Heritage plea to save ex-nurses’ home looks set to be bulldozed
DERBY planning officials are recommending a development to build an 80-bed care home and retirement apartments should go-ahead despite concerns from heritage experts.
The application from Leeds-based developers Torsion Care, which will be heard by Derby City Council’s planning control committee on Thursday, includes the demolition of two 1930s buildings on the former Kingsway Hospital site.
This has resulted in the city council conservation officer lodging an objection to the demolition of Bramble House, which is a locally listed building and is a heritage asset, on heritage grounds.
The officer’s objection goes on to state: “There is a limited statement of significance and justification and lack of consideration of retention and adaptive reuse. I object on heritage grounds as well as the quality of the design of the replacement and scheme.”
A similar view is also expressed by the city’s Conservation Area Advisory Committee, which has considered the issue twice at its meetings and concluded that Bramble House could be retained and converted for future use.
The committee resolved to object to the application and said: “This proposal will result in the loss of a locally listed building. Bramble House is of a scale and nature of development that lends itself to sensitive modification to achieve suitable accommodation that could be used as a care home and extra care assisted living units. The case for demolition is extremely weak.”
Derby Civic Society has also objected strongly, claiming the new plans signify developers “are once again trying it on to save on costs”.
Bramble House was once used by the former hospital to house nurses and was included in Derby City’s 2009 Local List, meaning it was of “considerable merit”.
Historian Maxwell Craven said: “Demolition, therefore, should be a measure of last resort, and every avenue towards the preservation of the building in a scheme being proposed to the authority should be rigorously evaluated.
“In the present case, the replacement building is intended as a care home, and in view of the original use of the building proposed for demolition, we would have thought that it would lend itself ideally for incorporation in such a scheme as one of the intended ranges.”
The officer’s report going to the committee says the application is supported by detailed building inspection reports that conclude Bramble House is in a poor physical condition and a substantial refurbishment would be needed to bring it back into a good standard fit for occupation.
Details of refurbishment for occupation estimates are sited as approximately £2 million for Bramble House and £165,000 for Braemar, the other building on the site earmarked for demolition. The reports conclude that the refurbishment cost of the buildings alone produces a significant constraint on viability of any proposal to reuse.
Planning committee members will also be asked to consider that if the development goes ahead, it will stop a five hectare business park, which is highlighted in the local plan, from going ahead.
In recommending that the application is given permission, the officer report adds: “In reaching a balanced judgement on the loss of the two heritage assets, consideration must be given to whether the harm from that loss can be outweighed by other material considerations and planning benefits provided by the development.”
The planning control committee will be live on the city council’s YouTube channel from 6pm on Thursday.