Gothic building in Otley to be knocked down
Permission for the demolition of a beautiful cottage ‘Church View’ in Otley has been applied for:
A splendid blackened building that adds so much to the route along the road here, as the gothic vernacular emerges amidst the hedgerows. The demolition and replacement of this cottage will seriously detriment the aesthetic quality of the local cluster of buildings, and would set a dangerous precedent for future replacement dwellings in rural estates.
You can sense the reluctance of Indigo Planning to support this proposal in their Heritage Statement. They acknowledge the unique importance of this building, but have found a tenuous argument along the lines of ‘the building s not listed’, and ‘a previous application to extend the property did not warrant concern over conservation’.
Incidentally, should anyone from a planning consultancy be reading this, I want to make it very clear – your profession is not in town planning but quite the opposite; the manipulation of planning law to serve speculators at the expense of society.
Eccleshill Methodist Church, Bradford
Another Wesleyan Church is set for Demolition in Bradford:
This is a relatively recent building, built in the aftermath of Victorian Methodism in 1911. Nonetheless the sentiment was still there, and these chapels capture the austere modesty of Victorian towns like no other public buildings. The Wesleyan church is integral to the Victorian urban landscape along with the chimneys, the viaducts, and the mills. These buildings embody northern astringent culture perfectly. Hopefully some will be saved in spite of the decline in worship. They make great wine bars don’t they?
The Demolition Register 