Victoria House office block bought by unknown buyer

Victoria House, on Queens Road in Norwich, was due to be demolished last summer, but delay after delay with no explanation has left local leaders scratching their heads.

Last month city councillors confirmed the developers behind the proposed demolition had ceased communication with them, with Ian Stutely, who represents Town Close at City Hall, expressing his frustration at their lack of response.

It’s now been revealed the office block has been sold to an unknown buyer, leaving the future of the former-Marsh building unclear.

Town Close city councillors outside Victoria House (Image: Town Close Councillors)

Mr Stutely said: “Earlier today I received an update from the agent managing Victoria House on Queens Road. 

“They are instructed not to undertake any further demolition work and it is understood that the site has recently been sold.

“I have requested an update from senior Planning Officers at City Hall to determine if they know who owns the site and what, if any, correspondence or contact they have received from them.”

But despite pleas from the local community and requests for information from this newspaper, the city council has refused to shed light on what is likely to become of the building.

CBRE, the agent which handled the sale, confirmed it had been sold, but was unable to confirm any further details.

Demolition signs outside former-Marsh office block (Image: Newsquest)

Demolition area signs belonging to the company Short are displayed outside the building.

The former office block, where more than 1,000 people worked before the pandemic, has stood empty since the start of 2022. 

Its previous owners, a company called Norwich Victoria who’s sole shareholder Adam Zive also owns international residential investment firm Zive Capital, was given five years to complete the demolition.

But a date was never set for the work, which had raised concerns in the local community over the environmental impact of bulldozing the site.