominent building on a roadside and it is innovative and you could do all sorts of cultural activities inside.”

The building, which opened in 2006 went on to win a RIBA award for its architect, Niall McLaughlin. However it suffered structural problems including a leaking roof and the mini turbines never worked properly. It was put up for auction last year after the company that ran it went into liquidation.