191/P/699 Heritage Impact Statement for Proposed
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OUR REF: 191/P/699 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION RHONDDA CYNON TAF MID GLAMORGAN WALES DATE: 9TH MARCH 2020 CLIENT: PREPARED BY: Interserve (Facilities Management) Ltd Mr B Lee DFT McAndrew Martin Ltd Ingenuity House Trafalgar House Elmdon Trading Estate 11 Acorn Business Centre Bickenhill Lane Northarbour Road Birmingham Cosham, Portsmouth B37 7HQ PO6 3TH HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 Pontypridd Railway Station 2 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 Contents 1.0 Introduction and Objectives 2.0 Historic and Architectural Significance 3.0 Justification for Proposed Works 4.0 Impact of Proposed Works 5.0 Setting of the Listed Building 6.0 Legislation and Policy 7.0 Evaluation of the scheme in the context of the Conservation Principles 8.0 Assessing the changes to in the context of the Conservation Principles 9.0 Conclusion Appendix A - Current Internal Photographs Appendix B - External Elevation Photographs 3 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 1. Introduction and Objectives 1.1 This heritage statement has been prepared to accompany the listed building application for proposed works at Pontypridd Rail Station, namely the alteration of the existing redundant toilets located on platform one, to provide British Transport Police (BTP) accommodation for day to day security operations on the Welsh rail system 1.2 This report draws on the guidance on the statutory requirement to prepare a heritage impact statement in tandem with an application for listed building consent. The guidance is complementary to the Historic Environment (Wales) Act 2016 and is underpinned by the modern conservation philosophy of Cadw's Conservation Principles for the Sustainable Management of the Historic Environment in Wales (2011). 1.3 Pontypridd rail station is Grade II* listed, designated as such on 17/07/1990, and amended 26/02/2001. The listed building description is attached at Appendix A. Pontypridd Railway Station is Grade II listed and opened in 1840 as part of the Taff Vale Railway Company which ran from Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil. The Station, originally called Newbridge Junction, was remodelled several times: in the early 20th century: in the 1970s; and in the 1990s. The façade seen today dates from the 1990s, however, other parts of the station have retained their historic form and date to 1907-19014 0.4 The proposal comprises the creation of office accommodation and a British Transport Police facility on platform one, by refurbishing the present redundant toilets located at the end the platform This includes: - • Re modelling the current interior space from male and female toilets to office accommodation • Creation of new male and female locker rooms with showers and WC facilities 4 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 • Creation of an interview room for witnesses to crimes • Creation of a secure store facility for storage of stolen goods and narcotics • Creation of separate offices for police superintendent, and officer in charge 2.0 Historical and Architectural Significance 2.1 The Taff Vale Railway was begun at Pontypridd in 1837, being the first major locomotive railway into Wales, and with Isambard Kingdom Brunel as its chief engineer. It opened in 1841, running a line from Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff, primarily to serve the ironworks, and later for the transportation of coal to Cardiff docks. 2.2 In 1907 a reconstruction of Pontypridd station was begun, and at its peak it dealt with 11,000 passengers a day and had seven platforms. 2.3 When built the main, island platform was the longest in the world, and still is the longest in the western region. 2.4 A long, distinctively curved platform, 14 bays long, eight bays of which have canopies carried on I-section steel piers standing on cast-iron, fluted, oval bases. 2.5 The lightly trussed steel roof has segmental principals and a boarded underside, while the canopies have deep ogee valancing. 2.6 There are six buildings including a ticket office, station master’s office, waiting room and toilets, all built in the free Egyptian revival style of red brick and terracotta. 2.7 These buildings are decorated with parapets, deep bracket cornices, panelled pilasters and high plinths. 5 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 2.8 The openings have labels over lugged and tapered architraves and consist mainly of panelled doors and T-framed windows. 2.9 At the south end is the two bay toilet block, to the north is the largest building of nine bays which formed the ticket office, the north wall of which is decorated by a terracotta panel sporting an urn holding foliage. 2.10 The station master’s office is six bayed, on the south side of each end bay being opposing stairs leading down from the platform to ground/street level. These have tall, panelled gate piers, the western set with a Baroque style overthrow and sliding lattice gates. 2.11 There are side railings with simple Art Nouveau detail, which were made by Bayliss Lt of Wolverhampton. There is another stair further to the north with similar piers and overthrow, with the lettering 'Way Out'. The lower level is faced with white tiles. Aesthetic Context 2.12 Pontypridd Rail Station is a very well-preserved - example of a later C19 locomotive railway station into Wales, and having Isambard Kingdom Brunel as its chief engineer, when built the main island platform was the longest in the world with its 14 bay long distinctively curved platform with 8 of the 14 bays having canopies carried on I section steel piers standing on cast iron fluted oval bases. 2.13 The lightly trussed steel roof has segmental principals and a boarded underside, while the canopies have deep ogee valancing. 2.14 The platform buildings are all built in the free Egyptian revival style of red brick and terracotta, and decorated with parapets, deep bracket cornices, panelled pilasters and high plinths. 6 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 Communal Value 2.15 Services run from Bridgend, Barry Island and Cardiff Central to Pontypridd six times an hour on weekdays and Saturdays until early evening; look for trains to Merthyr Tydfil, Aberdare or Treherbert. The train station is located on Broadway, at the south end of Taff Street, arriving trains pass through Pontypridd curve along the banks of the River Taff and deliver passengers into the heart of the town, with its long high street filled with well-known high street names alongside traditional shops, bars and pubs just a few minutes' walk north-west of the station. 2.16 The sprawling Ynysangharad War Memorial Park and Cricket Ground, a five- minute stroll away, has a pitch-and-put, cafe and sports grounds as well as a revamped lido. Evidential Context 2.17 The structural history of Pontypridd Station is reasonably straightforward, and its major phases may be outlined as follows: - • The station was built by the Taff Vale Railway (TVR) and opened on 9 October 1840. It was known as Newbridge Junction until March 1866 when it was renamed Pontypridd • It was progressively remodelled during the 19th century, but its present appearance derives largely from reconstruction carried out between 1907 and 1914 • Architecturally, the 1912 station still includes all the original red brick and terracotta buildings on the island platform, some of which remain in public use, e.g. as ticket office and waiting room. 7 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 • The elaborate 1912 main station façade in the same art nouveau style was destroyed during modernisation in the mid-1970s and replaced by a featureless red brick wall. • As part of a £200m regeneration scheme to boost train capacity in Cardiff and the surrounding areas, Pontypridd received a third platform in December 2014. • Work began in 2014 to build this platform in the station, to accommodate more trains and to increase the number of services to Cardiff. • The modernisation of 2014/2015 brought former through platform 6 back into use as a bay platform, now numbered platform 1, for southbound services to Cardiff. 3.0 Justification for the Proposed Works 3.1 In common with many Rail Stations of the scale of Pontypridd, platform arrangements are rather out-dated. The existing listed buildings located on the platforms of Pontypridd Station are not large and there is no opportunity to introduce new buildings onto the platforms. 3.2 Those listed rail stations still in use as operating stations have generally adapted to modern rail conditions typically extending platform lengths, conjoining small buildings, and converting existing listed buildings internal areas into comfortable working accommodation. 3.3 This typically allows the external facades of the more formal areas of the stations to remain unaltered, and with care, internal fixtures of interest to be preserved. 8 HERITAGE IMPACT STATEMENT FOR PROPOSED WORKS AT PONTYPRIDD RAIL STATION, RHONDDA CYNON TAF, MID GLAMORGAN, WALES – REF: 191/P/699 3.4 The proposal offers the opportunity to fully restore and celebrate the history of Pontypridd Station. The current scheme will have no impact on the external character of the listed building, and in fact will reinstate small alterations undertaken to the external facades over the past years back to original condition.