Heritage Statement For Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA NOVEMBER 2016 STANLEY HALL, EDMUND STREET, LIVERPOOL, L3 9NG E-MAIL: [email protected] 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 THE HISTORY OF THE BUILDING AND ITS EVOLUTION 3.0 WHY CHANGES ARE NECESSARY 4.0 THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSALS 5.0 CHANGES TO THE SHAPE OF ROOMS, SPACES, LAYOUT AND PLAN OF THE BUILDING 6.0 THE IMPACT OF ANY EXTENSION 7.0 HERITAGE STATEMENT – DESIGN IN ACCORDANCE PPS5 : PLANNING FOR THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT 8.0 BUILDING REGULATIONS APPENDIX A LISTING ENTRY (WRITTEN DESCRIPTION) FOR ILKLEY STATION FOR REFERENCE (GRADE II) 4006 Page 2/10 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA 1.0 INTRODUCTION The following heritage statement has been produced to accompany our application for Listed Building Consents with respects to the provision of new replacement ticket desk, counter and screen, serving the ticket office and ticket hall in the main station building on platform 1. The application is submitted in full and is supported by the following drawings and documents: • 4006-SU80_GLAZEBROOK_Site Plan, Proposed Scope • 4006-SU81_GLAZEBROOK_Ticket Office_EXISTING • 4006-SU82_GLAZEBROOK_Site Location Plan • 4006-SK80_GLAZEBROOK_Ticket Office_PROPOSED • 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station Design Access Statement The information contained herein and included within the listed building consent application dated 14 November 2016 are intended to provide detail of the scheme requirements and to explain what we are trying to achieve as part of the ticket counter, desk and screen proposals. 2.0 THE HISTORY OF THE BUILDING AND ITS EVOLUTION Rixton-with-Glazebrook village lies around 4 miles east of Warrington town centre and is bounded by Cadishead to the east and Culcheth to the north. The village lies in a civil parish in the unitary authority of Warrington, Cheshire, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies to the east of Warrington and borders Irlam, and is largely farmland. It has a railway station and is served by buses along the A57 road. The parish was originally a township within Warrington parish before becoming a separate parish in 1866. It was part of the Warrington Poor Law Union and, from 1894, Warrington Rural District, and the District of Warrington from 1974. Glazebrook has a small housing estate, a post office and Glazebrook railway station. The station, on the Liverpool to Manchester southern route, marks the westernmost boundary of the Transport for Greater Manchester area. Glazebrook station was formerly located between two junctions, Glazebrook West for the Wigan Junction Railways to Wigan Central and St Helens Central, services to those stations ceasing in 1964 and 1952 respectively; and Glazebrook East Junction for the line to Stockport Tiviot Dale via Skelton Junction, passenger services to there ceased in 1964. West of Glazebrook there is the only passing loop east of Warrington, though this is rarely used. The station building, opened on 2 September 1873, is of typical Cheshire Lines Committee design. The ticket office is open weekday mornings only. Although this station is not within the Greater Manchester area, it does mark the western boundary of the range of rail tickets produced by Transport for Greater Manchester. Glazebrook Station is located about one third of the way between Manchester and Liverpool. It opened on the 1 st September 1873, for both passengers and goods. It closed for goods on the 3/8/1964. It remains open today for passengers, although services are limited, most being through trains. The station is much the same today as when it opened in 1873. It is almost identical to Padgate and many other CLC stations. It is still is a in a good state of repair, partially open as a station office, the remainder is a private residence. The signature CLC drinking fountain is still in place. The small original and quaint shelter is also still on the Manchester platform, although not used as such any more. 4006 Page 3/10 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA In its heyday, Glazebrook was a busy place, interchanging passengers from the Wigan branch line and the Stockport services. For a small village and station, it offered a surprisingly large number of facilities; in 1877 it handled passengers, parcels, carriages, goods, livestock and furniture vans, portable engines, machines on wheels and eventually passenger cars. The station was classified as having a five-ton crane for goods unloading. By 1938, the list had grown to include horse-boxes and cattle vans; a very similar capability of the much larger station at Irlam. In order to service all this, Glazebrook had sidings of its own. Around ten sets of points and crossovers directed traffic to both the sidings and facilitated swapping traffic between the two main lines. The station had its own forty- five foot turntable for locos, and a water tower. There is no doubt that Glazebrook played a big part in helping manage traffic and shunting for the busy, but single-direction east junction and sidings. The turntable was just to the west of the Manchester platform and would have been very close to Dam Head Lane where it bends to go up the hill. All this complexity of track required its own signal box. This was located on the junction of Bank Street and Dam Head Lane. Glazebrook West signal box The signature CLC drinking fountain 4006 Page 4/10 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA 3.0 WHY CHANGES ARE NECESSARY The current ticket counter, desk and screens are outdated and inadequate. A new ticket counter, desk and screen unit is required for the platform 1 Ticket Office / Hall. Station stakeholders Arriva Rail North (Northern) and owner Network Rail have requested works to improve the image of the Ticket facilities and to improve accessibility for wheelchair users, with the new ticket counter having an accessible counter at low level. The works also intend to improve facilities for the station staff, with a new ticket desk with upgraded, modern cash till, drawer and storage facilities. 4.0 THE IMPACT OF THE PROPOSALS The layout and scale of the development is indicated within the proposals presented as part of the Listed Buildings Consent application. The ticket desk, counter and screen proposed for installation have been selected to reflect as closely as possible the existing materials and look of the existing facilities, ensuring that the character of the building is minimally effected and therefor maintained. There will be no need to alter or remove any of the key features of the station buildings and there will be no major loss or changes to any historic fabric such as walls, windows, doors, timber framing etc that would affect the structure and form of the building. The solution for the ticket office / hall is sympathetic to what a passenger using the railway station would expect to see on a building this nature. With regard to the location, all works are within the ticket hall / office, therefor all changes will be internal and not noticeable from the outside. 5.0 CHANGES TO THE SHAPE OF ROOMS, SPACES, LAYOUT AND PLAN OF THE BUILDING The existing shape, space, layout and plan of the station are not affected by the works presented with our proposals. The design of the ticket counter, desk and screen will be very close to the existing scenario, but with a brand new finish to complement the station environment. 6.0 THE IMPACT OF ANY EXTENSION The works identified within our application for listed buildings consent do not propose any extension or material alteration to the existing station building plan. 4006 Page 5/10 4006 Glazebrook Railway Station, Glazebrook Lane, Glazebrook, Cheshire, WA3 5BA 7.0 HERITAGE STATEMENT – DESIGN IN ACCORDANCE WITH PPS5 : PLANNING FOR THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT The proposed development site is of historic and architectural significance and a heritage asset, and as such its features are protected and guided by its designation as a Grade II listed building. Therefore, in developing and considering the design proposal, the heritage impact has been assessed according to the guidance set out in PPS 5 : Planning for the Historic Environment. PPS 5 describes how the proposal should not affect the historic and architectural merit of the listed structure. Taking the broad criteria of relevant policies HE1, 3, 7, 9 and 10 into consideration, the main points to be considered are the following : ● the significance of the building, its intrinsic architectural and historic interest and rarity, both in national and local terms, and the value it holds for future generations; ● the particular physical features of the building which justify its inclusion in the list; ● the building’s setting and its contribution to the local scene; ● the extent to which the proposed works would bring substantial benefits to the community, in particular by contributing to the sustainable development of the area, impact on climate change or the enhancement of its environment. The proposal is for the installation of new ticket counter, desk and screen on platform 1 (see descriptions within this document and also the application drawings). We feel that the architectural and historic values of the existing building are retained. There will be no effect on the building’s setting and its impact on the local scene, due to the works being internal. Due to the nature of the development, we feel that there will be no loss of visual interest. The existing built structure will remain virtually unaffected (with minimal fixings) and the exterior of the building will be completely untouched. The proposed development will bring the station into the 21 st century to accommodate facilities needed.