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To: St Albans City Council, Planning

Save the Victorian Pemberton Building in St Albans from demolition

Please help to save the Victorian Pemberton Building from demolition. It is a locally listed building which is within the Conservation Area of St Albans. It is also next to the historic Church of St Peter and some grade II listed buildings. The Council states: "Conservation Areas are areas that are considered by the Council to be of ‘special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance’." Let's act in the spirit of these words instead of destroying a perfectly sound Victorian building.
In their "Justification for the grant of planning permission" (demolition of the existing Pemberton Building) the Council made fundamental errors, and their main arguments are all flawed:
"The Council is satisfied that the applicants have demonstrated that the viability of alternative uses for the Pemberton Building has been fully explored and that the building cannot at reasonable expense be retained." and further: "Subject to the attached conditions, there would not be any harm to highway safety, conservation area, landscaping and neighbouring residential amenity." Really? No harm to Conservation Area by demolishing a listed Victorian building? The two other statements before this are just as untrue.

Why is this important?

Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident in the St Albans Conservation Area. Recently, for example, an other locally listed building (Hawthornden, 23 Hatfield Road ) was demolished nearby. Let's step back from this path or we will lose the special character and architecture of the city.
In 2012 the Victorian Society wrote: "The Pemberton block was built as an extension to the 1883 Hatfield Road Boys School and is now the only part of the school which still survives", and further: "The Victorian Society is backing local campaigners opposed to the demolition of the Pemberton block, the last remaining evidence of the town’s historic St Albans school for boys." Finally they conclude: "'Victorian and Edwardian schools were built to last and lend themselves well to adaptation. The demolition of the Pemberton block would be an appalling waste of a structurally sound historic building, and the site calls for a much less destructive solution".
How could demolition have been approved against all expert opinion coming from Historic England, the Victorian Society or the Secretary of State (2012 decision), and against the wishes of the vast majority of the local St Albans Community including leading organizations like the St Albans Civic Society or the St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society?
To conclude here is a link to a 2012 letter by Mr. Donald Munro, former president of the St Albans and Hertfordshire Architectural and Archaeological Society, about the importance of this building and why it should be protected:
http://www.stalbanshistory.org/page_id__443.aspx

Updates

2016-06-23 10:38:26 +0100

The response letter of the Council can be seen at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3eqFE3GRd1qT3dRWlhtd09ZWjM5bUw5NkJSdGVuampWWnNN/view?usp=sharing
It does not address the real issues well but still we should respond to continue the dialogue and further clarify our views

2016-04-20 13:30:57 +0100

Complaint submitted to local Council had the following reply:
"Tracy Harvey head of Planning and building Control has reviewed your email and has asked for this to be escalated to a stage 2 of our complaints process. The response date for this will be 3rd May 2016."
(written by Lisa McCormack, Complaints Resolution Officer)

2016-03-29 13:14:02 +0100

Alban City School is in Character Area 19, the Office Core which is part of the Conservation Area. In that very large section (as can be seen on the Council website) only 11 locally listed buildings remain, one of them the Pemberton. With its demise we would lose almost 10% of the area's locally listed buildings! This is unacceptable in a Conservation Area especially as the situation is not much better in the neighbourhood. Character Area 16, St Peter's Park nearby lost all its locally listed buildings in its central/western part due to the demolition of 23 Hatfield Road and other buildings.

2016-02-28 22:55:58 +0000

500 signatures reached

2016-02-26 11:11:12 +0000

"extend the outdoor play area by demolishing the Pemberton Building" claims the school. But the fact is the Pemberton Building only takes up about 8% of the total school area. They should use the remaining 92% land well and should beautifully restore their Victorian building. There is for example the huge parking area which could be reduced, made underground or two level. And if demolition is seen as the only solution it should not start with the protected, locally listed building but with the structures that are not listed.

2016-02-21 18:04:06 +0000

One old photo of the original school can be seen here: http://www.hertsmemories.org.uk/images/uploaded/scaled/Hatfield_Road_Boys_School.jpg
The still existing part (the Pemberton building) can be seen as the upper left section of the central block. An original entrance is visible on the photo but is now covered by the later addition mentioned below.

2016-02-21 13:11:07 +0000

Does anyone know of old photos or drawings of the Pemberton building? Maybe original plans? We could share them here...

2016-02-20 16:45:44 +0000

A small addition to the Pemberton block (facing SW and the only part with a flat roof) is not part of the Victorian building but a badly done, probably 1960's extension which should be taken down after consultations with experts. It can be seen in the centre of the photo here: http://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/education/green_light_granted_for_demolition_of_locally_listed_victorian_building_on_st_albans_school_site_1_4396197
This would provide more outdoor space for the school and would improve the view of the Pemberton building from the South and West.

2016-02-18 22:42:45 +0000

An article in the Independent "Victorian school buildings: please don't destroy our heritage" states: "An estimated 3,000 schools are thought to have Victorian buildings". If Alban City School does not know how to use their Victorian building they simply have to send out 3,000 emails to get some good ideas.

2016-02-17 16:25:19 +0000

Good examples of schools integrating old and new buildings well can usually be found at the best institutions. We don't have to look as far as Cambridge or Oxford but will find the same in our city. St Albans School and St Albans High School for Girls are well known for cherishing and protecting their old buildings while also combining them with wonderful new structures.

2016-02-14 23:14:44 +0000

In Doc. No. 6733243 Historic England writes:
"It would be preferable to retain, refurbish and re-use the Pemberton Building for teaching and other purposes and to demolish the westernmost element of the frontage blocks. Such a strategy would provide a more varied building stock and a south-facing playground with a higher quality space and external environment for the school and enhance the conservation area."

2016-02-14 20:02:08 +0000

Finally the Council's own conclusion on the later school building next to the Pemberton (from the same document as the two previous posts):
"The University of Hertfordshire complex (formerly St Albans College of Art), on Hatfield Road is the odd one out of this group; standard concrete buildings with prefabricated exposed aggregate panels, they are negative in their effect on the appearance of the Character Area, particularly within the street scene"

2016-02-14 19:50:23 +0000

Further quote from the same Council document (see previous post) referring to the group of buildings including the Pemberton block:
"These buildings are in Victorian/Edwardian free style including variations of multi-red brickwork and red clay tiled roofs and one slate roof. These fine buildings contribute positively to the character of the conservation area both historically and architecturally, containing fine detailing unlikely to be repeated"

2016-02-14 19:40:07 +0000

This is a quote from the Council's own document, St Albans Conservation Area Character Statement, Character Area 19:
"A small Victorian building remains hidden from Hatfield Road by the University buildings. This is the last remaining part of the former St Peter’s School and completes the social buildings of that era in this sector. Its contribution to the character of the Conservation Area is in representation of a Victorian/Edwardian School and its group value with the other social buildings of the same era."

2016-02-12 22:43:05 +0000

Please see this quote from the objection letter, opposing demolition, by Penny Williams:
"They (the School) reject all their own options as being too expensive compared with demolition of the
 Pemberton, which the County Council  has pledged to pay for."
This is really strange. Shouldn't the County Council guide the School towards a "good" option as opposed to a simply "cheap" option which comes with cultural destruction?