Hull Civic Society

Hull Civic Society

Comments on the Draft Historic Environment Strategy

We welcome and are generally in agreement with the thinking behind this important document.  We would, however, like to add our comments upon a few of the issues raised.

Part One

The Introduction summarises very well some of the beliefs which we share: that our heritage of historic buildings and streetscapes:

• provides a sense of place and local identity,
• is a fragile and finite resource and elements once lost cannot be recovered
• must be treated with sensitivity whenever any change is considered, so as to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy the city’s heritage.

We also welcome particularly the statement, in the chapter headed Definition and Scope, the conservation means “not sacrificing what future generations will value for the sake of short-term and sometimes illusory gains.”

Part Two: Issues and Action

Understanding

“In order to protect [the historic environment], we need to ensure the management of change is based on a shared understanding of its value and importance. The council has a key role in enhancing the public’s understanding of the city’s environment and heritage.”

Hull Civic Society’s activities illustrate some of the ways in which voluntary societies can also help to develop wider understanding of issues affecting Hull’s historic environment.  These include the award of Good Marks to celebrate good conservation work and good new buildings, public lectures, walks round historic parts of the city, visits, quizzes, Newletter articles, website contents, talks to outside groups and communications on planning applications,

Developing Partnerships

Hull Civic Society, with a membership of over 300, and communication with many more people and societies, is keen to build upon existing liaison with the city council over matters affecting the city’s historic environment.

We have worked in the past with the council on guides and leaflets highlighting historic buildings in the city and have been invited to work on a new Town Trail in the near future.

A – Historic Buildings

A1 – Statutory List Review

English Heritage engaged the help of Hull Civic Society in the last review, which increased the number of Hull’s listed buildings to over 450 in the 1990s.  We would be very willing to co-operate again on a further review, putting our local knowledge at their, and the council’s disposal.

A2 – Recognition / Local List

The members of Hull Civic Society contributed many of our suggestions for buildings to be included on the present Local List and we would be willing to co-operate again with the council and other voluntary and official bodies on a further review.

A3 – Buildings at Risk

“The future survival of a number of historic buildings on the statutory and local lists is under threat as a result of under-investment or neglect by building owners”

There are a number of such buildings in the city.  Examples include:

• The former Lambert Street Methodist Church (1894), disused since 1994.  A developer called  APS submitted a scheme for conversion to flats, which was approved in 1997, but no conversion work has ever taken place.
• The former School of Architecture, built as Blundell Street School (1878).  At least three applications have been submitted since 2004 for schemes to convert into 16 apartments with two adjacent new blocks, but no work has been done on either conversion or new build.  This building is very poorly protected from vandals and a danger to children at the neighbouring primary school.
• Former Methodist, later City Temple Pentecostal chapel (1888), closed in 1984, acquired by the Northern Theatre Company for conversion into a theatre, re-sold after the NTC moved to Anlaby Road, to a developer who submitted an application to convert the building into 6 apartments.  This was approved in July 2005, but no work has ever started.

It would appear that in all these cases the developers’ sympathetic planning applications for conversion have been submitted simply to increase the site value, so that it can be sold on “with planning permission”.  To the outsider, such developers appear to have no real intention of carrying out any restoration or conversion work, seeing more profit in resale of the site.  The result is that the listed buildings are left to decay, possibly in the hope that demolition will be permitted when the buildings become sufficiently decayed and the developer will then be left with a valuable clear site.

We appreciate that sometimes the financial climate affects the viability of schemes, but all three examples above were given planning permission long before the recession.

To safeguard the listed buildings, we believe that two options should be considered:

1) Attaching a condition to planning permission requiring work to start within an agreed timescale.

2) If the situation justifies it, giving the owner some help to bring the building back into some interim community or commercial use which would prevent further decay until the original scheme can be realised.

B – Conservation Areas

Background

The most successful conservation areas, such as Garden Village and The Avenues, are those where the residents are involved in planning and conservation matters and feel ownership of their own area.  The Conservation Areas Advisory Committee should in theory, be a vehicle for involvement, but are not always well attended, even, on occasions, by council staff.

One of the difficulties for maintaining the character of a conservation area such as Beverley Road or Spring Bank is that many of the users of the shops and other facilities there actually live in the side streets outside the conservation area boundaries.  These are, however, potentially the people who feel most ownership of their local shopping street.  We believe that there is a need to engage local residents’ interest and develop their appreciation of their conservation area.  Strategies which we believe can help to engage local interest include:

• Writing descriptive leaflets to draw people’s attention to the special historic and architectural features of each conservation area, similar to the ones produced for the Old Town, Garden Village and other early conservation areas.  There would be scope for involvement of local historians, interested local residents, residents’ associations and historical and conservation societies.  Hull Civic Society would be willing to be involved in this project.

• An “area website” for each conservation area, describing the character, history and architecture of the area, as well as practical advice on what development or alterations are permitted and how to maintain buildings in keeping with the character of the area.

• Holding occasional local CAAC meetings in each conservation area, so as to involve local residents.

• Arranging public historical walks in different conservation areas.  Hull Civic Society has often done this, some recent ones being in Beverley Road (from Blundell’s Corner to Stepney and from Stepney to Newland and return via Newland Avenue) and in the Sculcoates Conservation Area.

• Giving talks about Hull’s historic buildings to other groups.  Again, there are numerous speakers within and outside Hull Civic Society who are able to give such talks.

• Articles in local publications, such as the Advertiser, the Hull Daily Mail and the Journal about the special features of Hull’s conservation areas.

B1 Review of Existing Conservation Areas

B2  Designation of New Conservation areas

A review of existing conservation areas seems sensible.  Hull Civic Society would be willing to be involved in consultation.  It is important that owners of property within the conservation areas should understand and be able to comment on the proposals and encouraged to view the designation in a positive light.

If owners see conservation areas in a negative light, there is a danger that rumours of new conservation areas and conservation area boundary revisions could precipitate unnecessary demolitions to get rid of historic properties before they become protected.

B3  Conservation Area Character Statements

The descriptive leaflets mentioned above could be the starting point for character statements.  The task would be easier if local historians and societies such as Hull Civic Society were invited to participate in the drawing up of character statements.

B4  Article 4 Directions

After a review of Permitted Development, this needs to be made accessible and as widely known as possible, both in print and on the internet.

B5 Conservation Area Management Plans

Local residents and traders’ associations need to be involved as much as possible in these plans.

C – Historic Environment Records / Archaeology

While other groups are better qualified than Hull Civic Society to comment on medieval and earlier archaeology, we appreciate its significance and support the principle of protecting and recording archaeological sites and records.

Industrial Archaeology

The evidence of later periods includes industrial buildings, which are often undervalued by the general public and therefore more at risk.  There are a number of listed industrial buildings which form important evidence of Hull’s development.  Sculcoates Railway Goods Depot (Wincolmlee), the Hull Hydraulic Company’s power station (Machell Street), the British Extracting Company’s (later BOCM) Silo buildings (Foster Street), Simon Rosedowns ferro-concrete building (Caroline Street), High Flags Mill (Wincolmlee) and the Lord Line Building (St Andrew’s Dock) are just a few out of the many examples.  The fact that these buildings are in industrial areas, are functional in design and their purpose little understood by the general public, means that extra care is needed to ensure their survival.

An Industrial Archaeology Trail would help to raise public awareness. Hull Civic Society would be willing to be involved in such a project.

The National Picture Theatre, Beverley Road

English Heritage has recognised the significance of the National Picture Theatre ruins on Beverley Road as an important reminder of the bombing suffered by the city’s civilians in the Second World War and of the important role of cinemas during the war.  We believe that the city council should acknowledge that the listing is valid and that it is a significant archaeological site.

Foundation stones

Attention needs to be paid to the foundation stones of public buildings, churches and other buildings.  These are usually inscribed with the names of locally influential people present at the time of the stone-laying ceremony and form another kind of historical record, often forgotten.  These are often lost when the building is demolished.  A survey of inscribed foundation stones needs to be undertaken and recording the inscriptions should be a planning condition when development entails demolition.

Street “Roll of Honour” Memorials

The surviving examples of local First World War memorials, such as the one in Sharp Street, need to be recorded, protected and made more widely known.

D – Historic Parks / Gardens / Graveyards / Landscapes

These open spaces are valuable for many people and also for wildlife and need to be protected.  A local register may be something Civic Society members could be involved in creating.

E – Funding / Resource Management

E1 Conservation Fund, E2 External Funding and E3 Buildings at Risk

Hull Civic Society would welcome the establishment of a Conservation Fund.  It is most important that such a fund be made available to undertake urgent works on buildings at risk and that external funding sources be applied to, if needed to complete conservation work.

E4 Conservation Awards Scheme

While it is true that the council does not have its own Conservation Awards Scheme, Hull Civic Society has run its “Good Mark” Awards scheme since 1965 to celebrate and encourage good conservation practice, as well as good new building design.  The city council itself has been the recipient of a Good Mark on numerous occasions.

E5 Conservation Area Regeneration Schemes

The appearance of the city’s main radial roads does much to form visitors’ evaluation of Hull as a place to live and work.  The creation of Hessle Road, Spring Bank, Beverley Road and Beverley High Road Conservation Areas has been a step in the right direction on these particular routes, but regeneration is still needed to make the most of their historic character.  Regeneration is also needed in some of the other conservation areas, but the radial routes, whether designated as conservation areas or not, are Hull’s “shop window” upon which the city is most often judged.

F – Working with Others

F1 Working with External Bodies – Local

Hull Civic Society is committed to working with the council, other public bodies, other voluntary societies and local businesses on all matters affecting conservation and protection of Hull’s historic heritage.

We regard attendance at the Conservation Area Advisory Council as an important part of this dialogue.

G – Local Planning Policy and Practice

G1 Planning Policy

One of the most important activities of Hull Civic Society is to monitor planning applications for developments that have an impact upon the character of historic buildings and areas.  We welcome the council’s conservation policies and their incorporation into Area Action Plans, such as the Newington & St Andrews AAP.

G2 Development Control and Enforcement

Effective enforcement action where unauthorised works and breaches of conditions have taken place is an important deterrent.

G4 The Conservation Resource

We believe that without adequate resources being given to the Conservation Officer, the city’s conservation policies will simply not be effective enough to protect the city’s historic environment.  There is a great danger that when there is pressure to cut council spending, this may be seen as an easy target, but the consequences for the city’s assets could be devastating.  A review of resources is essential.

G5 Promote the adoption of the highest architectural standards for all new development in historic areas

Hull Civic Society has always campaigned for higher standards of architecture in new buildings.  Like the treatment of historic buildings, the quality of new buildings is a feature upon which visitors and people coming to do business in Hull judge the city.  While quality is essential in historic areas, all the routes into the city are judged in this way.

Some of the worst offenders in submitting poor-quality designs that are inappropriate for the proposed site are the large hotel and supermarket chains.  Two examples are the Campanile Hotel at the corner of Freetown Way and Beverley Road and Lidl supermarket in the Beverley Road Conservation Area at the corner of Beverley Road and Cottingham Road.  In both cases the buildings completely ignore the urban scale and corner-site design required for two of the most prominent junctions in the city.  Special care should be given in future to the quality of design and appropriateness of scale at all major road junctions, whether in conservation areas or not.

We believe that such developments should not be given permission without improved design just because they represent new investment, as these are the building that will form Hull’s character for many generations.

H – Corporate Responsibility

H1 Council-owned Heritage Assets

In general, Hull Civic Society recognises that Hull City Council has taken a very responsible attitude to the care and enhancement of its own historic buildings.  There is a danger that when these become surplus to the requirements of one department, for example some of the Victorian schools, there may be temptation to vacate them and put them on the market, rather than find a new council use.

H2 Highways and Public Realm

It is often such historic features as street furniture, road surfaces, pavements and kerbs that are lost or damaged in the course of road works and we agree that a survey of surviving features and a code of practice for their protection is needed.  The city’s character is often judged by survival of these small features.

Treatment of walls and boundaries between public realm and private property and planting of trees and shrubs can often mar or enhance historic environments.  This is an issue in which Hull Civic Society has recently taken a keen interest.

I – Skills

The training in appropriate skills for conservation work is a matter which could improve employment prospects and help the city’s economy.

J – Marketing the City

Hull’s museums can, and do play a very important role in inspiring local people with an interest in the city’s historic heritage.

Hull Civic Society has always regarded Hull’s historic assets as having economic importance for the city’s future.  We are committed to working with the council and other interested parties on the production of historic information, leaflets, ideas for more blue plaques, public guided walks within the city, our own programme of public lectures and giving talks to outside groups about the city’s heritage.

John Scotney

Vice Chairman, Hull Civic Society.

8^th December 2009