Issue - meetings

Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services

The Chair outlined the procedure that would be followed and the Head of Governance and Law identified those who wished to speak.

PLANNING

Howard Young advised that this application was associated with the previous application and sought listed building consent for the partial demolition of the boundary wall to facilitate vehicular access.  He referred to drawings and also to the earlier site visit and confirmed that the proposal was for the removal of 10 metres of the listed wall which formed the boundary of Bloomhill House.  He advised that he considered that the removal of a 10 metre section of the listed boundary wall would have an adverse effect on its unique character, result in the loss of historic fabric and undermine its integrity and for these reasons recommended refusal of the application.

APPLICANT

Paul Houghton confirmed he had no comment to make.

CONSULTEE

Tony Davey of Cardross Community Council referred to 2 similar applications in the area which had previously been refused.  One included a retrospective planning application for removal of a wall at an entrance 200 yards down the road.  He advised that the application was refused and the wall had to be rebuilt.   The other was in respect of the removal of pillars to allow emergency vehicles room to gain access to a development.   He referred to the previous discussions about the danger of the road.  He advised that this wall formed an integral part of the setting leading up to the old Parish Church.

OBJECTORS

James Taylor referred to the scenic quality of the wall which added to the Conservation village and gave definition to Shira Lodge, Bloomhill House and the Church.  He advised that if permission was granted to knock the wall down this may allow access for future development and stated that the wall should be retained at this stage.

Anne Marie Monaghan advised that she lived opposite the site and that she had very serious concerns about the introduction of a new junction onto the road.

Gail Steven advised that potential damage to the grave yard as a result of the removal of the wall had not been explored.  She also voiced her concern about the creation of another junction on to the road.

MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS

Councillor Neil MacIntyre referred to previously being a stone mason with Historic Scotland and asked what the specifications were for repair of the wall.  Mr Young advised that listed building consent was not required for like for like repairs and only if a change was being made would listed building consent be required.

Councillor Kinniburgh referred to comments from Mr Davey about an application for the redesign of an entrance to accommodate emergency vehicles and sought and received clarification from Mr Weston that the proposed access would be wide enough to accommodate emergency vehicles.

SUMMING UP

As no one had anything further to add the Chair asked all those present to confirm if they had received a fair hearing and they all confirmed this to be the case.

DECISION

It was unanimously agreed to refuse listed building consent for the following reason:-

The proposal involves the demolition of a ten metre section of the listed boundary wall to provide access to 3 dwellinghouses proposed under associated application for planning permission 14/01724/PP. The listed wall is a formal boundary wall which serves to enclose the grounds of Bloomhill House and is linked with the setting of Bloomhill House and Shira Lodge, which are both listed buildings. As well as having a formal design relationship with these listed properties, a particular characteristic of the wall is its scale, length and height while the continuity and uniformity of the boundary wall characterise this part of the Cardross Conservation Area. Historic Scotland’s guidance on boundaries states that the formation of new openings needs to be considered in light of the overall composition of the boundary and assessed as to whether it would be consistent with the existing design.  It also requires proposals to take into account the design and material characteristics of the historic boundary. The introduction of an opening within this listed boundary wall would undermine its continuity and uniformity, would have an adverse effect on its unique character, result in the loss of historic fabric and undermine its integrity. This would be visually discordant, visually intrusive, have an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the wall and diminish the important contribution that it makes to Cardross Conservation Area. As such it is contrary to Policy STRAT DC9 of the approved ‘Argyll and Bute Structure Plan’, Policies LP ENV13a and LP ENV13b of the adopted ‘Argyll and Bute Local Plan’ and advice given in ‘Scottish Historic Environment Policy’ which presume against development that detrimentally affects a listed building and which does not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of a conservation area.

(Reference: Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services dated 9 September 2014, submitted)

Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services

The Development Manager advised and the Committee noted that this item would be continued and considered in conjunction with the previous item at a pre-determination hearing; as agreed at item 4 of these Minutes.

(Reference: Report by Head of Planning and Regulatory Services dated 9 September 2014, submitted)