Plans to demolish a house to allow for access to a proposed volume housing development:

A very historic component of the Market Place in South Cave, this pair of houses is required to be demolished to allow for road access to a larger development to the rear.

The Humber Historic Environment Record have objected to the loss, stating that previous plans viably retained the house. As such it would be unlikely the planning officer could depart from this recommendation. So hopefully the building will be saved.

An interesting Victorian end terrace to be replaced with a new dwelling near Norfolk Park in Sheffield:

Nowhere near being on the radar of any conservation body, this town house punctuates the end of this Victorian terrace, and is an example of how families would extend their houses before the age of the ubiquitous box dormer.

While its loss would not ruin the street, these quirky terminating buildings always add the story an urban street tells.

UPDATE: This application has subsequently been refused.

(Possibly a house, possibly a Methodist church) to make way for student accommodation in Manchester:

Genuinely flummoxed by the age and origin of these buildings. They appear ecclesiastical, but no reference to a church on the Ordnance Survey is made on historic maps. I can’t see the buildings (to the right) being used as houses, so their purpose eludes me.

Still, attractive buildings nonetheless. And the last of the old stock along Carmoor Road adjacent to upper brook Street in Manchester’s University Quarter. It follows that their replacement is to be a block of mid-rise student flats.

While the intensification of the site is a good idea for such a central location in the city, I still lament the loss of the buildings pictured above, which could only ever be from old school Britain. A recent tirade against the studentification of urban centres has presented itself in the media. I fully support the decanting of students from suburban ‘family housing’ into city centres, but I still wish one of the many surrounding tin sheds could pave the way for such a development.

The street will soon be block after block, rather than building after building. I like to see a city grow upwards, but not at the expense of a good solid street frontage.

Adandonned Victorian terrace in Birstall:

www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-applications/search-for-planning-applications/detail.aspx?id=2022/92081

A very modest terrace of four dwellings, two stories to the front, three to the rear. Classic Victorian housing stock that could have lasted forever if looked after.

The image above doesn’t show any building of architectural merit, but it is the short stone terraced rows like this that make west yorkshire special. They will be replaced with an undisclosed supermarket. Aldi or Lidl I expect.

Minus 4 units for Kirklees’ housing target then.

Farm buildings and paddock to be lost for the development of 5 dwellings near Doncaster:

A charming farming house and single-story courtyard stable block are to be demolished and replaced with a small cul-de-sac. The farmhouse has been left empty for some years and is supposedly beyond repair (as the comments of the Civic Society would suggest). I’m not convinced. I would rather see the farmhouse divided into two dwellings, the stables converted into two-story mews dwellings, and a further dwelling adjacent ot the road. That would be how a farm would naturally densify, and would offer the same 5 new dwellings in an organic way.

Finningley is/was a quintessential village, with a green, pubs, and a few clusters of farm buildings. Its a shame to lose some of this original fabric. Maybe we need to start letting those with some extra land develop it themselves, slowly, dwelling by dwelling, rather than leaning on the usual housebuilders to acquire farmland and develop it in this generic way.

Demolition of a Victorian coach house in East Sheffield:

Now I accept this isn’t a big deal. It’s a modest garage for a wealthy Victorian family, from a period when this part of the city was the reserve of the monied mercantile class of the city.

But I’ve walked down this street, and somehow this building really does anchor its character. One end of the street is a multistory carpark vision of post-modern Sheffield. But this end is stone and slate.

Hopefully, something of high quality will replace it, rather than four parking spaces for the adjacent doctors’ surgery.

Back Brade Farm, passed a bat inspection, and is about to be torn down – https://portal.calderdale.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=R5WJW3DW0CF00&activeTab=summary

Hopefully the two aerial images above show what has happened in this green belt area between Brighouse and Elland in the highly sought after M62 lands of West Yorkshire.

A farmhouse remains as an island in the midst of ground preparation for the arrival of 267 houses. The open countryside that has been sacrificed (along with a number of farm buildings already) can be seen to the aerial image on the right.

Plans for this volume housing estate excluded the farmhouse, and it looked as though the developer could see value in retaining Back Brade Farm from which I imagine the avenues, closes, drives, crescents, that emerge will all derive their quaint names. Alas no, they were just waiting for the bats to bugger off before tearing it down via permitted development. I’m sure they can squeeze in a couple more ‘products’ there you see.

Everything that is wrong with modern planning and housing delivery can be witnessed here. Indeed, there is no planning at all. This is delivery in full of exactly what the market would provide regardless. Cheap crass housing types perfect for brochures, each one a palatial statement of your individuality, each house isolated with no regard for context or history. The local planning authority may as well not exist.

Yes I understand we need housing, and that some of our green pastures must be sacrificed, but there are better ways. You can start by retaining some of what was previously there – the boundaries, the paths, the farm buildings, the topography, even perhaps some of the trees. Write a new chapter, not a new book.

A converted 19th-century mansion house, now a Best Western hotel, is to be flattened for 50 homes:

This proposal comes much to the chagrin of local residents who have overwhelmingly objected to the idea. The original mansion is still visible behind the later additions, and a detailed history of the property is available here courtesy of research by Margaret McGlashan.

The hotel closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and did not reopen. I suppose the owners realised housing was the way to go. So this Victorian Manor, possibly the historic seat of Willerby, will be lost because of the lockdown. That’s important. We will slowly see this happen more as large property owners apply the guillotine to the risky elements of their portfolios. This is what happens when ownership is not local.

The historic map above shows the original manor house in isolation before it was consumed by the hotel complex. The distance between the village and the house on the maps provides so much narrative of the social history of East Yorkshire. When it’s not there anymore, neither is Willerby’s story.

I have come across various rural houses/ex farms that have gone into the planing system for demolition this month. Some of these buildings appear to be truly ancient.

The pair of cottages in Raskelf (one of my fabourite place names) above are set to be replaced with a pair of equally sized and sited deatched houses. A pointless carbon intensive excercise. Why would any Council in the land be ok with that? This farm is being sold off piecemeal via various lots at auction. This could be a new village. Historically, thats how settlements all started.

The converted barn above near Kirby Malzead is due to be replaced with a chimneyless bungalow. Buildings in the open countryside are a componant of the landscape and in this particular case, visible from huge distances. Very sad that no objection from the Parish or any local group has been made.

This beautiful farm house just outside Slathwaite will be demolished and replaced with a new build, which it has to be said is a very sensitive design. Lets hope the planners condition the reuse of materials.

Application to demolish some of the last buildings on Crown Point Road, Leeds:

It looks like the decade of scaffolding erected to preserve this building until some heritage funding could be found, was in vain after all. About 4 buildings can be found along Crown Street, that are currently constitute the cultural lynchpin of the recently branded ‘South Bank’. The scarcity of the heritage here means those bricks are worth their weight in gold. The map above shows how dense the urban tissue of the area used to be – now generally in use as a series of surface car parks.

Those that don’t know Leeds’ Southbank will wonder what merit there would be in hanging on to these dilapidated buildings. When you consider the entirety of Victorian Leeds south of the River Aire has all but been lost, every last vestige of the industrial past needs to be retained to anchor the space within some historical context. The developer, Vastint (which is actually Ikea) should be aware of the irreplaceable value this adds to development. If the regeneration of the south bank takes place upon a tabula rasa, then it isn’t really regeneration. Its a boring new town.

The building is modest, however it does demonstrate some interesting features, with a hinged front elevation, and stone detailing that makes for an attractive urban building. I don’t know much about the building, and would be curious to know if any readers out there know its previous use, or of previous plans to regenerate it.