Page 280 - Beyond Decommissioning

Experience and lessons learned 261

Fig. 6.46 Clinton NPP, IL, USA see waterfront structures.
Courtesy of NRC.

Albert Dock is a huge scheme of docks and storehouses located at Liverpool,
UK. It was inaugurated in 1846. Its warehouses were non-flammable and secure.
But Albert Dock changed the dock operations forever: its hydraulic hoists could
load and unload the ships directly to/from the warehouses. In this way the ship
loading/unloading time was halved. Albert Dock was widely used to store valuable
commodities. However, the fast development of shipping technology in late 1800s
called for larger, more open docks, although Albert Dock still remained a good
store for cargo.
During WWII the Albert Dock was taken over by the British Navy as a naval station
for the Atlantic Fleet. The complex was damaged during air raids. After the war,
financial problems sealed the fate of the dock. Several proposals were advanced
for the reuse of the buildings but none materialized and in 1972 the dock was closed.
After years of abandonment, the regeneration of Albert dock began in 1981 and was
completed in 1984.
Currently the dock is the most frequented multipurpose place of tourist interest in
the United Kingdom with over four million visitors per year. In 2004, UNESCO’s
Wold Heritage Committee inscribed Liverpool—Maritime Mercantile City on the
World Heritage List. Amongst the dock’s attractions one should quote the Merseyside
Maritime Museum, the Beatles Story and the Tate Liverpool. There are also two
hotels. All the five warehouses are Grade I listed buildings. Other dock buildings
are listed Grade II (Fig. 6.47).