Westfields, Knowle Park, Mirfield
Loss of another beautiful mansion house as councils continue to jetison their property:
A great description of the building and the politics surrounding the sale and destruction of this piece of history can be found here:
Article in the Examiner can be found here
It infuriates me that the council claim ‘because it isn’t listed we can not stop the demolition of the buildng’ – well you could, firstly by not selling your historic building stock to volume house builders, and secondly by invoking an article 4 ruling. You really can keep ths building alive should you choose to.
You just want the money though. This generation will be looked upon as reckless iconoclasts one day
Weaver’s Cottage near Holmfirth
Application to demolish a beautiful farm house/weavers cottage:
Just……Why?…its perfect.
The moorland to the South of Huddersfield is stunning, punctuated with small hamlets. Typically, this old building comes from an era prior to the great industrialisation of the area, and can be seen from miles around. The buildings are integral to the landscape. What a strange thing to want to destroy.
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.
Former high street in Huddersfield
Plans to demolish the last remnants of the Victorian High Street in Mold Green, Huddersfield:
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/planning/application_search/detail.aspx?id=2015%2f93781
So many times I have driven past this row of buildings, concerned by the portent of boarded up windows and council issued safety signs. There was a time when this part of Huddersfield was Victorian, and the streets were defined by the buildings that fronted them. Then slowly they were demolished to be replaced by car park walls, shrubbed verges, and budget supermarkets. In no time at all the place became formless. This row is the last vestige of traditional urban culture on the road, and its presence helps us to remember how this area once thrived with pedestrians, before it became an arterial road. Sadly the buildings are council owned, and so planning permission is but a formality. Should anyone from Kirklees read this, please reconsider – the housing crisis, the environmental crisis, and the need for identity in northern towns, belies all reasons for demolition. Think on.
Manor House Nursing And Residential Home, Lightcliffe
Demolition of a nursing home to make way for 14 dwellings in Lightcliffe West Yorkshire:
Difficult to date this building, but it certainly has historic qualities that would be sad to lose. Architecture aside, surely it must be the wrong direction to be losing care home stock as our population ages? Why not some enabling development in the grounds to keep the place going?
Mediocre urban design rears its ugly head once again:
Has the architect even visited the site? Why waste time and money doing something like that?
Edwardian house in Dewsbury
An attractive town house in Dewsbury with marvellous high chimneys is to be demolished to make way for an extension to a religious building.
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/planning/application_search/detail.aspx?id=2015%2f92174
This is an interesting case, as the loss of the building in question would be to allow for the extension of a religious building. I respect that the council needs to offer provisions for the building of places of worship – West Yorkshire’s Muslim community has become part of the quintessential character of the region. As such I suppose this location is as good as the next, but it remains that this is the loss of an attractive old building the likes of which can no longer be built.
I would challenge the developer to see if such an old building could be modified into a mosque, or perhaps even look to some of our redundant industrial buildings or the methodist churches and schools that we are in the process of losing. That would be an interesting integration of cultures, and be a unique addition to the industrial landscape of the region.
Broomgrove Club, Sheffield
Application to demolish Broomgrove club in Sheffield, for the erection of a couple of houses:
I don’t know much about this building, but it certainly had some utility for the local community which will sadly be lost. Whats more, the net gain from this development is only one dwelling. And realistically a second dwelling could be added to the existing curtilage. This is further loss of the civic architecture the Victorians left us, not due to redundancy of the building, but because their legacy – prestige and primacy of social institutions, and participation in society – has been eroded. This is a serious concern for our culture.
Demolition of houses in North Huddersfield
An application to demolish two town houses in Huddersfield has been submitted, to be replaced with 14 apartments:
http://www.kirklees.gov.uk/business/planning/application_search/detail.aspx?id=2015%2f92557
The contrast between the new and old buildings doesn’t really require comment. Sadly, this will be technically be considered a brownfield development, with a net addition of 12 dwellings. On paper this is exactly what the council have been asking for. Yet I’m sure that the loss of these Victorian buildings from the area of Huddersfield that remains thoroughly authentically industrial in vernacular, will continue to push Huddersfield into the realm of another generic town.
Housing crisis trump card will certainly be played here, and we will sadly lose some fine old houses.
Branshaw House, Keighley
Planning has been granted for the demolition of this manorial house in Oakworth, Bradford:
Initial masterplanning Incorporated the building into the new scheme, but someone with a spreadsheet has made the decision to chuck another three houses in there instead. Crazy really, when you consider the value that would be added to the new development if the elegant Victorian house was to act as a lynchpin to the streetscape. People would pay significantly more to be within this setting.
Cute house in Barnsley
Tucked away in Hoyland, but still not minute enough to fall under the radar of the developer is this dwelling;
Set back from the road and scaled down from the surrounding housing, this dwelling adds a lot to the streetscape. Lets hope whatever replaces it continues enhance the street in this way.
The Demolition Register 