IHBC President and consultant Eddie Booth has noted the successful application of England’s new Planning Policy Statement 5 (PPS 5), Planning for the Historic Environment, in helping retain the locally listed Sandford Lido, Cheltenham, which was threatened by demolition under a proposal to construct a 407-space multi-storey car park.
Eddie Booth reports: ‘The inquiry was in session and I was trying to defend the setting of a locally listed building (a 1930s Lido), despite the lack of any policy basis, when PPS5 came to the rescue. The Inspector adjourned for a month …. There was an interesting discussion when I suggested that a locally listed building may become a designated heritage asset if it is a significant element in a conservation area, and that a conservation area such as Cheltenham might be considered as being of the highest significance in terms of HE9.1 such that harm to an important element would be wholly exceptional.’
The Inspector concluded: ‘In my view, given that the Lido forms an integral part of the Conservation Area and it makes a substantial contribution to its significance, harmful development which would have such an adverse impact on the Lido would also cause substantial harm to the Conservation Area itself. Clearly, the proposed development [of a multi-storey car park] would neither preserve nor enhance the character or appearance of the Conservation Area. Further, the proposal would cause substantial harm to the significance of both a designated and a non-designated Heritage Asset.’
(Appeal Ref: APP/B1605/A/09/2115655)
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