‘It’s wrecking city skyline’

The city’s historic skyline has been blighted by ugly air conditioning units on top of a new university building, say heritage watchdogs.

Critics claim the equipment has been installed without planning permission on the roof of the new £65 million facility at Canterbury Christ Church University, ruining special views of world heritage sites across the city.

Architect Nick Blake and the Canterbury Society have both complained to the city council and the university.

Mr Blake said: “This is the largest array of hi-tech plant I have ever seen.

“It seems there has been no planning control of these additions by architects or project managers.

“A skilled building designer would have worked with a team of technical experts to ensure that any equipment would have been incorporated into the built form.

“The variety of very intrusive plant that has been installed has wrecked the skyline and extends for the complete length of the building. It is also very intrusive into the whole area including North Holmes Road.” The rooftop installation on the

STEM building, which is dedicated to science, technology, engineering and medicine, is also concerning the Canterbury Society whose architectural advisor Keith Bothwell who branded it an “eyesore”. “It is a travesty of planning process and I find it quite extraordinary that it has been done,” he said. “Canterbury is unique in having three Unesco world heritage sites and this is an unacceptable blight on the skyline which is incredibly intrusive.

“It may be very expensive for the university to put right but we will be urging the council to deal with it with the strongest possible rigour.”

City council spokesman Rob Davies says the plant equipment does not have planning permission and the authority is “in discussion with the university about how to resolve the matter.”

Critics say the plant equipment on the building’s rooftop is a blight on the city skyline; right, a CGI of the STEM building with no such equipment in sight