Plans for the refurbishment, conversion and extension of Butley Hall to provide seven apartments and three town houses have been approved.
Butley Hall is a grade II listed building, listed in 1967, and dates from the late 17th Century. It has undergone some cosmetic change during its life, with a new façade added in 1777 and was originally used as a single dwelling until it was converted into seven flats in the 1960s.
Approved plans include partial demolition of the later parts of the listed building and the construction of three new three storey mews houses which will be located within a courtyard to the rear of the Hall. A new car parking area will be built between the Hall and new townhouses along with bin storage.
This application was considered by the members of the Northern Planning Committee in June 2011 when they made a resolution to grant full planning permission and listed building consent but following the committee it came to light that Amenity Societies had not been notified about the application - which is a statutory requirement for grade II listed buildings.
Responses were since received from two of the Amenity Societies so the Strategic Planning Committee met on Wednesday 8th February to reconsider the application.
The meeting was attended by Councillor Paul Findlow, Councillor Thelma Jackson (on behalf of Prestbury Parish Council), Mrs B Moffitt (on behalf of The Prestbury Amenity Society), Ms S Ehlinger (solicitor on behalf of James Cartwright who objected to the proposal) and Peter Defigueiredo (a supporter) who all addressed the Committee on this application.
The Strategic Planning Committee noted that a number of letters of objection were received from local residents and two amenity societies, The Ancient Monuments Society and The Council for British Archaeology, commented on the proposals.
The main objections to the proposed plans were on grounds that the majority of the buildings on site will be new, which will unbalance the special architectural and historic interest the Hall possesses, and the scale was felt to overwhelm the original building with the side extensions detracting from the features of original architecture.
The principle of extensions to the Hall had already been accepted in 2009, when full planning permission and Listed Building Consent were granted for three storey side extensions either side of the Hall, to increase the number of apartments from seven to twelve, with underground car parking to the rear, and vehicle access off Springfields.
However, the applicant sought to re-design the proposals because it was a very ambitious scheme, which proved technically challenging due to the large volume of excavation required, which potentially could destabilise the listed building.
The 2009 permission was a material to this application, in the sense that it was a clear indication of what the Council considered to be appropriate in terms of redeveloping Butley Hall, and any change to that position would need to have been robustly justified.
The distinct difference between the current proposals and those approved in 2009 is that the existing double garage located to the left of the hall is to be demolished and then incorporated into the ground floor of the three storey side extension to the Hall, and both end extensions are to be set back 2.5 metres from the front façade.
This most recent application, reference 10/3214M, was passed on the grounds that "The proposed development will bring significant heritage benefits, and causes only limited harm to the Hall in that it maintains and preserves those parts of the building that are significant in heritage terms. It solves some obviously inappropriate issues that have arisen by the piecemeal alterations to the Hall over the years.
"The Conservation Officer raises no objection to the scale and design of the proposed extensions or mews houses (having regard to the setting of the building), and advises that the proposal complies with Planning Policy Statement 5 (Planning and the Historic Environment). It is considered that the additions and alterations proposed will give this building new life and secure its future well into this century, which is of public benefit as it is a Statutory Listed Building of National Significance."
