Figure 15Aerial view of Stanley Dock warehouses(Historic England, 2017)
3.1.2 Transition over time As an example, it was observed that the Tobacco Warehouse could hold up-to 70,000 hogsheads of tobacco, each weighing about 453 kg. Therefore, the docks served an important economic role in the transport of tobacco and rum that was imported from Americas (Bond, 2011). In the WWII, however, Liverpool was bombed heavily and the docks damaged as a result (Collard, 2016). The author reports that some of the structures destroyed during the war included part of the North Warehouse at Stanley Dock and majority of the dock buildings located at Salisbury and Collingwood docks. Subsequently, the economic fortunes of the docks declined drastically due to the devastation in the 1970s and 80s (Historic England, 2017). Notable decline was also observed in the economic activities undertaken at the Stanley Docks for a period of more than 30 years as warehouses were mostly unused and remained empty (Stratton, 2000). Within the period, the builds deteriorated and their fabric decayed as original building materials were entirely lost and failed to complement the character of the surrounding area. As a result, the Stanley Docks warehouses were placed on the heritage risk register by the Historic England and Liverpool’s local council which led to emergency repairs to avoid total collapse of the buildings (Historic England, 2017). The downside with the regeneration actions was that it led to increased costs of repair due to the expansive size of the dock buildings. Additionally, the location of the port in northern section of the city made it difficult to obtain the needed funding. However, the site is still ranked as a popular World Heritage site (Bond, 2011). In 2010, the Stanley Dock was purchased by Harcourt Developments as part of the conservation efforts to enhance the buildings and the potential of the area (Collard, 2016). By January 2013, work had begun on site 31
