Fears for views of heritage site
Feb 14 2008 by Neil Mckay, The Journal
CONSERVATIONISTS have asked the Government to decide on a controversial planning application which – it is claimed – will block views of a World Heritage Site.
The City of Durham Trust has written to the Government Office of the North East (GONE) applying for an independent adjudication on plans to build homes, offices and a restaurant on a disused bowling green on the city’s Elvet Waterside.
The trust says that the planning authority – Durham City Council – as joint owners of the development site, has a coincidence of interest.
The move comes after author Bill Bryson was forced to defend himself for not speaking out against the development.
Mr Bryson, who has long championed Durham, said the criticism was unfair.
Dr Douglas Pocock, honorary secretary of The City of Durham Trust, said: “Durham City Council are joint owners of the development site. There is thus a conflict of interest with the local authority being both judge and jury.
“This is a large and complex application, of more than local or regional significance, on a site partly owned by the local authority in a sensitive location and with implications for the World Heritage Site.”
The application has attracted widespread opposition, with the trust, the Elvet Residents’ Association and Durham MP Roberta Blackman-Woods all speaking out against the plans.
The development contains 103 apartments and 26 townhouses and 10,000sqft of commercial space, with one site earmarked for a riverside restaurant or cafe. Opponents to the scheme argue that a covenant on the land forbade any development when it was handed over by the university to the city council in 1944 for public recreational space.
They say views from the riverside towards Durham Cathedral and Castle will be spoiled, trees will be lost, and that the site sits on an area of high flood risk.
A Durham City Council spokeswoman said: “The application hasn’t even gone to committee yet. It is still open to public consultation.
“It is unlikely it will be discussed until this summer, so the trust cannot ask for it to be called in before we have heard the application.” But GONE guidelines on its website say the Government can intervene if an application is considered to be of national rather than local importance. Trustees argue that the proximity of the World Heritage Site means the application falls under that criteria.
The guidelines say: “When we consider whether or not to intervene in a planning application, our role is to find out what the main issues are and then to decide whether the issues are of more than local importance.”
Justin Hancock, of Banks Developments Ltd, which is submitting the application to Durham City Council, said: “All the way through the design development process, we have been highly aware of the importance of creating a scheme which both complements and enhances the existing environment, and we believe we have put forward a plan that does so.
“We have been careful to respect the magnificent views of Durham’s World Heritage Site from Elvet and the surrounding area, and have specified designs and materials that will be very much in keeping with the city’s existing architecture.”
Ms Blackman-Woods last night said: “I support the decision by the City of Durham Trust to ask for the Elvet Waterside development to be issued with an Article 14 direction. This would essentially prevent the city council, in its role as planning authority, from granting planning permission until authorisation is given by the Secretary of State. Current plans for this development could damage a very special part of the city.”
