PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT at WINWICK Road/Bluecoat Street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 2
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PPrrooppoosseedd rreeddeevveellooppmmeenntt aatt wwiinnwwiicckk rrooaadd//bblluueeccooaatt ssttrreeeett WARRINGTON, cheshire HERITAGE ASSESSMENT GGARRY MMILLER Historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 2 PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street WARRINGTON, CHESHIRE Heritage assessment JUNE 2016 GARRY MILLER Historic Building Consultancy Crosby House, 412 Prescot Road, Eccleston Hill, St Helens, Lancashire WA10 3BT Telephone: 01744 739675 [email protected] © Garry Miller 2016 GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 3 Contents 1: Executive Summary 4 2: The Site 5 3: Planning Context/Report Objective 7 4: Historical Context 9 5: The Listed Building and its Setting 11 6: Assessment of Significance 15 7: Policy Context 16 8: Impact of the Proposal 18 Appendix 1: Principal Sources 20 Appendix 2: Garry Miller Historic Building Consultancy 20 GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 4 1: executive summary This report supports proposed redevelopment of a brownfield site at the junction of Winwick Road and Bluecoat Street, north of the town centre of Warrington, Cheshire. The site is currently occupied by a disused public toilet block. It stands opposite the former church of St Ann, which is listed at Grade II*. An application is being made to Warrington Borough Council for demolition of the toilet block and erection of a new eight-apartment building. The heritage issue arising from the proposal is its impact upon the setting of the listed building. The scope and purpose of this report is to identify the significance of the former church of St Ann and to assess the proposal’s impact upon this significance. St Ann’s dates from 1866-1868 and is considered one of the greatest ecclesiastical works of Chester architect John Douglas (1829-1911). It is a prominent dark brick building, described by Pevsner in 1969 as ‘an impressively forceful High Victorian piece, blunt and uncompromising’. Following closure as a place of worship in 1995, the building was converted the following year to a climbing centre. The setting of the church is vastly altered from the original 19th century townscape of industry and workers’ terraced housing. A Rugby League stadium and supermarket are now its immediate neighbours amid a regeneration-led, retail-dominated streetscene. The toilet block stands directly opposite the church in an overgrown plot extending back along Bluecoat Street. The Grade II* designation of the former church of St Ann denotes this is a particularly important building in the national context, one of more than special architectural and historic interest. Its significance derives from its intrinsic merits as a prominent and forceful High Victorian church that represents one of the finest works by Douglas, an architect of national importance. The church no longer stands within its original surroundings, and therefore the contribution its present setting makes to this significance is low. Within this setting, the application building is of no heritage significance and its visual contribution is negative. The proposal involves the removal of an unsightly building of no heritage value that detracts from the setting of the listed St Ann’s. The design of the proposed new apartment building is sympathetic to the listed building in that it draws inspiration from the area’s traditional Victorian buildings, and its materials palette also reflects this tradition. Its scale is also appropriate in that it does not challenge the visual predominance of the listed building along Winwick Road and its environs. The proposal will therefore enhance the setting of St Ann’s and hence is in accordance with relevant national and local policy. It is considered therefore that planning consent should be granted. GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 5 2: THE SITE The application building is located north of Warrington town centre on the east side of the A49 Winwick Road at its junction with Bluecoat Street. It is an urban brownfield site currently occupied by a disused late 20th century public toilet block, which stands within a plot which extends around 20 metres along Bluecoat Street and has an overgrown and unsightly appearance. South of the site are large modern car retail premises while directly opposite stands the Grade II* listed former church of St Ann. North of the church is a supermarket of 2003-2004 and to the south the Warrington Wolves Rugby League stadium of similar date. The wider setting is the busy corridor of the A49, and whose character is dominated by retail premises resulting from the late 20th/early 21st century regeneration of a district formerly occupied by industry and terraced workers’ housing. Map 1. Location of the application site GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 6 1. The application building, looking south along Winwick Road 2. View of the building looking west along Bluecoat Street GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 7 3: BACKGROUND TO THIS REPORT 3.1 Proposed development An application is being submitted to Warrington Borough Council for demolition of the existing disused public convenience block at the Winwick Road/Bluecoat Street junction and replacement by a new building containing eight apartments. 3.2 Heritage impact The site lies directly opposite the Grade II* listed former church of St Ann, which stands on the west side of Winwick Road. The heritage issue arising from the proposal is therefore the impact upon the setting of the listed building. 3.3 Planning policy context The application will be determined in the context of national and local planning policies governing the historic environment. The national context is established by Section 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework (Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment), which was published in March 2012 and sets out the Government’s planning polices for England and how they are expected to be applied. The relevant local policies are those of the Warrington Local Plan Core Strategy, adopted July 21, 2014. The policy context is examined further in Section 7 of this report. 3.4 Scope and purpose of this report Paragraph 128 of the NPPF states local planning authorities should require an applicant to describe the significance (i.e. the heritage interest and value) of the heritage assets affected, including the contribution made by their setting. The scope and purpose of this report is therefore to describe the significance of the listed building and its setting and to evaluate the proposal’s impact upon this significance. It is to be read in conjunction with other documentation supporting the application. GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 8 3.5 Report structure This is as follows: 1. A rapid summary of the historical background concerning the former church of St Ann (Section 4) 2. A brief analysis of its architectural interest along with its setting, and the contribution made to the latter by the application building (Section 5) 3. An assessment of the heritage significance of the listed building including its setting (Section 6) 4. A summary of the relevant planning policies (Section 7) 5. Assessment within this policy context of the impact of the proposal upon the significance of the listed building (Section 8). GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 9 4: historical context St Ann’s was built in 1868-1869 and is considered one of the great ecclesiastical works of the Chester-based architect John Douglas (1829-1911). It is a powerful, distinctive and original building which represents a striking departure from the more conservative church designs that Douglas had so far produced. Its design is highly original and conveys the massiveness and solidity which characterised the High Victorian period. When first built, its setting was the northern fringe of the town centre amid a district dominated by workers’ terraced housing and industry, which included a brewery to the southwest that is said to have supplied steam to heat the interior of the church. The scale and massing of the church made it a prominent landmark amid the terraced houses which lined Winwick Road, as the mapping of 1893 shows (below). St Ann’s closed as a place of worship in 1995 and became a climbing centre the following year. Map 2. 1893 OS Warrington Town Plan shows the original setting of the building amid an area of industry and terraced housing GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 10 3. St Ann’s in its original setting, from Building News, 1869 GARRY MILLER historic building consultancy PROPOSED REDEVELOPMENT AT WINWICK road/bluecoat street: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 11 5: THE LISTED BUILDING and its setting 5.1 Overview A prominent and forceful High Victorian church distinctive for its dark brick and powerful massing. Shorn of its original industrial and terraced surroundings, it now stands conspicuously amid a late 20th