Asbestos found in Ipswich mural at future school site

An application received by Ipswich Borough Council last Wednesday included changing the plans to allow asbestos to be removed before a historic record of the building - the former Co-op department store in Carr Street - is taken.

Asbestos is a substance that was used in buildings for many years but is extremely harmful to health.

In August, planning permission was granted to allow testing at the listed artwork, and when it was carried out asbestos was found within the fixing of the mural.

The 'Harvest' mural, at the back of the derelict Co-op department store building. (Image: Google Maps)

The mural is to be retained, and there are also plans for the overbridge to be reduced in height from four stories to two, and alterations made to make sure the former Co-op building can stand on its own.

Planning permission was allowed in October 2021 to demolish the former store at 48 to 68 Carr Street to make way for a new primary school, nursery, along with a rooftop multi-use games area.

However, the Grade II-listed mural on the rear of the building in Ipswich has impacted the delivery of the school.

The former Co-op department store. (Image: Google)

The rare mural was given Grade II listed status last year, meaning that while the demolition could still go ahead, the mural would be preserved.

The 'Harvest' mural is one of only four surviving large-scale English Co-op murals created in the 1950s and 1960s.

The mosaic to the left is on the back of the Co-operative department store building, above Cox Street. Credit: Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

This piece, created by Hungarian artists Gyula Bajó and Endre Hevezi between 1963 and 1964, comprises thousands of colourful square mosaic tiles, depicting the Greek mythology characters of Demeter, goddess of the harvest and the messenger Hermes.

The application also proposed a new entrance for vehicles from Upper Barclay into the school site, although the car park will largely remain the same.