County Planning Committee Date Tuesday 1 July 2014 Time 2.00 pm Venue Council Chamber, County Hall, Durham Business Part A 1. Apologies for Absence 2. Substitute Members 3. Declarations of Interest 4. Applications to be determined a) DM/14/00100/LB and DM/14/00101/FPA - Hamsterley Hall and land to the north of the Hall, Hamsterley Mill, Rowlands Gill, NE39 1NJ (Pages 1 - 96) Restoration of Hamsterley Hall as a single dwelling, incorporating works to the bothy, construction of a garage and reinstatement of conservatory, as well as enabling development comprising 35 new dwellings with garages and a new site access from the B6310, with associated landscaping and infrastructure works. b) CE/13/01667/FPA - Sheraton and Neville House, Darlington Road, Durham, DH1 4SY (Pages 97 - 134) Conversion and extension of Neville House and demolition and replacement of Sheraton House to form student accommodation development comprising of a total of 418 no. beds and associated works and landscaping. c) DM/14/00845/FPA - Land North of Ladysmith Terrace, Ushaw Moor, Co. Durham (Pages 135 - 162) Erection of 167 dwellings, associated infrastructure and landscaping. d) DM/14/01195/OUT - North East Industrial Estate, Stephenson Road, Peterlee, Durham (Pages 163 - 188) Residential development of 390 dwellings (Outline, all matters reserved except access). e) DM/14/00362/FPA - North Pier, Seaham Harbour, Seaham (Pages 189 - 200) Proposed repair and restoration of Seaham North Pier including the replacement of the concrete deck, repair and repointing of masonry walls, repair and replacement of concrete coping stones, works to repair three previously breached sections, and temporary access to the Pier off the A182. f) DM/14/00464/WAS - Heights Quarry, Eastgate, Durham (Pages 201 - 214) Change of use from quarry to recycling of road planings and road base. g) DM/14/00465/WAS - Hulands Quarry, nr Bowes, Durham (Pages 215 - 226) Change of use from quarry to recycling of road planings and road base. 5. Such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, is of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration 6. Any resolution relating to the exclusion of the public during the discussion of items containing exempt information Part B Items during which it is considered the meeting will not be open to the public (consideration of exempt or confidential information) 7. Such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, is of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration Colette Longbottom Head of Legal and Democratic Services County Hall Durham 23 June 2014 To: The Members of the County Planning Committee Councillor K Davidson (Chairman) Councillor B Moir (Vice-Chairman) Councillors J Allen, B Armstrong, D Boyes, M Dixon, D Hall, G Holland, A Laing, R Lumsdon, C Marshall, H Nicholson, G Richardson, A Shield, P Taylor and R Young Contact: Ian Croft Tel : 03000 269702 Agenda Item 4a Planning Services COMMITTEE REPORT APPLICATION DETAILS DM/14/00100/LB and DM/14/00101/FPA APPLICATION NO: Restoration of Hamsterley Hall as a single dwelling, incorporating works to the bothy, construction of a garage and reinstatement of conservatory, as well as FULL APPLICATION DESCRIPTION : enabling development comprising 35 new dwellings with garages and a new site access from the B6310, with associated landscaping and infrastructure works David Wilson Homes and Mr Steven Spry NAME OF APPLICANT : Hamsterley Hall and land to the north of the Hall, ADDRESS : Hamsterley Mill, Rowlands Gill, NE39 1NJ Leadgate and Medomsley ELECTORAL DIVISION : Andrew Inch, Team Leader – Strategic Team CASE OFFICER : [email protected] , 03000 261155 DESCRIPTION OF THE SITE AND PROPOSALS Background 1. In December 2010 the County Planning Committee refused planning permission for the erection of 60 dwellings as an enabling scheme to bring about the restoration of Hamsterley Hall as a single dwelling. The scheme was subsequently dismissed on appeal in June 2012, following a public inquiry. 2. Whilst the Inspector found that scheme would secure the restoration and future of the heritage asset which is a key public benefit, and that it would also secure associated heritage assets within the estate, and would deliver some other community benefits, she was not satisfied that the proposed housing would not cause material harm to the setting of Hamsterley Hall and associated listed buildings, or harm to the landscape character of the area in which they stand. 3. Furthermore, the Inspector was not satisfied that the amount of enabling development proposed was the minimum necessary to secure the future of Hamsterley Hall. The Inspector further considered that issues of sustainability may be tempered in enabling cases where a scheme is considered to be otherwise acceptable. In performing the balancing exercise required it was concluded that the benefits of the Hall’s restoration did not outweigh the identified disbenefits. Page 1 4. The applications which are subject of this report therefore comprise of a revised scheme for a reduced number of dwellings with a consequent reduction in the scope of the works to Hamsterley Hall itself and its wider estate. Site 5. The application site essentially comprises of two parts of the wider Hamsterley Hall Estate, which lies to the south of Hamsterley Mill. The first part of the application site being the Hall itself, which is a Grade II* Listed Building, originally dating from the 17th century. The second part of the application site relates to an area of open agricultural land situated to the north of the Hall, and to the south of Hamsterley Mill. 6. The Hall is approached past the Old Lodge, through Grade II Listed gates off the B6310 Hamsterley Mill to Burnopfield road just to the north of the Hamsterley Mill housing estate and west of Parklands. The estate track, also a public byway, extends past pasture fields to the west and woodland to the east for about ¾ mile where it forks just after the Handley Cross Bridge, itself a Grade II Listed structure, named by the former owner Robert Surtees, an 18 th century novelist. The byway continues with paths leading into the surrounding woodland extending down to the Pont Burn, where the Hall drive then forks away, up to the formal gardens at the front of the Hall. This comprises of a balustrade front lawn, with cupola, pinnacle, gate piers, gate and a cistern all individually Listed as Grade II. 7. To the south of the Hall are stone stables and modern workshop buildings and paddock. The stable and workshops were granted planning permission (CMA/1/83) for their conversion into residential dwellings in 2013, and these works are nearing completion, although they are not yet occupied. Extensive ancient woodland borders the 22 acre surrounding parkland, comprising, streams, rough grass, pasture and mature trees. An abandoned walled garden is located to the north east surrounded by woodland, although this does not form part of the proposals. The gardens around the Hall retain elements of the main phases of their development, including the 18th century woodland, parkland setting, formal garden and re-routeing of the Hall drive. 8. As early as the 14th century a manor house is thought to have occupied the site. The following centuries brought change to the built form. Hamsterley Hall itself has been in continuous use as a dwelling since the 17th century. In the 18 th century the Hall was remodelled with the addition of a new south front. Henry Swinburn, a travel writer, extended it in 1765. Into the 20th century Lord Gort added his ‘architectural embellishments’ to the building and ‘follys or historic architectural fragments’ collected within the formal front gardens that came from, for instance, the Houses of Parliament which changed the house into a museum piece. At this time the estate became known locally as ‘the Gort Estate’. The accumulation of its history and architecture present a significant building and unique house in parkland setting which today is of significant intrinsic interest. 9. During the 1950s and 60s the Hamsterley Mill housing estate was developed on part of the country estate. Although (partly) occupied until 2006 as a family residence, by the 1960s the house was in a state of disrepair, particularly the service wings and bothy. The former owners purchased the property from the Lord Gort Estate in the late 1970s and occupied the principal rooms. A limited number of repair works were undertaken during this ownership, whilst stables, outbuildings and workshops were constructed for use in association with a joinery business. 10. The Hall itself is in a significant state of disrepair, with a large part of the Hall having been the subject of a controlled demolition in 2013 following a significant collapse. As such, having previously reflected the substantial alterations and extensions Page 2 undertaken in the 18 th and 19th centuries, the westernmost range has now been lost. Also forming part of the site is a partially collapsed Bothy building which was attached to the section of the Hall that was recently demolished. The Hall is a rare example of Georgian Gothic architecture, and has been on English Heritage’s Heritage at Risk Register since 2010. 11. Partly due to the deterioration of the building and the significant restoration costs the then owners put the property on the market in 2005. The present owners purchased a large proportion of the remaining estate in 2007. 12. Since the time of the previous application and subsequent appeal, the condition of the Hall has continued to deteriorate. Whilst steps have been taken to stabilise the structure using an internal scaffold system, the rearmost part of the building suffered a major collapse, and was the subject of controlled demolition to ensure that any further collapse did not undermine the attached bothy or central section of the Hall.