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CYRIL
WINSKELL
CONSERVATION ARCHITECT
THE STUDIO
3. ST GEORGES CLOSE
NEWCASTLE upon TYNE
NE2 2TF
TELEPHONE
E-mail :
:
0191 239 9048
[email protected]
27.09.2012.
My reference 215
Mr Harvey Emms
Strategic Housing. Planning
and Transportation
Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8PH
Dear Sir,
Jesmond Towers Estate for Shepherd Offshore Ltd
I write further to your issue of the refusal letter for the above to submit revised
proposals having been appointed as the Clients Agent. The amendments can
be summarised as follows:
Refusal of Planning Permission
Reason for refusal 1
Sport England have now indicated to the City that they are content with the
detail, cost and extent of the drainage proposals over three pitches at Castle
Farm Playing Fields. A draft of the section 106 contract is in preparation for
their agreement in order for them to withdraw their objection.
Reason for refusal 2
Plot 1
Windows are added to the eastern gable elevation to add architectural interest
and detail. To avoid overlooking of the existing house to the east these will be
glazed with opaque glass, but some of the new windows are configured as
Oriels set at a 60/30 degree angle, enabling the smaller light which faces
along the driveway to be glazed with clear glass to provide an outlook from
the room which they serve.
Plots 1 to 5
The spacing of these dwellings has been reviewed and revised, creating a
larger spacing between Plots 2 and 3. This reflects the character of the
surrounding area, where the spacing between houses varies, and also allows
a glimpsed view over the existing boundary vegetation between the houses
towards the Grotto Wood and North Jesmond House.
CYRIL WINSKELL MBE FRIBA
CHARTERED ARCHITECT
ACCREDITED IN BUILDING CONSERVATI
Plot 5
This house is reconfigured with an integral rather than a detached garage.
This allows the repositioning referred to above, and facilitates changes to the
garaging and parking arrangements to Plot 6
The garage to this house is relocated towards the western boundary of the
site, so that the whole of the space to the south of the house becomes part of
the driveway and parking area, rather than the private rear garden. Following
the removal of the self-seeded saplings around the site boundary, this will
allow a revised boundary treatment. The screen planting that was intended to
enclose the rear private gardens will now terminate in line with the western
boundary to Plot 5, and the existing railings along the frontage of Plot 6 to
Towers Avenue will remain open. The parking/driveway area will thereby
have the open, semi private character it would have were it to be accessed
directly from Towers Avenue, allowing views across the space, framed by the
gables of Plots 5 and 6, to the Grotto Wood. Reflecting this open character of
the resultant courtyard space, additional fenestration is introduced on the
southern gable of Plot 6 to create an active frontage and architectural interest
and take advantage of the southerly orientation. At first floor level the
windows are shown as ‘dummies’, as we believe that it is more appropriate to
retain the eastern aspect to the Master Bedroom.
Plots 6 to 8 and the ‘Crossway’ footpath
The boundary treatment along the length of the ‘Crossway’ footpath that runs
along the western edge of the site has been reviewed. The aim has been to
give more variety and interest along the length of the path, and to reduce the
sense of separation. The garages to Plots 6 and 8 are sited back towards this
boundary so that they act as ‘bookends’, structuring the different boundary
treatments. Between the garages and along the private rear gardens to the
three houses, the existing boundary wall and railings will be retained and it will
be supplemented by new planting within the site to provide enclosure and
screening to the rear gardens. The treatment and effect will be similar to that
which already exists along Towers Avenue. The garages themselves will be
inset into the site by about 1 metre, ensuring that projecting eaves are
contained within the private curtilage and allowing for some planting to soften
the blank brickwork elevation. Accordingly, the existing boundary wall and
railings will be altered to return back into the rear wall of each garage. North
and South of the garages, the existing wall and railings will be taken down,
and will be replaced by new railings approximately 1.2 metres high. To the
South, these will enclose the parking courtyard to Plot 6, whilst to the North
they will bound the area of open space within the north west corner of the site
and in both cases the railings will spring directly from the rear corner of the
garages, so that they will be inset from the footpath, creating a 1.2m verge
along the frontage. A discreet gate in the southern railings will provide the
occupants of Plot 6 with direct access to the footpath and enable them to
maintain the section of verge in their ownership. A gateway will also be
provided in the northern railings and, as well as facilitating the maintenance of
the verge, this will enable the primary pedestrian access into the north
western part of the site to be taken off the ‘Crossway’ footpath.
CYRIL WINSKELL MBE FRIBA
CHARTERED ARC HITECT
ACCREDITED IN BUILDING CONSERVATION
Existing access from Matthew Bank
Consistent with the creation of this new footpath link, the existing driveway
opposite Mathew Bank will be altered. The existing drop curb will be removed
and the footpath reinstated, and the gates will be removes and the boundary
wall extended. A new pedestrian gate will be incorporated into the rebuilt wall
but this will be designed to be subsidiary to the access onto the ‘Crossway’
footpath so that there is a clear hierarchy and the ‘Crossway’ path reads as
the primary pedestrian route. This pedestrian gate will provide a private
access for the residents of Plot 9 (West Cottage). These changes will not only
maximise the legibility of the different routes and accesses but will also
eliminate the potential for casual parking in the bell mouth to the existing
drive.
Reason for refusal 3
Plots 10-18
Changes have been made to the plan form of the building, its elevational
treatment, and its siting both to improve the architecture and to root the
building more firmly within the site. The pitch of the roof to the higher,
western wing of the building has been increased, and whilst this results in a
marginal increase in overall height to ridge, it also results in a much more
significant reduction in the height of the eaves. The overall result is to reduce
the bulk of the building and, in the process, increase the sense of height,
consistent with the role of this element of the building as a focal point to the
development.
Reason for refusal 4
Plots 10-18
The building is repositioned within the site, responding directly to the historic
pattern of development: The southern elevation effectively lines with the
southern edge of the existing buildings, whilst the step between the two
sections of the eastern, main body of the building is increased to emphasise
its alignment with the front of North Jesmond House. The resultant small
extension to the northern section aligns the gable with the front elevation of
Plots 19 and 20 which sit on the site of the former Music school building, and
in doing this provides for the building to reinstate the enclosure needed to the
redefine a courtyard centred focussed around the existing Beech tree to the
north. The definition and enclosure of this courtyard is then completed by a
new wall along the rear boundary of the West Cottage curtilage. As well as
firmly rooting the building within the historic context of the site, these changes
also pull it eastwards so that it sits clear of the southern elevation of West
Cottage and the higher wing is better aligned to act as a focal point,
terminating the view up Matthew Bank. These various changes have
necessitated changes to the fenestration, not least to the eastern gable facing
North Jesmond House where the extent of glazing is significantly reduced to
eliminate any loss of privacy or amenity from overlooking between the two
buildings. However, care has been taken to maintain the architectural
references and continuity between this building and the other new buildings
CYRIL WINSKELL MBE FRIBA
CHARTERED ARCHITECT
ACCREDITED IN BUILDING CONSERVATION
within the scheme, which was seen as a key characteristic of the previous
design proposal. The final change relates to the choice of materials, where a
review has resulted in the use of a broader palette: the higher eastern wing is
now proposed in red brick, as a direct reference to the existing interwar
houses around the site; the southern frontage will be built in stone to reflect
the treatment to the Stable yard houses, and the remainder of the building will
be constructed in buff brick to tone with the stone to be reused on the
Convent building.
Plot 8
The handing of this dwelling has been clarified, locating the main living
accommodation to the south side of the house with the study to the north, to
reduce the impact of any possible overlooking from the adjacent apartment
building. A mix of clear and opaque glazed and dummy windows has been
added to the northern gable elevation to add architectural interest.
Plot 9
The new application now includes positive proposals for its alteration and
refurbishment, intended to create and attractive dwelling. It is proposed to
extend the house to the North, creating the space needed for an improved
bedroom and kitchen and, following the alterations to the existing driveway
access referred to above, to extend the plot curtilage, creating an attractive
south west facing garden to the front, and a practical enclosed, screened
courtyard to the rear. The northern extension makes practical use of what is
currently an overshadowed and ‘unloved’ section of garden. By aligning the
new gable wall alongside the existing boundary it becomes possible to make
best use of the space and retain the attractive existing boundary wall, with a
‘secret’ lead flashing forming the abutment between new and existing
construction. The existing roof will be removed and rebuilt, maintaining the
simple hipped configuration but extending the roof over the whole of the new
floor plan. This will have a unifying effect, embracing both the existing and
new construction. The new gable wall will be built in reclaimed brickwork to
tone with the existing construction, but the eastern and western walls to the
new extension will be set back slightly and treated in a more contemporary
fashion so that new and existing materials sit well together and the building
can be ‘read’.
Plots 21 to 25
The changes to plots 10-18 have necessitated the relocation of the parking for
the apartments, which is moved from the eastern side of the building to the
front, with a consequent minor adjustment to the alignment of the driveway
around the northern edge of the Grotto Wood. At the practical level, this gives
a more direct relationship with the front entrance to the building, whilst the
realignment of the drive provides space for a hedge or shrub planting that will
both define the curtilage of the building and screen the immediate impact of
parked vehicles.
CYRIL WINSKELL MBE FRIBA
CHARTERED ARCHITECT
ACCREDITED IN BUILDING CONSERVATION
Plot 26
A review has concluded that the building is unlikely to convert well to family
accommodation. Accordingly, the building has been redesigned, omitting the
third bedroom and using the space this releases to replan the living
accommodation so that the primary spaces are more central on the plot. In
parallel, a more contemporary architecture has been adopted for the
alterations and extensions, facilitating the introduction of a greater amount of
glazing. This is of substantial benefit to the lightness and airiness of the
accommodation.
Plots 27 to 42
The layout of Plots 27 to 32 has been re-planned, relocating the kitchen to the
rear of the living space, one bedroom to space released on the eastern
elevation so that the bedrooms on the western elevation now look out to either
side of plots 21-25 with bathrooms and dressing areas in between.
The building itself sits over the footprint of the existing Convent and Chapel,
and to ensure that it has no further detrimental effect on the site of the
Laundry the relative juxtaposition of the existing and proposed buildings has
been reviewed. As a result of that review, apartments 33 to 36 have been
replanned to reduce their width by 1600mm so that the east and northern
walls of the building are now on exactly the same alignment of the existing
building.
Reason for refusal 5
Plots 43 to 48 (The Stable yard Houses)
The scheme has been revised to omit one dwelling. The access drive remains
unchanged because the length is determined by the existing grading of the
land.
Finally in reference to Affordable Housing. The Financial Viability Appraisal has
identified that the proposed development is only just viable. Any requirement for
affordable housing would render the scheme unviable. It is therefore not
proposed that affordable housing will be provided. This has been agreed with
NCC officers. Further details in relation to this matter are provided within the
Planning Statement.
Yours faithfully,
Cyril Winskell.
CYRIL WINSKELL MBE FRIBA
CHARTERED ARCHITECT
ACCREDITED IN BUILDING CONSERVATION