Council team won't object to Shrewsbury Travelodge next to 'lucky' iconic building
A council's historic environment team will not stand in the way of a controversial 83-bed Travelodge being built - despite it sitting next to one of Shropshire's most iconic old buildings.
The plan for a budget hotel and retail complex on the Barker Street car park in Shrewsbury town centre has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, particularly due to its proximity to the Grade II-listed Rowley's House and Mansion.
However, Shropshire Council's historic environment team said Rowley's House only has visual prominence because it was lucky to be spared demolition from the mid 20th century.
A report acknowledges "significant" opposition to the plan, but the team will not be objecting to it.
It says: "Officers are mindful that the Masterplan Vision for the Shrewsbury Big Town Plan advocates the reintroduction of built form into the surface car parks adjoining Barker Street and St Austin’s Street, including the present development site.
"Likewise, whilst many of the surrounding streets retain their close-grained plots and high-quality townscape, the 20th century clearances and demolitions on what are now the car park sites have left ‘voids’ in the townscape and overall urban grain of this area of the town.
"As a consequence, officers consider that the existing ‘black top’ surface car parks create poor quality, car-dominated spaces which, together with the exposed steelwork on the unfinished side elevations of the Claremont Baptist Church, make a negative contribution to the character and appearance of this part of the conservation area and to the setting, and thereby the significance, of Rowley’s House and Mansion.
"As such, there are no in principle objections to development on the application site on historic environment grounds.
"Since the withdrawal of the previous application and during the current application officers have sought to work positively with the applicant to improve the design of the proposed development. Despite this, officers acknowledge that the current application has attracted a significant level of objection, including from the Shrewsbury Civic Society, albeit in their most recent that the latter body does recognise that the applicant has made ‘genuine attempts’ to improve the design and break down the mass of the building.
"Historic England has also expressed concerns about the proposed development in their consultation responses. Officers note, however, that whilst they have raised issues throughout about the design, Historic England have not objected outright to the development, instead advising that the planning decision wrests with the local planning authority. This includes ensuring that the relevant local and national policy tests relating to the historic environment set out above are appropriately applied."
The report adds: "This is an area that was subject to large scale clearance and successive demolition works between the 1930s and 1960s, which removed a close-grained townscape comprising medieval tenement plots containing densely packed buildings, separated by narrow courts, yards and alleyways. Historic maps and pre-clearance photographs indicate that the Barker Street frontage was previously occupied by a continues frontage of predominantly three storey buildings, extending from the Mermaid Public House, on the corner of Claremont Street, past Rowley’s House, to the junction with Bridge Street.
"The Grade II-listed Rowley’s House and Mansion is located immediately adjacent to the northern boundary of the proposed development site, which consequently falls within its setting. In summary, this complex comprises a substantial late 16th century, three-storey building with attic, adjoining an early 17th century brick mansion house built by the draper and merchant William Rowley of Worfield. The significance of these buildings therefore derive from their architectural, historic and archaeological interest.
"Prior to the clearance this was surrounded by buildings and have only achieved their current visual prominence within the existing townscape as a consequence of being fortuitously spared from mid-20th century demolitions.
"Other Grade II-listed buildings stand opposite the site, on the west side of Barker Street; east of the site fronting onto Mardol; and north of Hills Lane. In addition, many of the surrounding unlisted buildings are considered to comprise non-designated heritage assets that make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area."
The report also states there is "high archaeological potential" for the area, with the likelihood of medieval deposits, and recommends the ground is explored before the development is built.
It adds: "In archaeological terms, the proposed development site is located within Shrewsbury Deposit Zone XV – Mardol-Barker Street. Both the Heritage Impact Assessment that has been submitted with this application, and previous archaeological assessments of the car park, have highlighted the very high likelihood that deposits associated with the pre-clearance townscape and associated buildings to survive across the proposed development site. These include the former Ship Inn.
"Previous investigations also include a ground penetrating radar survey and trail trenching exercise, the latter of which confirmed the presence of medieval deposits c. 0.9 – 1.8m below the present ground surface in two trenches west and north of the Claremont Baptist Church. As consequence the proposed development site is considered to have high-very high archaeological potential."
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