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Portfolio Holder report for decision: Addition of Buildings to the List of Buildings of Local Historic and Architectural Interest

Cllr Ruffell, Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure

Report to Portfolio Holder report for decision

Ward(s): Norden

Key Decision: No

Appendix 1: Location Maps

Appendix 2: Scheme of Delegation

Papers relied on:

National Planning Policy Framework (February 2019)

BDBC Heritage SPD (2019) – Specifically Appendix D

Officer Assessment Forms, Owner Consultation Responses, Panel Response Forms1

Foreword - Cllr Ruffell, Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure

To be completed by the Portfolio holder.

Recommendation that the Portfolio Holder:

Decides that the Great Western Hotel, Vyne Road, Basingstoke RG21 5ND should be added to the Local List.

1 All available on request, please email the report author, Daniel.Ayre@basingstoke.gov.uk.

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Background, corporate objectives and priorities

The considerations outlined in this report support delivery of many of the Council Plan priorities - preparing for controlled and sustainable growth, improving residents’ quality of life and supporting those who need it. More directly it supports the following priority:

Maintain and enhance our built and natural environment.

Glossary of terms

Term Meaning

BDBC Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council

LPA Local Planning Authority

MHCLG Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

BOLI Building of Local Interest, the BDBC term used to describe a building included on the List of Buildings of Local Historic or Architectural Interest

Locally-Listed Building The national term used to describe a building included on a Local List such as the BDBC List of Buildings of Local Historic or Architectural Interest

Non-designated heritage asset These are buildings, monuments, sites, places, areas or landscapes identified as having a degree of significance meriting consideration in planning decisions but which are not formally designated heritage assets. In some areas, local authorities identify some non-designated heritage assets as ‘locally listed’.

Historic interest Historic interest derives from the age of a heritage asset, its association with past people or events and/or its ability to illustrate and inform about the past.

Architectural interest Architectural interest relates to the designed or fortuitous form of a heritage asset, its architectural style, detailing and/or use of materials.

Permitted Development Rights A national grant of planning permission which allow certain building works and changes of use to be carried out without having to make a planning application. At present these are subject to the restrictions of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended).

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Main considerations

1 Executive Summary

1.1 The purpose of this report is to seek the agreement of the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure, to add one building to the List of Buildings of Local Historic or Architectural Interest.

2 The Proposal

It is proposed to

Add the Great Western Hotel to the local list.

3 Background Information

3.1 A Local List is a non-statutory planning tool used to support the proper consideration of planning proposals relating to unlisted buildings of architectural or historic interest. Between a third and a half of all Local Authorities now have a Local List, and Historic England and Central Government have given their explicit support to the principle of Local Listing in recent publications.

3.2 Local Listing does not in fact confer any additional planning controls on a building, under current legislation. Its primary purpose is to encourage the proper consideration of a building’s architectural or historic interest(s) in the exercise of normal planning controls, most notably planning applications. Thus the fact that a building is locally listed would be an additional material consideration when considering whether to grant planning permission. For example, if a planning proposal would not preserve the architectural or historic interest of a Locally Listed building, this identified harm to the heritage asset would need to be weighed against the other material considerations in that planning application.

3.3 In particular it should be noted that under current legislation, Local Listing will not in itself protect a building from demolition, or from any other works which do not require planning permission.

3.4 The Local List was first adopted in March 2007 (Decision Ref 499/PT), with a number of major updates since, the last in December 2009 (Decision Ref: 621/PI). New cases are now managed on an ad-hoc basis, with decisions being delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Planning and Infrastructure except in specific circumstances where Cabinet referral is required or requested. The wider environmental benefits and purposes of Local Listing are noted in the first of these reports.

3.5 Decisions are made subject to an adopted set of assessment criteria (contained within Appendix D ‘Criteria for inclusion on the List of Buildings of Local Historic and Architectural Interest’ of the Heritage SPD) and a full owner and parish consultation process. The criteria which the cases covered by this report satisfy are set out against each case below. Similarly, the results of consultation are also discussed against each case below.

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3.6 An external Local Listing Review Panel exists to determine cases which have been proposed by officers for local listing but have received a valid objection (for non-personal reasons) from the owner relating to the building’s architectural or historic interest. It can also be used in other cases where external expert opinion (in addition to the council’s own conservation officers) is considered to be an advantage (e.g. borough-owned buildings).

Local Listing Review Panel

3.7 The Local Listing Review Panel is a volunteer body comprised of external heritage specialists, local historians, heritage interest groups and local representatives.

3.8 Approximately 40 acknowledged heritage specialists, historians and elected representatives were approached in January 2018 to see if they would be willing to sit on this panel.

3.9 The Review Panel Procedure used follows the procedure which was previously used in the last round of Local Listing in 2012, and is set out in an internal procedure note2.

3.10 In this instance the five individuals who volunteered to offer their time and expertise to this panel included:

Councillor Paul Miller in his role as the Council’s ‘Heritage Champion’

A representative of the Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust

A Conservation Officer, within a neighbouring Local Planning Authority

Two heritage consultants, working in the private sector in the local area

3.11 The panel was provided with the Officer Assessment Form and the responses received from the owners of the building, together with all supporting information submitted.

3.12 Members of the Council’s Conservation Team do not sit on the panel, but provide the Panel with factual information, including the assessment form which contains their professional opinion.

The current situation

3.13 The following buildings have been considered for Local Listing and require determination under the scheme of delegation:

The Great Western Hotel, Vyne Road, Basingstoke

3.14 The details of the nominated structure is included below in Section 4 – Case Summary. This section will locate and describe the structure, with photographs of the building in situ. It will provide the case officer’s recommendation as to whether the nominated structure sufficiently meets the criteria set out in Appendix D of the Heritage SPD, to be included in the

2 Available on request, please contact the report author.

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Basingstoke and Deane Local List. The officer’s recommendation is explained in a brief summary.

3.15 Where recommendation has been formed by the Buildings of Local Interest Review Panel, the panel’s recommendation has superseded the case officer’s assessment, and is explained in a brief summary.

3.16 Where a structure is recommended for inclusion within the local list, a suggested Local List description has been provided. If the Portfolio Holder is minded to approve the recommendations contained within this report, the list description will be used on the local list documents available on the Council’s website3.

3 Available at: https://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/local-list.

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4 Case Summary

Case A.

Ref: LL/BAS/070

Building: Great Western Hotel

Address: Vyne Road

Basingstoke

RG21 5ND

Parish: Basingstoke

Ward: Norden

Grid ref: 463694’ 152606’

Officer: Daniel Ayre

Nomination: Basingstoke Heritage Society

CONSULTATION SUMMARY

Owner: Objection: - ‘There is no known important historical associations with this building and it is not a rare or attractive example of a historic hotel.’

Parish Council: N/A

Panel: 4 votes in favour of adding the building to the local list, 1 member did not respond.

It is also noted that this nomination has support from the local Ward Members.

OFFICER SUMMARY

Substantial three-storey detached structure, built as a hotel. Located on the corner of Vyne Road, adjacent to the Railway Station north forecourt.

Rendered masonry construction, with a shallow, tarred slate pitched roof and central chimney. Includes a single-storey flat roofed extension to the south, and three projecting two- and single- storey, pitched roofed extensions to the east. Detached outbuilding approx. 15m to the west, much altered but retaining relict signage on the southern elevation, advertising stabling and livery. Large, arch-headed window openings, with projecting architraves and keystone details. Ornate frontage to the bar area of the hotel, with pilasters stallriser, fascia and consoles. Modern signage. uPVC top hung casements in the front (western) elevation and side (southern) elevations. Modern signage.

The structure is shown on the OS Second Edition map of 1885.

This structure satisfies the criteria for inclusion within the local list4 in the following ways:

Criterion Description Reason

1c) Age and integrity: As a building built between 1840 and 1914 which

4 Set out within Appendix D of the Council’s Heritage SPD.

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1840-1914 is largely complete

2b) Historic interest:

Social importance

As a building with acknowledged local social importance, as a local pub and railway inn

2c) (partially)

Historic interest:

Age and rarity

This building is the only surviving historic railway inn in Basingstoke, but is not considered rare on a national level

3d) Architectural interest:

Landmarks

As a landmark building within the area, and surrounding South View Conservation Area.

RECOMMENDATION: ADD TO LOCAL LIST

PROPOSED DESCRIPTION:

Mid to late C19 substantial three-storey square-plan hotel, with later additions to side and rear. Regular fenestration pattern and window architrave details. Rendered masonry construction with a slate roof. Some timber sash windows remaining, many uPVC top hung casements. Former stable outbuilding to the rear retains relict signage on south elevation. Locally significant as an example of an historic railway inn, and for its landmark value.

PHOTOS:

Figure 1 Front elevation of the building, from Vyne Road, looking East.

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Figure 2 View of the building from Vyne Road, Looking South East.

Figure 3 Oblique view of the rear and side elevations of the building, looking South West

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Figure 4 View of the Rear Elevation of the building, looking West.

Figure 5 Side elevation of the building, from the railway station car park, looking North.

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Figure 6: View of the outbuilding showing the relict signage, reading ‘Livery & Bait, Stables’, looking North.

Figure 7: Extract from the 1885 OS map.

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Options Analysis

4.1 There are several options open to the Portfolio Holder:

4.1.1 Deciding that:

- The Great Western Hotel be added to the Local List.

Recommended option

4.1.2 Deciding that this building should not be added to the local list.

4.2 The Government’s Planning Practice Guidance (paragraph 39) encourages Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to recognise the non-designated heritage assets within their areas as part of a local list.5

4.3 Adding this building to the BDBC List of Buildings of Local Historic and Architectural Interest would confirm that the LPA considers that this building meets the national definition of a non-designated heritage asset, and is worthy of recognition as such, such that its status would be a material consideration within the planning process.

4.4 Whilst inclusion on a local list is not a prerequisite for consideration of a building or structure as a non-designated heritage asset, evidently the weight which would be afforded to the preservation of a building which has been assessed and found not worthy of inclusion on a list where one exists would be rather less than that afforded to a building or structure considered worthy of inclusion on such a list. Therefore not adding this building to the BDBC List of Local Historic and Architectural Interest would reduce the weight which could be afforded to it as a material consideration in the consideration of a planning application.

4.5 The inclusion of a building within the BDBC Local List does not (under present legislation) remove permitted development rights, or impose any additional planning restrictions or requirements on the owner or occupier of a Locally Listed building. In the light of this, it is recognised that adding these buildings to the Local List would not prevent their demolition or works being carried out under Permitted Development Rights which would harm or erode the local historic or architectural interest identified in the Officer Assessment Form, as noted in paragraph 3.3 of this report.

Corporate implications

5 Legal Implications

5.1 The Local List has no statutory basis or backing, and does not confer any additional planning controls on those buildings or structures included on the list. However, the inclusion of a building or structure on the local list may be a material consideration in the determination of a planning application.

5 Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/conserving-and-enhancing-the-historic-environment#non-

designated-heritage-assets [accessed 26.04.2018]

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6 Financial implications

6.1 There are no direct financial implications arising from this report.

7 Risk management

7.1 A risk assessment has been completed in accordance with the council’s risk management process and has identified no significant (Red or Amber) residual risks that cannot be fully minimised by existing or planned controls or additional procedures.

8 Equalities implications

8.1 Equalities implications have been reviewed as part of this process, in line with Public Sector Equality Duty, under the Equality Act 2010. This review concluded that the actions identified to manage the Local List would have a neutral impact on the protected characteristics groups and be a positive preservation of the local historic environment for all.

9 Consultation and communication

9.1 Following consultation with the owners of this building and the specialist officers within the Council, the decision made by the council would be communicated with the owner of the building by headed letter.

9.2 Should the Portfolio Holder accept the Officer’s recommendation, the local lists contained on the website would be updated.

10 HR implications

10.1 There are no direct Human Resources implications arising from this report.

Conclusion

11 Summary and reason for the decision

11.1 The nominated building has been considered by Officers within the Conservation Team and an external panel of local experts where relevant.

11.2 Following this process, it is considered that the Great Western Hotel should therefore be added to the Local List.

12 The options considered and rejected

12.1 The Council could decide not to add this building to the local list, however it is considered that this would undermine the importance of the Local Listing process, and the published criteria.

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Date: June 2019

Decision taken by: Portfolio Holder

Lead officer Matthew Evans, Head of Planning and Infrastructure

Report author

Daniel Ayre, Senior Conservation Officer

Daniel.Ayre@basingstoke.gov.uk

01256845512 or ext. 2512

Version FINAL

Dated June 2019

Status Open

Confidentiality

It is considered that information contained within this report (and appendices) do not contain exempt information under the meaning of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended, and therefore can be made public.