The UK's grandest developments that never happened, including cross-Channel monorail
Some of these grand schemes nearly became a reality
- These bold plans were all seriously considered back in the day
- Some never made it off the drawing pad, but others were very close to becoming a reality
- Work even started on one of the projects, only for the building to begin sinking into the ground and end up being demolished
The UK could look very different today had these bold, and in some cases wacky, developments got the go-ahead.
From a monorail zipping over the sea to an airport rising above the city on stilts, some of these ambitious projects never made it off the sketch pad.
But others nearly became a reality, with building work even started on one before it started sinking into the ground and had to be demolished.
Theme park in the sky
This 200-metre tower could have attracted thrill-seekers from across the UK had it been built.
Plans were drawn up in the mid-noughties for the VTP200 leisure and observation tower in Birmingham.
As well as offering 360-degree views, the VerTiPlex tower would have boasted three rides - Flight Trainer, Giant Drop and Seesaw.
Daring visitors with a head for heights would also have been able to brave the Walk of Fear, Sky Jump, Bungee Jump and Climb To The Top activities.
The tower, designed by architects RTKL, would have featured a golden base housing a hotel, cafe bars and restaurants, with external glass lifts carrying people to the top.
Views from the top would have stretched for 33 miles, it was claimed.
The developer Pettifer Estates said in 2007 that the tower could be completed by 2010, but it failed to get off the ground.
Monorail between England and France
The Channel Tunnel linking England and France eventually opened in 1994, but Channel crossings could have been much more thrilling had a different scheme got the go-ahead.
Plans were drawn up in 1906 for a suspended monorail spanning the English Channel, with the artist’s impression above showing how it might have looked.
The futuristic proposal ultimately proved too ambitious, and plans for the aerial crossing were ditched.
Another potential alternative to the Channel Tunnel was a 21-mile bridge rising 110 feet above the English Channel.
The artist’s impression above, drawn up in April 1960, shows how the bridge, which was a joint British, French and American enterprise, could have looked.
As well as railway tracks, it would have had carriageways for cars and tracks, and even a cycle path.
Airport on stilts
Yes, plans really were drawn up for an airport above King’s Cross in London.
The architect Charles Glover proposed a series of concrete runways in a pinwheel arrangement, sitting on top of new buildings, as this photo from 1931 shows.
However, the scheme was never cleared for take-off.
Cloud building
Liverpool’s famous waterfront would look very different had this futuristic vision for its ‘Fourth Grace’, resembling a silver cloud on stilts, been built.
It is one of many ambitious plans put forward for a new landmark to accompany the existing ‘Three Graces’, including the Royal Liver Building, at the city’s Pier Head.
The Cloud, as it was known, was designed by the celebrated architect Will Alsop in the early noughties.
The striking development would have incorporated a boutique hotel, office space, luxury apartments, a museum, and a public ‘garden in the sky’.
But with the estimated cost having spiralled from £228 million to £324 million, Liverpool City Council pulled the plug on the project in 2004.
UK’s own mini-Eiffel Tower
The UK very nearly got its own version of Paris’ famous Eiffel Tower - in the heart of Manchester.
Piccadilly Gardens was for many years home to Manchester Royal Infirmary, but when that moved and the hospital building was demolished, various plans were put forward for the site.
Surely the boldest of those visions was for a huge new landmark resembling the base of the Eiffel Tower with a manor house plonked on top.
Sadly, it was never built, and Piccadilly Gardens is today the poorer for that.
The UK did get closer to having its own Eiffel Tower, with work actually starting on a similar structure in Wembley Park, London.
It would have been even taller than its French equivalent and would have housed restaurants, theatres, a hotel and even Turkish baths.
However, the Great Tower of London, as it was dubbed, was never completed. The foundations started sinking into the ground, and what little had been built was demolished in 1907.
Giant termite mound
This unique building, resembling a giant termite mound designed by Gaudi, would really have put Sheffield on the map.
It was proposed by Scarborough Group for Sheaf Square, outside Sheffield railway station, but never built.
It wasn’t the most ambitious plan for the site, with somebody suggesting the plot should house an airport for flying taxis.
Which of these grand schemes would you most like to have seen built? And what other exciting proposals were you sad to see fall by the wayside?