A new row is looming over the fight to turn a former gym at the back of Bridgnorth’s historic Bishop Percy’s House into four homes overlooking the river.
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An appeal against the district council’s refusal to allow the development has been lodged with the Government’s planning inspectorate.
But nearby Cartway residents, who object to the scheme, claimed yesterday that the new homes would “stick out like a sore thumb and be totally out of place.”
The district council refused the application in January because of the impact the development would have on the Conservation Area and surrounding listed buildings.Objections were made by 17 neighbours and the town council.
“Having gained consent for the conversion of Bishop Percy’s House into three apartments, there was then an opportunity to replace the large and unattractive gym with something far more interesting and worthy of this unique location,” said planning consultant Mike Harris of I D Architects (Midlands) Ltd.
“In spite of the enthusiastic support of the Government’s own conservation watchdog, English Heritage, and extensive discussions with council officers, it is obviously disappointing to discover that councillors are clearly of the opinion that modernist architecture has no place in Bridgnorth,” he added.
“The scheme reflects the riverside location and quality of the important historic setting,” said Vic Johnson of architects Johnson Design Partnership.
“I very much regret the low quality of recent schemes given consent in Bridgnorth and particularly the large scale residential ones that I believe would be equally at home in Brookside or Essex.
“I believe they do not reflect the quality of Bridgnorth in any way, nor developments in design since the early 1970s,” he said.
But a Cartway resident, who asked not to be named, said of the controversial plans:“These homes would stick out like a sore thumb and be totally out of place, ruining the character of the area.
“The architect has come up with a scheme that would be more suited to a modern environment. We want to try to get ride of an eyesore from the early 60s and I would like to see it replaced by a sensitive feature.”
Another neighbour said: “This is a very sensitive area and it is not the right place for such a development.”