URGENT
BUSINESS (3)
ISLE OF WIGHT DEVELOPMENT CONTROL COMMITTEE
TUESDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2004
REPORT OF THE HEAD OF PLANNING SERVICES
DEMOLITION OF MORNINGTON, QUEENS ROAD, COWES
To advise Committee of the circumstances surrounding the demolition of Mornington on Friday, 12 November.
Mornington was an early Victorian house set in its own grounds at the corner of Queens Road and Mornington Road.
The property was in need of repair and refurbishment.
The property was sold to its current owner on 29 October 2004.
As a result of local residents pressing for the listing of the building the Department for Culture, Media and Sport listed the building on 8 December 2003. Following a subsequent appeal the Department took the unusual step of de-listing the building.
The Department was then invited by local residents to reconsider this decision. This application was unsuccessful with the Department concluding that there were no grounds to re-open the case on the basis of the material submitted.
Proper notification was received for the demolition under the Building Act.
An application for a prior determination was submitted on 13 October 2004 pursuant to the General Permitted Development Order 1995. In effect the application was contending that planning permission was not required for the demolition of the building, and that the works would be permitted development.
On 22 October 2004 your officers wrote to the applicants indicating that it would be necessary for a formal application for planning permission to be made to demolish Mornington and that its demolition did not constitute permitted development under the 1995 Order.
A detailed response was sent on 8 November 2004 by solicitors acting for the current owner disputing this assertion.
The property was demolished without further warning on the morning of 12 November 2004.
The Cowes Conservation Area was first designated in 1969 and was extended in 1991.
A series of further extensions to the Conservation Area have been the subject of recent consultation, one of which includes Mornington and other properties to the west of the existing boundary.
A report will be submitted to the Executive on 1 December recommending extension of the Conservation Area.
Members will be aware that permission is required to demolish buildings in conservation areas.
The circumstances surrounding the demolition of the building are both unusual and unfortunate.
At the time of its demolition the property was not within a conservation area, and the correct procedure was followed in respect of the Building Act. The property was not listed, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport took a decision on 12 November 2004 not to list the building.
At the time of its demolition there was a dialogue underway between your officers and solicitors acting for the owner on whether planning permission or the prior notification procedure was the correct course of action given the condition of the building.
It would appear that there is little if any action which the Council can pursue in this instance. An Enforcement Notice requiring the rebuilding of the property would be unrealistic and unreasonable given the condition of the property at the time of its demolition.
Your officers understand that an application is pending for the redevelopment of the site. This will need to be processed in accordance with UDP policies, and the context that is likely to be provided by the extended conservation area.
It is recommended that Members note the report outlined above, and accept that it would be inappropriate to take any further action on this matter.
Andrew Ashcroft
Head of Planning Services