2016-02-11 15:10:46 +0000
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.
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
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
