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Bad News Friday (sorry): C20 is disappointed to learn that Shipley Clock Tower has been turned-down for listing by DCMS. Designed in 1960-61 as part of a redevelopment of Shipley town centre by the Arndale Property Trust, the freestanding 6 storey tower is in a late ‘Festival of Britain’ style and is a proud local landmark, overlooking the recently revamped Market Square.   Four post-war clock towers in England are currently listed (all at Grade II) and all are in the South East or the Midlands, in part due to their popularity as civic gestures in the first wave of New Towns, few of which were developed beyond the green belt around London. With Shipley being a rare exception, the Society felt listing the tower would help address this regional imbalance, while recognising the buildings historic interest as part of an important early redevelopment by the Arndale Property Trust. We submitted an application back in Jan 2024.   However, Historic England declined to recommend the tower for listing, their report concluding: “the freestanding clock tower is of some interest as a local landmark, possessing a degree of civic aspiration and pride in the newly rebuilt market area, but it lacks the quality of design and materials of other listed post-war clock towers.”