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

Site Report:
The Building
Planning Schedule Date: 10/08/2004
Large detached house, Grade II* and first listed in 1960. Dating from the late C15 with two major
C17 phases, one being a well-documented addition of 1698 as part of alterations to form a
Charity School. Built in random and coursed rubble limestone under a stone slate roof, this is a
hollow square building with a high walled courtyard forming the fourth side. Contains many
surviving internal features and includes alterations of 1909 by Sidney Barnsley for Henry Payne,
the stained glass artist. The Studio, designed by Barnsley for Payne in 1911 (copy of original
drawing on file) is a curtilage building to the Grade II* house. It is built of random rubble limestone
under a stone slate roof.
The Application
This application is for alterations and extensions to The Studio.
Consultees
English Heritage objected to the original submission, re iterating what they said about a previous
application. They felt that the proposals were too extensive for this modest building. They also
said that the applicants should establish the significance of the structure before developing a
scheme more appropriate for its importance.
Policy Considerations
These are taken from PPG 15 "Planning and the Historic Environment."
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 term 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."
Conclusions
Planning Permission for the use of The Studio as a separate dwelling has already been granted
but these proposals are alterations to create living accommodation for dependant relatives.
The scale of the proposed extension has been reduced in terms of its footprint and height with
the aim of ensuring that the extension was genuinely subservient to the parent building. Your
Officers believe that this reduction in size has met the English Heritage objection.
The applicants were asked to provide more information about the nature of their alterations,
especially in respect of the works to the interior of the building, where it is essential that the
important original features be preserved. The additional information received on 3/06/04 confirms
that no important original features will be harmed. The alterations are largely confined to the
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