Planning Schedule Date: 10/08/2004 - Stroud District Council

Planning Schedule Date: 10/08/2004
Paragraph 3.12, says "In judging the effect of any alteration or extension it is essential to have
assessed the elements that make up the special interest of the building in question."
Paragraph C.58 says; "the plan of a building is one of its most important characteristics. Interior
plans and individual features of interest should be respected and left unaltered as far as possible.
Internal spaces....... are part of the special interest of a building and may be its most valuable
feature."
Paragraph C.7 says, " Modern extensions should not dominate the existing buildings in terms of
scale, material or situation. There will always be some historic buildings where any extensions
would be damaging and should not be permitted. Successful extensions require the application of
an intimate knowledge of the building type that is being extended together with a sensitive
handling of scale and detail."
Paragraph 2.16 of PPG 15 says Local Planning Authorities are required by the Planning (Listed
Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 ".... to have special regard to the desirability of
preserving the setting of a listed building. The setting is often an essential part of a building's
character, especially if a garden or grounds have been laid out to complement its design or
function. Also...the character of historic buildings may suffer, and they can be robbed of much of
their interest, and of the contribution they make to the townscape or the countryside if they
become isolated from their surroundings, e.g. by new traffic routes, car parks or other
development".
Paragraph 3.13 says, "Many listed buildings can sustain some degree of sensitive alteration or
extension to accommodate continuing or new uses. Indeed, cumulative changes reflecting the
history of use and ownership are themselves an aspect of the special interest of some buildings,
and the merit of some new alterations or additions, especially when generated within a secure
and committed long-term ownership should not be discounted. Nevertheless, listed buildings do
vary greatly in the extent to which they can accommodate change without loss of special
interest."
Consultees.
The Ancient Monuments Society whilst not entering a formal objection were concerned (in the
original proposals) about the alterations to the interior of the listed building and that the
extensions presented an unacceptable challenge to the historic frontage.
Conclusions
This is a small late Victorian School surrounded to the North and East by a sea of various
temporary buildings- classrooms and an assembly hall. The setting of the building has therefore
already been significantly compromised, although immediately to the North of the listed building
is the school playground, which manages to retain something of the space around the building.
The proposals are to replace the temporary buildings with a permanent extension to the school
and the task is compounded by a relatively small site and the need to keep some of the
temporary buildings in use whilst the building operations are in progress. A phased building
programme will be necessary.
The originally submitted scheme caused your Officers some concern in terms of the alterations to
the building and the effect on its setting. The siting and massing of the extension was such that it
would have dominated the listed building. Additionally the materials were felt to be too
complementary to the existing materials making it more difficult to differentiate between extension
and parent building. Additionally the proposed scheme use the listed building for all the
administrative functions of the school, dividing it up into a series of small spaces. This was seen
as harmful to the large single space with its typical folding screen.
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