BaR News Round-Up - February 2023

The annual update of the register has kicked off this month in the South West and we have a number of interesting stories to report and some notable successes.

To see full entries and use the search facilities on the register, it is necessary to be a Friend or Saviour.  We also regularly write about entries in BaR News to give a snapshot of both positive and negative changes on the register.

Newark Works, Bath Quays, Lower Bristol Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3DQ - WORKS COMPLETED

The Newark Works (also known as the Former Stothert and Pitt Building) was built in 1857 to the designs of Thomas Fuller whose work is more common in his native Canada. It was added to the BaR in 2008 but was not until 2017 when a scheme was approved for the site for conversion to business and innovation hub. SAVE objected to the original iteration of the proposal and the ultimate scheme still resulted in the loss of some interesting original features.  Howerver, works have now been completed. The restoration revealed stone walls and introduced CorTen staircases to emphasize the industrial history of the buildings. 

Cleveland Pools, Hampton Row, Bath, Somerset, BA2 6QS - SAVED AND REOPENED

We have written about this success story before, but it is too good not to mention again.  Britain's oldest 'lido’ built in 1815, this Georgian public swimming bath is a rare survivor and has been influential in the design of twentieth-century outdoor pools. In 2006 its listed building status was raised from II to II*. After many years of sitting derelict, the Cleveland Pools Trust (CPT) received funding from the HLF (Heritage Lottery Fund) and now SAVE are pleased to report that the pools have been successfully restored and was opened to the public last year.

Primitive Methodist Chapel, Queen Street, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 4DZ  - DETERIORATING AND AT RISK

This unlisted chapel was built in 1876 to house the Primitive Methodist congregation in Gillingham.  Despite its relatively small proportions, the design of the chapel is deliberately grand with the front façade flanked by two towers supported by mock buttresses and topped with pyramidal roofs.  The chapel has been standing empty and boarded up for some time and there are recent reports of vandalism.  There is a lapsed permission for conversion to 6 flats but it could be suitable for a range of uses and is situated on a pleasant road near the centre of this well connected town near to Shaftesbury, Bruton and beautiful countryside. 

Brewers Quay, Hope Square, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 8TR - NEW SCHEME ON HORIZON

Brewer’s Quay is a magnificent Grade II (LEN:1142300) complex of buildings built in 1903/4 and located in Hope Square in Weymouth, a site with a long history of brewing dating from the 13th century.  In the 1990s the brewery was successfully converted in an award winning scheme of shops, a restaurant and (Weymouth) museum were added. Sadly, the brewery buildings changed hands many times since then unitl a developer acquired it and then went into liquidation after which the condition of the building went into serious decline.

New owners acquired it in 2021.  They have now secured the building and are pushing ahead with the previously consented plans (WP/18/00298/FUL) for the building but with  some modifications (see P/VOC/2023/00341).  The scheme involves 47 residential units, 3 retails units and accomodation for the museum with additional exhibition and cultural space.  The developer wants to start work in the spring of 2023.

Cattistock Lodge, Maiden Newton, Dorset DT2 0JL - REVISED PROPOSAL UNDER CONSIDERATION

This highly attractive unlisted country house in generous grounds appeared on the cover of our 2018 catalogue "Revive and Survive".  In 2021 an application (ref: P/FUL/2021/01882) for the conversion of the house to 7 residential units was made after a previous scheme was withdrawn. However the 2021 scheme was refused as it provided insufficient analysis of its ecological impact and failed to satisfy the requirements for affordable housing.  A new scheme is now under consideration see (ref: P/FUL/2022/05175) .  The conservation officer is broadly supportive but has proposed a number of improvements and detailed conditions relating to the retention of fabric, materials and other elements of the proposals.