Heritage guardians issue fresh advice over Mytton & Mermaid car park plan
Historic England have issued fresh advice over plans for a new car park at a popular pub and restaurant.
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The heritage guardians have provided another response to the proposed new car park for the Mytton & Mermaid at Atcham, near Shrewsbury.
The plan is to use a field across the River Severn as a car park, with space for 93 cars.
The site would be accessed off the B4380, with customers then expected to walk across the historic Atcham footbridge to get to the venue.
It would also be monitored by ANPR to ensure it is only used by customers of the pub.
A back and forth over the plan has taken place since it was submitted in November last year, with both the National Trust and Historic England writing to voice concerns at the proposal.
They outlined worries about the impact of the development on the listed buildings and the historic nature of Atcham, describing a potential 'urbanising effect'.
Specifically Historic England said it was worried about the effect on heritage sites St Eata’s Church, Atcham Bridge, and Attingham Hall Entrance Lodges.
The applicant has made a number of changes to the proposal in an attempt to address the concerns and last month, an update note from Berrys, the planning agents acting on behalf of the Mytton & Mermaid's owners, Brunning & Price, urged Shropshire Council to approve the proposal.
They argued that the plan would cause 'less than substantial harm' to the local heritage sites, and said it would be down to planning officers or councillors to balance whether the 'significant public benefits' outweigh the impact.
Now Historic England has accepted that it will be down to the council to balance the benefits against the drawbacks in making a decision.
In its latest letter it said the changes to the plan were an improvement.
It said: "The submitted Heritage Technical Note by Berry’s is noted. The Local Authority’s Conservation Officer position is noted, with regards to the proposed reduced and repositioned car park (including the revised access point) and further landscape mitigation measures.
"We generally concur that this shall be an improvement, whilst acknowledging that there would still be ‘less than substantial harm' upon the setting of Atcham Bridge (grade II* listed), along with an urbanising effect on what is currently a rural pastoral landscape."
A decision on the proposal will be taken at a later date.
