Heritage Statement __________ Land near Lant Street, London Borough of Southwark November 2020 | Project Ref 4755A Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 1 Project Number: 4755 Authored by: Adrian Parry & Chris Griffiths Date: November 2020 Document version M:\HC\Projects\Projects 4501-5000\Projects 4701-4800/4755 - Land Near Lant Street, Southwark\4755A\Reports\2020.11.17 - Land near Lant Street Southwark Heritage Assessment.docx Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 2 Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 5 2. Relevant Heritage Policy & Guidance ................................................... 10 3. The Significance of the Heritage Assets ............................................... 17 4. Effects on Heritage Significance .......................................................... 29 5. Conclusion ........................................................................................... 33 Figures Fig. 1 Site location plan Fig. 2 The Liberty of Mint Conservation Area Fig. 3 Heritage Assets in the vicinity of the application site Fig. 4 View along Lant Street from the west towards Sanctuary St Fig. 5 View looking west along Lant St from the Gladstone Arms Fig. 6 1914 OS map extract Fig. 7 Aerial view of the application site Fig. 8 View of Weller Street from Trundle Street Fig. 9 View of Weller Street and Lant Street Fig. 10 View looking north towards Sanctuary Street Fig. 11 View of the Douglas Buildings from the rear Fig. 12 Sectional elevation of the Proposed Development Fig. 13 View looking south from the conservation area Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 3 Fig. 14 1906 photograph of the chapel 1.0 Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 4 1. Introduction 1.1 This heritage statement has been prepared for Damgate Freeholds Limited by Heritage Collective. It relates to the proposed addition of an extra storey on two modern residential blocks (Blocks A and B) centred upon Lant Street in the London Borough of Southwark (Figure 1 – hereafter referred to as the ‘Site’). The easternmost block is situated on the corner of Lant Street and Sanctuary Street, the central block occupies a recessed position on Lant Street and the westernmost block fronts onto Weller Street. The buildings, which are set within courtyard spaces are accessed from Gaitskell Way on Weller Street and Isaac Way on Sanctuary Street. The development will provide a total of 9 additional residential units comprising 4 no. 2 bedroom, 4 no. 3 bedroom and 1 no. 4 bedroom flats. Block C Block B Block A Figure 1: Map extract showing the application Site boundary in red, and the three individual residential blocks shaded pink. 1.2 The three residential blocks in question have no intrinsic heritage interest but are located at the centre of the Liberty of Mint Conservation Area, a heritage asset Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 5 designated by Southwark Borough Council in December 2015 (Figure 2). A formal appraisal and management plan for the conservation area was adopted by the council in November 2018. Figure 2: The Liberty of Mint Conservation Area boundary outlined in red, with the application site outlined in blue at its centre 1.3 Figure 3 below shows other designated and non-designated heritage assets located within, and in close proximity to, the conservation area. These include statutorily listed buildings and buildings of historic merit identified by Southwark Borough Council. The map extract also highlights important views and landmarks recognised by the council. Figure 3: London Borough of Southwark plan of heritage assets in and around the Liberty of Mint Conservation Area, with the application site outlined in red Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 6 1.4 A site visit undertaken for the purposes of this assessment on 11th January 2019 determined that the application proposals would not alter the setting and significance of the statutorily listed buildings located in and around the Liberty of Mint Conservation Area. These buildings are not only located at some distance from the application site but are separated from it by tall, closely-packed buildings which block views in either direction. These statutorily listed buildings have therefore been scoped out of this assessment. 1.5 This assessment therefore addresses any potential impacts of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the Liberty of Mint Conservation Area and the setting and significance of buildings of historic merit adjacent to the Site, with a particular focus on the Charles Dickens School opposite and the Douglas Buildings on the Peabody Estate. The report also considers any implications of the application proposals on the key vistas along Lant Street identified in the conservation area appraisal. 1.6 Since the adoption of the appraisal and management plan document at the end of 2018, with its stipulation of a maximum height of 4/5 storeys, Southwark Borough Council have advised that development should be restricted to an additional single additional storey across all three blocks. Block C (to the west) is not proposed to be extended, and the proposed development is now limited to single storey additions above Blocks A and Block in line with SBC’s pre-application advice.1 1.7 Observations and photographs taken during the site visit are incorporated into this report. 1.8 This Heritage Statement should be read in conjunction with the full drawn submission prepared by GML Architects and the accompanying Design and Access Statement. 1 SBC – Heritage & Design Officer made comments via e-mail in October 2020 as follows, “I am satisfied that with these changes (the omission of the flat on Block C and the set-backs on Blocks A and B as shown in Option B), we could make a positive recommendation in this case.” Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 7 Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 8 2.0 Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 9 2. Relevant Heritage Policy & Guidance Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation Areas) Act 1990 2.1 The decision maker is required by section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 to have special regard to the desirability of preserving the character or appearance of a conservation area (in this case Radlett North Conservation Area There is a strong presumption against the grant of permission for development that would harm the character or appearance of the conservation area, though the presumption will plainly be lessened if the harm is less than substantial within the meaning in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as is explained further below. 2.2 Harm is defined by Historic England as change which erodes the significance of a heritage asset2. National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2.3 The significance of a heritage asset is defined in the NPPF as being made up of four main constituents, architectural interest, historical interest, archaeological interest and artistic interest. 2.4 The assessments of heritage significance and impact are normally made with primary reference to the four main elements of significance identified in the NPPF. The setting of the heritage asset can also contribute to its significance. Setting is defined in the NPPF as follows: “The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral”. 2 Paragraph 84 of Conservation Principles 2008. Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 10 2.5 The advice of Historic England on the setting of heritage assets (Historic Environment Good Practice Advice Planning Note 3 [GPA3], revised in December 2017) has been taken into account in this assessment, although GPA3 does not prescribe a single methodological approach for assessments relating to the setting of heritage assets. 2.6 The NPPF requires the impact on the significance of the heritage asset to be considered in terms of either “substantial harm” or “less than substantial harm” as described within paragraphs 193 to 196 of that document. National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) makes it clear that substantial harm is a high test, and recent case law describes substantial harm in terms of an effect that would vitiate or drain away much of the significance of a heritage asset. 2.7 Paragraph 193 of the NPPF states that great weight should be given to the conservation of a designated heritage asset when considering applications that affect its significance. 2.8 National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) issued by the Government, which contextualises the NPPF, has recently been updated (July 2019) and consulted for the purposes of this Assessment. 2.9 Paragraph 018 of the NPPG (ref: 18a-018-20190723) confirms that within each category of harm, the extent of harm may vary and should be clearly articulated. In order to assist with this articulation of the exact level of harm, specifically with reference to the ‘less than substantial’ bracket, the following table has been developed by Heritage Collective and has been applied, when relevant, to the assessment presented herein: Land near Lant Street, Southwark | 11 Scale of Harm Total Loss Total removal of the significance of the designated heritage asset. Serious harm that would drain away or vitiate the significance of the Substantial Harm designated heritage asset High level harm that could be serious, but not so serious as to vitiate or drain away the significance of the designated heritage asset. Medium level harm, not necessarily serious to the significance of the Less than designated heritage asset, but enough to be described as significant, Substantial Harm noticeable, or material. Low level harm that does not seriously affect the significance of the designated heritage asset. 2.10 Paragraph 197 of the NPPF states that the effect of a planning application on the significance of a non-designated heritage asset (in this case buildings of historic merit) should be taken into account in determining a planning application.