Rooftop units not ‘necessary’

On behalf of the Canterbury Society, committed to protecting the heritage of the City, I am writing in response to the piece in the Kentish Gazette [‘’It’s wrecking city skyline’’, October 1].

In this, the CCCU spokeswoman discusses the design of the university’s new STEM building. We are surprised by the design of this building in view of the fact it is in breach of planning regulations. She says the building’s form, scale and rooftop equipment are inevitably necessary because of the need for artificial ventilation. This is not the case.

Firstly, natural ventilation has been used for a number of notable buildings around the UK which have very high ventilation requirements, such as theatres and lecture theatres and, indeed, laboratories — so to state that ‘natural ventilation was not an option’ is simply not true. Secondly, the building has windows that cannot be opened solely because it was designed as such. It could have been designed with openable windows, and a narrow plan, allowing natural ventilation to be enjoyed. As a result, installed rooftop plant was unnecessary. This could have been avoided by designing the building for natural ventilation, with any residual requirement for air handling plant, if any, located out of sight. Thirdly, and most importantly, there is no mention of the fact that CCCU is located between St Augustine’s Abbey and St Martin’s Church — two historic sites of international significance. They are so important that they have been designated as World Heritage Sites. Any new buildings that affect the sight lines between these historic buildings should always be designed to protect and enhance views across the city, rather than damaging them. CCCU claims it recognises the ‘importance of its surrounding heritage’. This scheme suggests there is little evidence of this. The proposals for the rooftop artificial ventilation plant does not have planning permission. We ask CCCU to think again! Keith Bothwell

For and on behalf of The Canterbury Society