Casebook: Housing new build - School retained as townscape asset

Planning, 18 July 2008

The building dated from 1830 and lay opposite a grade II* listed mill. In later years it had been adapted for manufacturing and retail use. Although it was not listed, the inspector agreed that it formed part of a group that bore witness not just to an extraordinary transformation in manufacturing but to the economic and social changes that accompanied industrialisation and shaped the town's growth in the 19th century. In her view, it made a positive and important contribution to the town's history, the distinctive character and appearance of a conservation area, the setting and the defining character of a world heritage site.

The appellants submitted a feasibility cost plan indicating that renovation and conversion of the school building would not be viable even with a nil site value. However, the inspector noted that the report had not explored other uses or ways of converting the building incorporating partial demolition of its most structurally poor parts.

She observed that apart from some poorly secured tents, no measures had been taken to prevent water entering the building and arrest the spread of dry rot. In her view, this amounted to deliberate neglect. She cited PPS15's advice that less weight should be given to the costs of repair in such circumstances. She also questioned whether the building had been marketed at a realistic price.

Turning to the merits of the replacement building, the inspector held that it would have none of the simple elegance of the existing one. She considered that it would have an unbalanced appearance that would be seriously disruptive to the street scene and detrimental to the setting of the listed building. She saw no justification sufficient to outweigh the strong policy presumption in favour of retaining the existing building.

DCS Number 100-056-110

Inspector Olivia Spencer; Hearing.