Property History

St Monica’s House was first built by Mr and Mrs Turnbull who presented the property to the Waifs and Strays’ Society when the building had been constructed on the 9th August 1911. The newly built home for girls was to stand as a memorial for Mr and Mrs Turnbull’s two deceased daughters, Monica and Dorothea. Just over a month later the premises was full to capacity with 22 young girls aged from 5-16 years-old and 6 older girls. Mr and Mrs Turnbull continued to play a key role in the everyday workings of the St Monica’s House girls home, the couple were considered as Mother and Father figures to the children in the home.

36 years after the properties original construction the home began to specialise in caring for physically disabled children, this continued until the 1970s. Improvements were made to the home in 1966 to facilitate the properties continued use (thought to be in the form of the side extension present today).

The use of the property continued to be adapted becoming a private day school during the 1980s and most recently offices in the early 2000s.

Project Overview – St Monica’s House

Given the recent development of Ashbourne Airfield, the need for office space closer to the heart of the town is a lot less sought after and with Windmill Lane being predominantly private residencies, our client saw the opportunity to convert the premises from the current office use to 8 residential apartments.

The premises is within the Settlement of Ashbourne, a sustainable Market Town location.

Challenges

In this case, prior approval was sought from Derbyshire Dales District Council to convert the offices to residential apartments. With a prior approval application, the council can only consider the matters of noise, odour, waste handling, opening hours, transport and highways, siting, design, external appearance, contamination risks, flooding risks and air quality where relevant.

In the case of this development the highway concerns were raised due to the increase use of the site access, car park and need for car parking spaces were raised. Due to the wide access, and sufficient supply of car parking spaces the council did not see reason to refuse the development on this basis.

The only other constraint which challenged our proposal was the Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) present on the site. These trees are seen to have a positive impact on the character and appearance of the street scene and are therefore protected by the council. Whilst the preservation of trees is very important this was not a planning consideration for a prior approval application for the change of use of the property, as this is very unlikely to have an adverse impact on the health of the trees. The challenge to our application on the grounds of the protection of these trees was dropped but it was noted that these trees must be protected whilst any works on the site, to facilitate the change of use, take place.

Conclusion

Thankfully, with a supportive local authority (Derbyshire Dales District Council), we were able to secure a planning consent for St Monica’s House in October 2024. Permission was granted for the change of use of a business premises to 8 residential units. The 8 apartments will be spaced across all 3 floors of the building, both maximising the buildings potential and providing spacious apartments for either 1 or 2 people.

The original proposal will reintroduce the residential use St Monica’s House once had and secure the future of this non-designated heritage asset for the foreseeable, preventing it from falling into disuse.

Key Contacts

Jon Millhouse is a Chartered Town Planner and member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC).

Planning & Design Practice Ltd are a team of Planning Consultants and Architects, based in Derby and Sheffield, who specialise in heritage projects. We recognise that historic buildings and landscapes are intrinsic to our sense of place and identity, and have considerable experience of developments involving Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and World Heritage sites.

We have an in-house team of consultants, conservation architects and architectural technicians who ensure that proposals are designed sympathetically to conserve and enhance historic buildings and sites.
We have worked on numerous schemes affecting Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. We have the expertise and specialist knowledge to achieve success with your project regardless of its size.

For more information on this project at St Monica’s House or to discuss your own property please contact us on 01332 347371 or email enquiries@planningdesign.co.uk