A former printing plant in Watford that once produced the Daily Mirror is in line for a closer look from Historic England, following a request to have the site nationally listed.
Labour MP Matt Turmaine said the building’s distinctive clock and iconic copper tower are part of what makes it a local landmark, and he backed stronger protection to keep it from being lost to redevelopment. The plant on St Albans Road was locally listed by Watford Borough Council, but Turmaine said its design and ties to the area’s print trade deserve national recognition.
The Daily Mirror’s owner, Reach, moved operations to Broxbourne, and the final copies were printed at the Watford site last month. Historic England said it will visit the building and then submit a recommendation to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which makes the final decision. Construction on the site started in 1935 for publishing firm Odhams, and the design was modeled on Stockholm Town Hall. Printing began there in 1936. At its peak in the mid-1950s, the site covered more than 17 acres and employed about 2,500 people.
For mason contractors and restoration trades watching heritage work, the listing process matters because statutory protection changes how projects move. Historic England notes that once a building is listed, any changes that affect its special interest have to be managed through the planning system. That means more documentation, tighter scope control, and careful coordination around the features that define the building’s character.
Separately, SAVE Britain’s Heritage recently added the former Odhams Press Hall, along with more than 200 other sites, to its register of buildings at risk. Director Henrietta Billings said buildings like these are central to the identity of places people love, and she called for them to be repurposed instead of left empty and neglected.
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