| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Another one bites the dust | |
| Posted by: | N V Brooks | |
| Date/Time: | 20/08/19 16:18:00 |
| I have looked back over my posts and admit that I am being a tad unfair to O'Riordan's. The problem is that although part of our local history, it is not 'special' enough to have garnered the support or prominence needed to save it from an application to demolish. The loss of the Barclays and Post Office facade speaks volumes about dragging things down to a moribund, as you quite succinctly put it, lowest common denominator level. As to planning permission, I am far from an expert but things were relaxed significantly in the early 2000's with a 'presumption to permit'. We caught the backlash of this with church buildings where 'rogue' clergy wanted to rip apart historic fabric to, in one case, 'meet a need for liturgical dance' (removing 16th century pews and screens in the process). Fortunately the Church of England has its own planning regime (far more stringent than that of local authorities while at the same time having to fully meet those guidelines). The Faculty Jurisdiction protects 16,000 buildings and has its own, very tightly defined, process up to and including its own Courts for appeals. None of this will save O'Riordan's from a speculative application or development however. I do miss Gavin Stamp, I met him a couple of times and his passion for heritage, while maintaining a sense of reality, was joyful. I have never personally found VicSoc to be very effective. They will only get involved if the building is listed. |