The condition of Brook Cottages and the possibility of relocating them

Last week, we shared news about dismantling Brook Cottages.

We’d like to give you more information about the condition of the cottages and the possibility of relocating them.

Our Development Consent Order requirement

Our Development Consent Order (DCO), details how we should assess whether we can relocate Brook Cottages.

Options include:

• dismantling the cottages
• if relevant, storing, transporting, and reconstructing parts that could be relocated to conserve their heritage.

Both Historic England and Bedfordshire Borough Council have agreed with our approach.

Assessing the building

We took possession of Brook Cottages in August 2023.

Within four weeks an independent heritage engineer began a detailed assessment of the buildings condition.

We made sure no heavy construction work took place until all surveys had completed.

Structural condition

Brook Cottages were poorly built compared to other buildings of a similar type and age. Decades of decay have left them in a very bad condition.

Over the last 60 years, various repairs to the outside of the building, primarily the use of cement plaster, have stopped it from 'breathing'.

As a result, the timber frame has substantially rotted. Together with widespread insect damage, this has left it very fragile. We’ve had to install additional supports due to the risk of collapse.

What relocation would mean

If relocated, most of the buildings' structure would need to be replaced, losing its original heritage.

Modern alterations to the cottages have also moved the structure further away from its original state.

These changes include the removal of sections of the timber frame and their replacement with brick.

The independent heritage structural engineer’s recommendations

The engineer has advised us that any attempt to relocate the cottages would require a complete rebuild to make them safe.

This would mean using different materials and building methods. As a result, much of the cottages’ original heritage features would be lost.

For these reasons, the engineer recommended that Brook Cottages should not be relocated once dismantled.

Historic England and Bedford Borough Council agree with these recommendations. We are following them closely.

Future steps

We're committed to dismantling Brook Cottages in a safe manner

We started this work last week by collecting of some of the building’s original features.

Specialist teams will soon remove any hazardous materials from the buildings such as asbestos.

The final job will be to remove the thatched roof and dismantle the timber frame from top to bottom.

Once complete, we'll continue building the new link between the A421 eastbound and the A1 northbound carriageways.