Birks Mill, Walsden
Prior notification for the demolition of Birks Mill in Walsden has been refused:
Walsden is a little known canal town, next door to Todmorden and nestled in the Pennines just before Yorkshire becomes Lancashire. It is a stunning place, and Victorian mills have somehow survived here; likely as a result of the strong local pride that runs through Upper Calderdale and the Pennine peoples that have inherited the spirit of the Levellers.
This mill has been redundant for a while now but the structure does not appear to be beyond salvage, and would be ideal for residential conversion. Its a great example of an industrial building responding to the terrain of the Pennines, and is a piecemeal cluster of extensions and annexes resulting in uniquely beautiful stone geometry of chamfered corners and intersecting roofs.
The case officer, Osian Perks, must have recognised this and has refused the application. This is a very brave decision and I can not commend the Officer enough for invoking a clause in the legislation that does not allow prior notification for demolition if ‘the building has been rendered unsafe or otherwise uninhabitable by the action or inaction‘ by the applicant.
The application has clearly been considered incredibly thoroughly and on the off-chance Osian reads this, thank you for going the extra mile. I hope the owners now go back to the drawing board and consider re-use of the existing building.
Oddfellows Hall pub, Pudsey
Prior notification for the demolition of Oddfellows Hall pub in Pudsey:
Permitted development rights exist for the demolition of buildings, with exceptions for listed buildings, and buildings in conservation areas. The class of permitted development rights was updated a few years ago to also exclude pubs and restaurants following a spate of demolitions that saw many villages left without a pub.
However, some planning officers do not seem to be aware of this clause in the legislation, and a number of pubs have been lost via this route of prior notification.
With the above application, I contacted the local Ward Member and the Planning Officer to inform them of this, and the Yorkshire Post has reported that the application has been refused. Great news. However it is likely that the owners will come back in with a planning application.
This happened last year by stealth, and we lost the Gas Club in Huddersfield when an application came in and was determined very quickly without consultation with the Ward Member or a reasonable amount of time for public comment.
The Demolition Register 