The Effect of listing on planningDecisions for Thornaby Town Hall

Hamera Din BA (HONS) Interior Design Teesside University Schools of Arts and Media 2012

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ContentsIntroduction Page 3 Chapter one Page 5 Listed buildings and the listing process Selection and grading for planning Heritage Chapter Two Page 11 History of Thornaby Town Hall Restoring Thornaby Town Hall

Chapter Three 19 Effects on Thornaby Town Hall Planning decisions

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Conclusion

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The Effect of listing on planning Decisions for Thornaby Town Hall IntroductionThe aim of this Dissertation is to explore the planning decisions in the conservation area of Stockton on- tees, the historic building Thornaby town hall. The significant building lies with principles associated with the buildings rich history.

The first chapter will discuss on the listing process and planning system of today. This section explains how the governments

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Chapter OneListed Buildings and the Listing ProcessThere are certain styles and characteristics that determine a listed building most old buildings are likely to be listed especially if they were built before the 1700. Listing helps acknowledge and understand the shared history, of a buildings special architectural and historic value. The legislation is designed so that any proposed work to a listed building is given full consideration. This is recognized under the attention and consideration of the planning system, because the care of any building or structure which survives in anything like their original form will be taken about its future. You cannot alter or demolish a Listed Building without planning permission. Listing is an order made by the secretary of state of National Heritage. The list is a series of categories based on towns and counties1. Buildings which are included in the list are divided into grades according to their status.

Figure 1

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Suddards R : Listed Buildings Sweet and Maxwell limited London 1996 pg. 8

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Grade I buildings are of outstanding architectural or historic interest. Grade 1 buildings are referred to being of particularly great importance to the nations built heritage, or containing buildings of exceptional interest and rich quality. In Britain only 2.5% of listed buildings are Grade I2

Grade 2 buildings are usually of special interest and English heritage will make every effort to preserve them. The listings will normally include a full description of the building. The reason for this is too recognise if a particular property is listed, rather than show the reason the building was listed. The listing of a property covers the whole building, and does not have to describe every feature in that building as the listing protects everything, and so a building that is listed includes any object or structure fixed too the building and ay object or structure within the curtilage of the building. Even if it is not fixed onto the building but forms as part of the land and have done so since before first of July 1948. Typical examples of fixtures and fittings include fireplaces staircases panelling and in some cases wallpaper and paint. The term building can include such items as lamp posts, post boxes, industrial structures, walls and statues as well as cinemas, offices and houses3

The reference shows as evidence to the statement explaining in the previous paragraph, covering on the examples of structures and parts of a building to recognise if a particular property is listed.2

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/caring/listing/listed-buildings/

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http://www.middlesbrough.gov.uk/ccm/navigation/planning-services/conservation/listedbuildings/

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Post 1945 buildings must be exceptionally important to be listed. This includes the following reason, that a building must normally be over 30 years old to be eligible for listing. For example a building which is listed can be recognised from the style of the structure the building was built. This can be anything from an elaborate black and white Tudor residence, which were built in twisted and curved shaped timber frames, along with Tudor chimneys decorated in patterns with different coloured bricks.

Traditiona l pub house hotel in Chester, Cheshire

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Selection and grading for planning

In Britain over 500 buildings and properties are listed. In recent years one of the problems associated with listing is selectivity. It will be seen that as we look at buildings nearer in age to our time that the majority of buildings listed are of grade 2 listed. Grade 2 listed buildings are of national importance and are of special interest buildings are listed because they have architectural and historic interest; as a result they require special protection. The listing protects the property both internally and externally to preserve them. Listed buildings are usually built with materials that may not be used anymore, due to the advance in technology, and so may be difficult to source and produce. Many listed buildings have been neglected over the years and therefore costs of re instating a building can become uneconomical.

Some may find it unfair that certain buildings are selected for grading and some are not yet some very similar too them are not. The sectary of state aim is to list the best example of their type. Some of the things that will increase another case for listing a building will be the documented historical association associated with that property, and there should be some qualities or interest in the physical fabric in the building to justify the stature protection afforded by listing the building should be either of architectural interest or exceptional, well preserved in a form which illustrates and confirms its historical association.

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Two typical examples are as follows, the well-known Alexandra palace building in North London has no original TV studio or TV broadcasting artefacts4 connected to the building with the use of the BBC for its broadcasting purposes shortly after the BBC was created, therefore it did not get listing status.

In 1935, the BBC leased the eastern part of the building from which the first public television transmissions were made in 1936. Alexandra Palace was the main transmitting centre for the BBC until 1956, when it was used exclusively for news broadcasts.5

The second example is a classic building that has been listed as a grade 2 building, which is located at under hill in Gateshead. The building is a large Victorian house typical of many in the north east, but its importance lies in an early occupant Sir4

Suddards, Roger W. (Roger Whitley), Listed buildings : the law and practice of historic buildings, ancient monuments, and conservation areas , London : Sweet & Maxwell, 1996, Page 425

http://www.alexandrapalace.com/about-us/our-history/

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Joseph swan FRS, who lived there 1869 836. Through his time living in this house he invented the first electric light bulb and this house was the first in England too be wired for domestic electric lighting. Based on this evidence this property was given grade too listing. Some of the points show that the consideration for selection and grading are of architectural and historic interest. This building was selected to commemorate in memory such a person known Sir Joseph Swan. The building had been chosen because the distinguished person had lived and worked here.

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Suddards, Roger W. (Roger Whitley), Listed buildings : the law and practice of historic buildings, ancient monuments, and conservation areas , London : Sweet & Maxwell, 1996, Page 43

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HeritageBy caring for the Built environment of England English Heritage takes a leading position in a department which provides the guidance of administration protecting the standards of the historic environment of forgotten buildings heritage. The English Heritage is a government agency which takes hold of the current listing regulations, advising on additions and alterations according to the legal permission requirements. The importance of preserving a listed building is for the intention to create a more transparent and accessible system for those living in a listed building. The agency is the UK Government statutory advisor which covers on all aspects of the built environment ancient monuments of the historic environment and heritage belongings, which includes such sites and areas of archaeology, and historic buildings

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Chapter twoHistory of Thornaby Town Hall

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Restoring Thornaby Town HallThe investigation for this chapter is to explore on the advantages and disadvantages of restoring a grade 2 listed building. The building I have chosen is Thornaby Town Hall, in Thornaby, Stockton-On-Tees. This building is Grade 2 listed, and is currently on the market for sale, and it has been in little use over the past recent years, and so it has been neglected and is in a very poor state of repair.

Figure 3

The property does not have any dedicated car parking, and this will be a disadvantage when trying to attract potential users. The developer would not be allowed to demolish part of a listed building to provide car parking. If the building wasnt listed the developer would be able to demolish part of the building to provide car parking which would be more attractive to potential users.

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It is likely that the roof will require major works to it, and therefor specialist craftsmen will have to be sourced to make and replace trusses, and joists, and slate tiles will have to be sourced to match existing tiles. This will be a slow process and very costly and time consuming, and the old replaced tiles only have a limited lifespan, as most will be in the region of 100 years old, resulting in constant maintenance and expense, but the original tile do add character to the appearance of the building.

Picture of Town Hall roof

The new modern tiles are mass produced from man-made fibres that meet all the current standards, which require very little maintenance. The tiles come in many different designs and sizes, and can also have an appearance of the old tiles.

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Windows are of great importance to the external appearance and the current state of them is poor, and so need restoring.

Picture of Town Hall Windows

The windows are a mix of different styles, shapes and sizes, so each window will have to be assessed individually. To restore the windows they will have to be carefully removed, and taken to a workshop and carefully repaired and restored, at great expense and time. Many of the timbers will be in a poor state, so they will be either, part replaced and repaired, or in some cases the whole window frames will be copied in similar materials. This process would take months to complete and re-fit and would result in huge costs and time delays. The restored windows do play a major part in the appearance, and one could say they add a character to the building. If the developer was to fit UPVC windows, they would be produced at a fraction of the cost, and production would be weeks rather than months, and they would be double glazed rather than single glazed, thus saving on heat and energy, but the question should be asked, Do they look fit well in the appearance ?. They certainly fit in to the governments policy of saving energy.

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The exterior natural stone work is very attractive and it adds so much character to the property, but much of it requires repair and in some areas need replacing. Repairs can be carried out with relative ease, but the parts that need replacing will require some specialist tradesmen to carry out works. There are many different types and colours in natural stone, so the craftsman will have to source the correct type and colour to sculpture. Detailed photographs, drawings and measurements will have to be taken to create exact copies of the damaged pieces. The alternative would be to replace with art stone which can be moulded and painted to look like the original pieces, at a fraction of the cost and time.

Picture of Town Hall Stone work

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Chapter Three

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IllustrationsFig 1 (Page 5)

Fig 2 (Page 7) Cheshire Traditional pub house hotel in Chester,

http://www.britainexpress.com/counties/cheshire/stay/B E20057.htm

Fig 3

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(Page 16)

Thornaby Town Hall

http://www.needofficespace.com/servicedofficeblog/thornaby- town-hall-to-become-hub-for-localbusinesses-6389.html