Petition made to protect Stanley town centre
Nov 19 2009 by Neil McKay, The Journal
WITH a large Asda supermarket, car parks, a Seventies-style indoor bowls centre and a new bus station dominating its town centre, even its most ardent supporters would be pushed to call Stanley attractive.
On the face of it, there seems little of architectural merit to the County Durham former mining town which has a dual carriageway running through its core.
Yet civic bosses are now considering an application for the town to be made a Conservation Area after receiving a petition containing 400 signatures.
The man behind the application is retired planner Kenneth Osborne-Grant – the 79-year-old founder of the Osborne Conservation Trust – and he says it is not as outlandish as it seems.
“There are buildings of architectural merit in Stanley town centre, as well as some shabby ones. The former Tanfield Board School in Front Street, built in 1891, the old Imperial Hotel, St Joseph’s School and Thorneyholme Terrace in the town centre all have considerable artistic merit.
“In County Durham there are 93 Conservation Areas, and they are not just in the obvious places like Durham City or Barnard Castle. Annfield Plain is a Conservation Area, and so are parts of Crook, Shildon and Seaham.
English Heritage say: “Conservation areas vary greatly in their nature and character. Conservation areas give broader protection than listing individual buildings: all the features, listed or otherwise, within the area, are recognised as part of its character.
“The first conservation areas were created in 1967, and there are now over 8000 conservation areas in England.
“Where these places are of special architectural or historic interest or deserve to receive careful protection, they can be designated as conservation areas. However, this does not mean that they have to remain frozen in time, change is often necessary to accommodate the demands of modern living. As our historic town and village centres are always likely to attract new development, the challenge is how to enhance, rather than detract from, their special, local character.”
Mr Osborne-Grant said he was keen to protect Stanley’s buildings of merit from the bulldozers.
One of the buildings Mr Osborne-Grant was unable to save was a 19th-Century two-storey former Co-op building which was wrecked by a firebomb attack in the early hours of June 16, 2008.
The Co-op building was due to be bulldozed to make way for a proposed £60m new Asda development but conservationists were objecting to its demolition.
The arsonists have not been caught.
Caroline Wilkinson, conservation officer for Durham County Council, said: “It will be necessary to undertake an initial assessment of Stanley Town Centre to consider whether there is any potential for a conservation area designation.”
