"Condemned" ladder and antique hoist to be replaced

Bradford Council says the boiler in Cartwright Hall Gallery needs replacing, and funding for the work has been secured.

However, access to the basement and boiler room is via a rickety, decades old ladder – and bulky items can only be removed or lowered into the basement by a traditional hoist.

The Council recently applied for planning permission to remove these two features from the Grade II listed building, and replace them with a lift and “more robust ladder.”

The application says the new heating system is required to keep the museum operating, and that the changes would be made to a part of the gallery with no public access.

The hoist that will be removed and taken to Bradford Industrial Museum (Image: Bradford Council)

It adds: “The proposal is to carefully remove the existing hoist and relocate this in Bradford Industrial Museum.”

Approving the work, planning officers said: “The ladder access is no longer considered fit for purpose to enable installation of the required new boiler.

“The hoist is an interesting feature which illustrates how items and materials would have been taken into the sub-basement. However, it too prevents installation of the new steel steps and lift. The hoist is to be carefully dismantled and transferred to storage as an artefact.”