Seventeen statues missing from Nottingham’s historic Elite Building are understood to have deteriorated so badly that repairing them was not considered “reasonably practicable”, Nottingham City Council has said.
The council confirmed it is not currently pursuing their reinstatement, citing the time since their removal, the complexities of the case and limited enforcement and conservation resources.
The Grade II*-listed building, on the corner of Queen Street and Upper Parliament Street, opened as a cinema in 1921. It became a bingo hall after the cinema closed in 1977 and was later converted into shops and offices. It now houses Ink nightclub.
Planning documents and archive images show the building originally had 20 white statues depicting figures including William Shakespeare and Michelangelo. Only three remain around the top of the structure.
London-based property investor Steinberger Developments Limited later bought the building for £3 million and submitted plans in 2019 to convert part of it into luxury accommodation. However, the company went into liquidation and sold the building in September 2023 before the statues were restored.
Steinberger had planned for the work to be carried out by specialists Hathern Terra Cotta, which made the originals in the 1920s.
In 2024, Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC, which owned the Hathern name at the time, told said it had quoted for all the replacement pieces in 2017 but that “nothing had happened” since. It said it had been left with just one statue’s “pair of legs”.
Hathern no longer operates. Updated Land Registry documents show the building is now owned by White & Stone Ltd, which purchased it for £5 million in late 2023.
A Nottingham City Council spokesperson said: “Following the works undertaken to the building in 2017, the Council engaged with the agents acting on behalf of the owners regarding the project.
“Whilst the removal of the statues formed part of those works, the wider scheme secured significant improvements to the building’s overall condition, presentation and long-term conservation.
“It is understood that the company responsible for carrying out the works is no longer trading and that the statues had deteriorated to such an extent that their repair was not considered reasonably practicable.”
The council confirmed it had not held recent discussions with the current owners about returning the statues.
The spokesperson continued: “The Council has not had any recent discussions with the current owners specifically concerning the reinstatement of the statues.
“Given the considerable passage of time since their removal, the complexities associated with the case, the statues’ location on a relatively peripheral part of the building, and the need to prioritise limited enforcement and conservation resources towards matters involving ongoing or imminent harm to designated heritage assets, this is not currently an issue that the Council is actively pursuing.
“Any future proposals that may affect its special architectural or historic interest would be carefully assessed in accordance with the Council’s statutory duties, together with relevant national and local planning and heritage policies.”
By Lauren Monaghan, Local Democracy Reporter
