Final Report BOSTON MANOR HOUSE and PARK
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BOSTON MANOR HOUSE AND PARK: AN OPTIONS APPRAISAL Final Report June 2011 With financial support from English Heritage Peter McGowan Associates 7 Straiton View 57 - 59 Bread Street, Landscape Architects and Heritage Straiton Business Park Edinburgh EH3 9AH Management Consultants Loanhead, Midlothian EH20 9QZ tel: +44 (0)131 222 2900 6 Duncan Street T. 0131 440 6750 Edinburgh F. 0131 440 6751 fax: +44 (0)131 222 2901 EH9 1SZ E. [email protected] 0131 662 1313 www.jura-consultants.co.uk [email protected] CONTENTS Section Page Executive Summary i. 1. Introduction 1. 2. Conservation Management Plan – Boston Manor House 5. 3. Conservation Management Plan – Boston Manor Park 17. 4. Summary of Consultation 31. 5. Summary of Strategic Context 41. 6. User Market Appraisal 51. 7. Options 61. 8. Options Appraisal 101. 9. Conclusions and Recommendations 111. Appendix A List of Previous Studies Appendix B Market Appraisal Boston Manor House and Park EXECUTIVE SUMMARY E1.0 INTRODUCTION Jura Consultants was appointed by London Borough of Hounslow (LBH) to carry out an options appraisal for Boston Manor House and Park. The options appraisal has considered each element of the House and the Park to identify the most appropriate means of achieving the agreed vision set out in the Conservation Management Plans (CMP) for the House and Park developed in partnership with LDN Architects and Peter McGowan Associates respectively. E1.1 Background London Borough of Hounslow commissioned the options appraisal for Boston Manor House and Park to evaluate existing and potential uses for the House (and ancillary buildings) and the Park, and to determine the ability to sustain a long-term future for the House and Park. Detailed Conservation Management Plans for both the House and the Park were commissioned at the same time as the options appraisal in order to ensure that the options appraisal process would be based on robust evidence and that the preferred option would meet the requirements of the CMPs. E1.2 Aims and Objectives The objectives set by LBH have been influenced by the needs and requirements of local, regional and national users. In addition, the objectives have considered the need for services and facilities to ensure that as many people as possible from the local area and beyond can enjoy the House and Park. The objectives for Boston Manor House and Park are listed below: • To care and conserve the significant assets in Boston Manor Park and Boston Manor House • To ensure that Boston Manor Park is accessible to (and used by) local residents and visitors to the area • To ensure that a viable new use is found for Boston Manor House that addresses the requirements laid out in the Conservation Management Plans but is also able to generate a level of income that will sustain the property in future E1.3 Options Appraisal Process The HM Treasury’s ‘Green Book – Appraisal and Evaluation in Central Government (2003)’, presents best practice guidance for the appraisal of policies, programmes and projects. The Green Book guidance has been adopted for this options appraisal. The key stages are as follows: Jura Consultants i Boston Manor House and Park • Identification of aims and objectives • Development of long-list of options • Short-listing of options • Detailed analysis of short-list of options • Identification of a preferred option The process has been informed by the following: • Review of the Conservation Management Plans for both the House and Park • Consultation with stakeholders and the general public • Review of strategic documents • Review of previous performance • Market appraisal • Analysis of potential future performance • Analysis of potential funding opportunities This options appraisal considers both the revenue implications of the current and future operation of Boston Manor House and Park and the potential for raising capital to fund the development project. E2.0 CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN – BOSTON MANOR HOUSE Boston Manor House is a Jacobean manor house built in 1623 with major modifications from 1680 onwards. It is listed Grade I and is located within the Grand Union Canal and Boston Manor designated conservation area. Despite the House’s condition being listed as fair, it has been included on English Heritage’s Buildings at Risk Register due to serious repairs of the south west corner being required. Since 2001, the building’s priority has deteriorated from C (slow decay; no solution agreed) to B (immediate risk of further rapid deterioration or loss of fabric; solution agreed but not yet implemented). Boston Manor House remains a priority B for 2010. Other buildings of interest on the site are the stables (Grade II), and the boundary wall and gates (Grade II). An analysis of the significance of Boston Manor has shown that it is a cultural asset of national importance that deserves to be recognised and cherished as such. It has developed into its current form over many centuries and each of these layers of historical development is evident in its present form. The presence of these layers is central to its significance and therefore it is not appropriate to restore the house to a particular period nor to remove latter phases where they can contribute to the overall use and relationship with the site and are of sufficient archaeological quality to be retained. Future development should aim to enhance and reveal these layers whilst removing detrimental elements and uses which do not contribute to the overall significance of the House. Jura Consultants ii Boston Manor House and Park The conservation strategy should enhance and reveal historical relationships between the House, ancillary structures and the landscape setting. It should also support new uses that respect the past and which can be integrated in ways that do not undermine the cultural significance of the House and grounds. Proposals for the re-use and/or restoration of Boston Manor should generally conform to requirements set out in the English Heritage Practice Guide PPS5 and in particular Policy HE7: Policy principles guiding the determination of applications for consent relating to all heritage assets which seek to ensure that: 1. It sustains or enhances the significance of a heritage asset and the contribution of its setting 2. It reduces or removes risk to a heritage asset 3. it secures the optimum viable use of a heritage asset in support of its long term conservation 4. it makes a positive contribution to economic viability and sustainable communities 5. It is an appropriate design for its context and makes a positive contribution to the appearance, character, quality and local distinctiveness of the historic environment 6. It better reveals the significance of a heritage asset and therefore enhances our enjoyment of it and the sense of place. E3.0 CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN – BOSTON MANOR PARK Boston Manor House and Park are located in Brentford, in the north eastern part of the London Borough of Hounslow on the south facing slope of the Brent River valley. In recent years, a strong business area, known as the Golden Mile, has grown up around Boston Manor Park. Most significantly, this includes the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) office headquarters to the south east of the Park and the Thames Valley University campus to the north east and BSkyB to the west. To the north of the Park is the London Playing Fields. Boston Manor House and Park can be easily accessed on foot or bicycle, and as well by car, underground, bus and train, as well as from the Grand Union Canal. Boston Manor Park has been successful in winning the Green Flag Award every year since 2005. Boston Manor Park has considerable significance as the setting for Boston House, some significance at a designed landscape in its own right and has outstanding local value as a public park. The Conservation Management Plan assesses the resulting management issues associated with Boston Manor Park and present policies and proposals aimed at 5 main areas: Jura Consultants iii Boston Manor House and Park • Conservation and repair of historic features and Park fabric • Increasing the accessibility of the Park’s facilities • Improving safety and perceived safety • Increasing the use of underused areas • Reducing the impact of intrusive features. It is recommended that the Park is managed according to the following four zones: • Management Zone 1, Historic Core – conserve existing features and enhance period character and aesthetic character • Management Zone 2, Park Facilities – maintain and extend the range of facilities; maximise use of existing facilities; design improvements to setting and circulation. • Management Zone 3, Woodland / Nature – encourage biodiversity; improve degraded woodland as habitats and for amenity. • Management Zone 4, Playing Fields – maintain and improve existing facilities. Keep the whole Park and playing fields area, including under viaduct spaces, in active or passive recreational use and exclude non-recreational use in perpetuity. Integrate the parts of the site and reduce barriers between parts of the landscape where not required for security, public safety or other aspects of management, in order to improve access to and understanding of the whole landscape. Conserve the designed landscape of the Park as a 19th century picturesque Park by restoration, repair and maintenance of the built and planted features. E4.0 SUMMARY OF CONSULTATION The purpose of the consultation was to gather feedback to inform the development of the ‘long- list’ of options for Boston Manor House and Park. In the first phase, in-person and telephone interviews were conducted with stakeholders representing the predominant users groups of the House and Park. The second stage of consultation was to gather information from the general public who utilise the Park to determine what they enjoyed about Boston Manor House and Park, what they wanted to see improved and to test a range of potential development options.