An aerial view of Kimmins Mill
A huge archive of construction texts, maps and other memorabilia from firms past and present is under threat because volunteers are running out of time to move it before the owner takes back possession of the building.
The Construction Industry Resource Centre Archive (CIRCA), curated by former CIOB local chairman in Bristol John Keenan, has been housed in the old Kimmins Mill flour mill in Durbridge, near Stroud, adjacent to a Sainsbury’s car park, for the past 20 years on a peppercorn rent.
But in 2017, Sainsbury’s, which owns the building, requested an inspection and identified safety issues including both a possible beetle infestation and timber rot.
In October 2018, it issued a tort notice which gave CIRCA 90 days to remove up to three miles of shelving, plus all the all the archive’s documents and artefacts. A stipulation of the notice was that a surveyor had to be there, which gave volunteers access to the building for just 35 of those 90 days, although this was later increased to 56.
Keenan has identified local engineering colleges, schools and charities where shelving, bookcases and other items can be distributed but still needs more time and volunteers to deliver them but claimed he has struggled to co-ordinate the removal operation in the time given to him by Sainsbury’s.
Keenan and CIRCA is concerned that most of the archive could now be lost because Sainsbury’s not allowing any more time to retrieve it. Only parts of collections have been removed so far by volunteers, most of whom are in their 70s and 80s, and Keenan estimates that he needs until the end of the year to remove the rest of it to temporary stores.
Archive from local CIOB library
CIRCA’s book archive contains books from the local CIOB library, the Department of Environment library, the Property Services Agency library, part of the old Ministry of Public Buildings and Works library, and Atkins’ library.
There are also maps, furniture including a boardroom table once used by Wimpey, an archive of bricks used over the years in the west country, assorted trophies from local construction companies, and other items.
“If you want to look back and see how things were done, like with Grenfell Tower, we could go back to the old versions of the handbooks of Building Regs,” says Keenan, explaining the value of what the mill holds.
In an email sent to CIRCA, Sainsbury’s said: “Sainsbury’s has a structural engineers’ report and a Building Surveyor’s report both stating that the Premises is overloaded and that there is the possibility of both beetle infestation and rot within the timber. It therefore is a safety hazard to leave the Premises so overloaded and is not a risk which Sainsbury’s can continue to accept. Sainsbury’s is further unable to fully review and treat any issues with the structure of the Premises due to the volume of goods stored therein. The clearance of the items stored is now critical, so that a full survey can be undertaken in order to assess the next steps required to safeguard the Premises.
“At all times, Sainsbury’s has acted reasonably and courteously to facilitate the removal of items from the Premises. Sainsbury’s has, in all, provided over two years’ notice of its intention to take back possession of the Premises and for the Premises to be emptied. This, on any objective view, is more than a reasonable amount of time and Sainsbury’s unwilling to provide any further extension in this regard.”
Keenan hopes to persuade Sainsbury’s to offer CIRCA more time and is also keen to hear from CIOB members able either to offer space to store the archive’s artefacts, or their time to help move items from the mill.
Sainsbury’s has been contacted for comment.
John Keenan is keen to be contacted with offers of storage space or time to help move the archive at: [email protected]
