Heritage groups have voiced strong objections to plans that would see Durham Police's historic radio mast demolished for good.

The Grade II-listed concrete tripod mast was installed outside Durham's Aykley Heads police headquarters in 1968, having been designed by the office of the celebrated Ove Arup, who engineered Sydney Opera House and Durham City’s own Kingsgate Bridge.

It was dismantled in 2017 to allow a housing development on the old HQ site, but it was a condition of the planning permission that the mast be retained and re-erected at Aykley Heads.

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The 49.4 metre structure has been laid down in a storage area next to the HQ ever since, but now Durham Police has applied to Durham County Council for consent to demolish it for good.

Planning documents submitted to the council say the keystone of the mast was damaged beyond repair during the dismantling process and it would be need to be recast, while surveys have found it has significant corrosion in its connecting elements.

The police also say that due to "unforeseen economic changes" and increasingly stretched budgets, the cost of re-erecting the mast would have to be met "from wider Constabulary budgets". "This would undermine service delivery in terms of responding to crime and non-crime police incidents which in turn impacts upon community, victim and business confidence," added the force.

The cost of putting the mast back up at the new HQ site has been calculated as £496,000, with maintenance estimated at £421,900, and an additional £56,600 for the erection of security fencing, police said. Potentially re-erecting it at another site is not considered a viable option, according to the documents, as no other party has been found who is willing to take on the cost and risk associated.

Building a warehouse to store the mast for future generations would cost £750,000 up front, plus £30,000 to £70,000 a year running costs, while burial would cost an estimated £460,000.

Demolition at a cost of about £223,800 was considered as a final option. A Heritage Impact Assessment submitted with the application said that of all the options considered, demolition would clearly cause the most harm to the structure, but added: "Durham Constabulary’s attempts to chart a new future for the mast ... demonstrated that the nature of the mast prevents all reasonable reuse of the structure, that no viable use of it can be found and that support through grant funding or charitable ownership is not available."

However the Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage from 1914 onwards, and the City of Durham Trust, are objecting to the demolition application.

In a letter to the council, Dr Sean Ketteringham, Twentieth Century Society caseworker, said: "The Durham Police radio mast is a particularly valuable feature of Durham’s post-war architectural heritage. The application has given insufficient consideration to the power of the mast to act as a placemaking focal point for the community, potentially even a symbol of local pride.

"If the mast cannot be re-erected near its original location – as was stipulated in the original planning application for the new HQ in 2012 – more extensive efforts should be made to find a new location and owner that will provide suitable care for the asset."

City of Durham Trust believe the mast should be kept as one of the city’s few 20th Century assets, describing it as "a terrific statement on Durham’s engagement in cutting edge technology" during that period.

Chairman John Lowe added: "Neglecting to maintain the structure is not a sound reason for applying for planning consent to be rid of it. It is an important principle in the planning process that neglect is not a cause for demolition – otherwise, anyone could allow a listed building to deteriorate if they wished to see it demolished."

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