The £64,000 question...

From The York Press http://www.yorkpress.co.uk of 25th September 2013

http://www.eddisons.com

A water tower next to the A64 in York has been sold at auction for £64,000 – more than double the highest amount it was expected to fetch.

The Yorkshire Water structure at Askham Bryan went under the hammer at Leeds United FC’s Elland Road ground (on 18th September) at a sale handled by auctioneers Eddisons. Its guide price was between £20,000 and £25,000.

The water tower, in Mill Lane, is currently let to Vodafone and TV York, which pay combined annual rent of almost £12,500 for the use of buildings at the site, and the firms must give six and three months’ notice respectively if they want to leave.

According to a post on the urban exploration site 28 Days Later, the now disused tower had about 1 million litres capacity and is 30 metres high. It was photographed inside with permission. It appears to be a ferro-concrete open legged type of the Mouchel pattern.

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/other-sites/61485-water-tower-york.html

The question is naturally, what will the owner do with it now? The sale was only the tower and no surrounding buildings or land so making redevelopment unlikely. Should we Askham Bryan?