Elvaston Castle Archives - Planning Design Ltd

Heritage Project Update – Spring 2022

30th January 202422nd March 2022 by Gary Stringer

Buildings symbolising the heritage of towns, Spring

Jon Millhouse, both a Chartered Town Planner and a Full Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, with a specialist interest in Historic Building Conservation provides his Spring update on several of the interesting heritage and conservation projects that Planning & Design Practice are currently engaged with.

As 2022 starts, with a sense of cautious optimism as we learn to live with Covid and embrace the new normal of the pandemic, it’s been rewarding to see progress being made on a number of the Heritage projects that the team here at Planning & Design Practice are working on.

It’s a great step forward for the project that planning/ listed building applications for the first phase of the proposed £35 million restoration and transformation of Elvaston Castle Country Park have been submitted to both Derbyshire County Council and South Derbyshire District Council.

The proposals aim to reverse decades of under investment and secure the future of the 321-acre Derbyshire estate, which includes the historic Grade II* listed gardens. The proposals include the conversion and extension of existing buildings to create new and improved commercial, recreational and educational uses and the construction of a new roundabout, access drive, delivery drive and car park.

We are working with Derbyshire County Council and Elvaston Castle and Garden Trust, together with the National Trust as Heritage Planning Consultants on the project.

A comprehensive public consultation exercise was undertaken in the Autumn of last year and members of the public can view the application, plans and the other documents submitted at Derbyshire County Council, County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3AG, online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk or at the Planning Department, South Derbyshire District Council, Civic Way, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0AH.

We are pleased to be working with Belper Rugby Club to secure planning permission for an extension to their club house. This is set within an historic context being located within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, next to Grade II listed Babington Hospital. The hospital, which was previously the Belper Workhouse was designed by the famous Architect George Gilbert Scott, who also co-designed the Houses of Parliament. Founded by teachers and pupils from Belper High School in 1975, we’re looking forward to playing a part in the future of the Club.

Having worked on the original in 2013, we are pleased to have been asked to write an updated version of the Ripley Neighbourhood plan, with the town council to consult on this new draft. The Neighbourhood Area covers the whole of the parish of Ripley and sets out planning policies for this area until 2028. The Ripley Neighbourhood Plan forms part of the Development Plan for the area and will be used through the planning process to assess future development proposals. We have included some new policies with the aim of recognising the, to my mind, the often-overlooked heritage of this town within the Amber Valley.

Having obtained reserved matters approval last Autumn for a new shop, cafe, and plant sales area at Glapwell Nurseries, we are pleased to see that work has started on the construction of 64 new homes on the site by our client Meadowview Homes, for which we also achieved reserved matters approval. A Derbyshire based bespoke house builder Meadowview have purchased and will be developing the residential part of the approved Glapwell Nurseries development. The sensitive redevelopment of the site will also see the restoration of a Grade II listed, 11th Century Bothy, the protection of an historic wall and a new public art installation to celebrate sites history.

For updates on these projects and more information on all things planning and architecture related, as well as expert advice and opinion, sign up to receive our free Monthly Newsletter.

Jon Millhouse, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

The benefits of heritage conservation

28th November 20228th February 2022 by Gary Stringer

In an article originally written for the winter edition of ACES Terrier Magazine, our Director and Heritage Specialist Jon Millhouse discusses the benefits of Heritage Conservation and outlines compelling arguments why heritage buildings should be cherished.

There are 400,000 listed buildings, 10,000 conservation areas, 1600 registered parks and gardens and 18 World Heritage sites in England.

Our planning policies are designed to protect our built and cultural heritage. But why? Does this stand in the way of social progress and economic growth?

Does keeping drafty old buildings in use fly in the face of our aspiration to tackle climate change?

The conservation movement started in the late 19 century and gathered pace through the 20th century, a reaction perhaps to the widespread loss of historic buildings to wartime bombs and post war ‘improvements’.

Certainly, as a society, we are enthralled by our heritage. A whopping 75.8 million visits were made to 725 historic visitor attractions in 2018 / 19 (Historic England 2019). Heritage provides a sense of familiarity, stability and permanence in our ever changing world. Historic places tend to be unique and distinctive, and consistently attract people to live, work and play. But they are capable of delivering more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling. There are tangible economic, social and environmental benefits to be gained from the conservation and restoration of our historic environment.

Historic England tell us that the heritage sector is worth £36.6 billion annually to the UK economy, supporting 563,509 jobs, and contributing more than the aerospace, arts or defence sectors (Heritage Counts 2020).

I have seen first hand the contribution which can be made when an under used and unloved historic building is imaginatively reused, for example helping to obtain listed building consent to convert the disused former Derby central post office to a buzzing city centre office hub. I am currently part of a team aiming to fulfil the economic potential of Elvaston Castle, Derbyshire, through a restoration and redevelopment scheme which will sustain the Country Park estate’s long-term future, bringing new uses, events and activities, inward investment and jobs.

Our economy is diversifying. Tourism and visitor spending is increasingly important. Historic places are being used creatively to fulfil this demand. At Planning & Design Practice we have helped clients deliver a wide variety of creative reuse schemes from tree house retreats at Callow Hall, Ashbourne, to a gin distillery and car museum at Alderwasley Mills, Ambergate, to a sheep’s milk creamery at Crich.

But value to society is not of course measured only in financial terms. Heritage has the potential to deliver many social benefits too. According to Historic England, arts and heritage social prescribing has demonstrated a high return on public investment through health benefits. People who visit heritage sites are 2.76% more likely to report good health than those who do not and are consequently less likely to require the use of healthcare services.

Elvaston has huge potential to improve the physical and mental health, and cultural well- being of the thousands of potential visitors who live close by. The redevelopment scheme aims to open up hitherto inaccessible parts of the castle and reach out to hard to reach groups in deprived wards in nearby Derby through events and improved community engagement.

And what about environmental impacts? Many heritage sites have huge potential for rewilding, tree planting and biodiversity enhancement, something which will become increasingly important as the new environment act takes effect in the coming years. At Elvaston we are utilising the country park estate to introduce new hedgerow planting, wetlands, wildflower meadows and woodlands.

Improving the thermal performance of poorly insulated buildings is another huge challenge we face as a society. With Britain having the oldest domestic building stock in Europe it might be reasonably assumed that we are ill prepared to meet the challenge of reducing our energy needs in order to tackle climate change. But before we embark on a programme of mass replacement of historic buildings with more energy efficient ones, we must consider the problem more holistically. Think of the embedded energy in an older building and the energy needed to construct a replacement. Older buildings have often proven themselves to be adaptable and durable through time. A replacement building if short lived and needing to be replaced again in a few years time, will not save carbon in the long run. We are increasingly learning how to improve the thermal performance of older buildings sensitively; that must surely be the priority. I often encourage clients to reuse and improve older buildings where possible, even if their first instinct is to demolish and replace. When the decision is taken to restore and re-use an older building, it is seldom regretted. One such example is Oakland’s, a Victorian villa in the Strutt’s Park conservation area, Derby.

The national planning policy framework tells us that the purpose of the planning system is to achieve sustainable development, and that sustainable development can be defined as having 3 strands, economic, social and environmental. Heritage conservation and restoration can achieve all of these, and so is a worthwhile endeavour in my book.

Jon Millhouse, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Jon is both a Chartered Town Planner and a Full Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, with a specialist interest in Historic Building Conservation.

2021 – a year in review: Looking ahead to 2022

28th November 202215th December 2021 by Gary Stringer

As 2021 draws to a close, Richard Pigott, Director of Planning & Design Practice looks back to review what has certainly been an interesting year, and looks ahead to the opportunities of 2022.

It’s been another eventful year in the world of the built environment and, closer to home, for Planning & Design itself. The appetite to develop land and buildings or, for many people, make better use of what we have has led to continued strong demand for planning and architectural services.

The Planning White Paper, published in August 2020, promised the biggest shake-up of the planning system since the Second World War. However, there has been a re-think following the Tories’ Chesham and Amersham by-election defeat where planning dominated the campaign, with the electorate concerned that the proposed changes would make the planning system less democratic with less opportunities for communities to participate. There is a general consensus that the system needs to change but a good place to start would be to better fund local planning departments. They have struggled to cope with the perfect storm of ever-tightening purse strings, Covid-related impacts on working schedules and practices and a significant upturn in numbers of planning applications, meaning decision timescales are impossible to predict.

After the pandemic in 2020 (and, alas, this seemingly never-ending story has a few more chapters to run), perhaps the biggest news story of 2021 has been the climate emergency. Whilst we, in the UK, are not on the frontline of extreme weather it is affecting our lives right here, right now. The debate reached a fever pitch when the UK hosted the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in the autumn. But how did the conference perform? Is 1.5 (degrees) still alive? And do we now have reason to be optimistic on climate change? According to the general consensus, some significant gains were made but they were not as game changing as many hoped for. This is perhaps not surprising when the leaders of two of the biggest emitters, China and Russia, did not even attend the conference. As COP26 drew to a close, warming of under 2 degrees is potentially in reach, and almost 90 per cent of global emissions are now covered by a net-zero target.

At a policy level, whilst some local planning authorities are adopting their own supplementary planning documents on tackling climate change, Local Plans are often weak or sometimes even silent on the matter and its disappointing to see how little the revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) addressed the climate emergency when it was published in July. This is out of step with public opinion – latest opinion polling by Opinium shows that 66% of people are in favour of connecting planning rules to climate change targets, so that all new development needs to pass tests to make sure they are environmentally friendly. Furthermore, first-hand experience tells me that local councillors are now considering the issue in virtually every decision they make. So, there are clear signs that the political will to ‘do something’ at the local level is gathering momentum even where the policy justification lags behind.

On another positive note, the Environment Act 2021 has recently been passed into law and this will, amongst many other things, from November 2023 require all planning permissions larger than householder permissions to deliver 10% biodiversity net gains (BNG) in as part of the overall development. If there is no scope to provide the relevant net gains on-site, then developers will be able to deliver off-site compensation through local habitat creation.

Again, many local authorities are not prepared to wait another 2 years for this to happen and we are encouraging our clients to deliver 10% BNG wherever possible.

For PDP, we have had an eventful year and more details can be found on the News page on our website. Particular highlights for me include the successful appeal for the extension to Denby Hall Business Park. This was a lengthy public inquiry, and we were able to demonstrate that very special circumstances did exist for development within the Green Belt, including the economic benefits of significant job creation and retention. At Ashbourne Airfield, work on the construction of the new link road is nearly complete, paving the way for the development of around 8 hectares of employment land and hundreds of new homes in phase 1 alone. Also, on the outskirts of Ashbourne, Callow Hall opened its doors again following a £7 million investment which we helped to achieve planning consent on over 2-3 years. Such has been the success of the project that it was awarded the Sunday Times Hotel of the Year for 2021.

On the subject of awards, we were thrilled to be Highly Commended in the recent RTPI East Midlands Awards for Excellence in Planning Delivery 2021 for our work on the Chase Farm scheme in Ambergate. A trio of our clients – Wildhive, Chevin Homes and Morley Hayes were also celebrating awards successes; the first venture for Wildhive, Derbyshire hotel Callow Hall was crowned the UK’s best place to stay by Sunday Times, Chevin Homes won ‘Residential Development of the Year’ at the East Midlands Business Link ‘Brick Awards’ 2021 for Chase Farm, and Morley Hayes carried away two awards at the 13th Derby Food and Drink Awards.

We can also celebrate the continued growth of the architectural team, reinforcing our ability to offer the complete service from concept to completion on a range of projects including bespoke Class Q barn conversions, city centre office-to-residential conversions and large-scale new housing schemes. The Sheffield office also continues to grow and consolidate its position within the Yorkshire region.

Looking towards 2022, lets hope for something a little more ‘normal’, whatever that means. We will continue to strive for ever more sustainable development and hope to see many of you in person over the next 12 months. I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Richard Pigott, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Plans for Elvaston Castle transformation to be submitted

20th June 20227th December 2021 by Gary Stringer

Planning applications for the first phase of the proposed £35 million restoration and transformation of Elvaston Castle Country Park are set to be submitted.

Final touches have been added to proposals to reverse decades of under investment and secure the future of the 321-acre Derbyshire estate, which includes the historic Grade II-listed gardens.

It follows a comprehensive public consultation exercise and many months of work by Derbyshire County Council and Elvaston Castle and Garden Trust, working with the National Trust.

Elvaston Castle, a gothic revival masterpiece lies at the heart of approximately 321 acres of open parkland, woodland and more formal historical gardens. Designed by James Wyatt in the early 1800s and based on the original house dating back to 1633, it was once the home of the Earls of Harrington. The Stanhope family and 11th earl finally left the estate in 1939 at the onset of the war. During the War, Elvaston housed a teacher training college and in 1964 the estate was put up for sale. It was purchased by Needlers (subsequently part of Tarmac Roadstone UK), a mineral extraction company, with the central core of the estate subsequently being sold to Derbyshire County Council and Derby Borough Council in 1969, saving it from being exploited as a series of gravel pits.

In 1970 the park was officially designated a country park and opened to the public.

The plans include a new café, regenerating the stables for retail, catering, exhibitions and office use, as well as new accommodation and workshops for site staff and volunteers.

Regeneration of the site, will ensure it will remain a free at the point of entry country park, and is expected to create more than 170 new jobs and increase the number of visitors from its current 240,000 a year once it is restored to its former glory.

The money for the project will come from a mix of public and private investment, including bids to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and substantial investment from the county council itself.

Councillor Tony King, the county council’s cabinet member for clean growth and regeneration, said: “If our proposals get the go-ahead, it will signal the start of the first phase of our plans to secure the future of Elvaston Castle Country Park for generations to come by making it a sustainable visitor attraction.”

Planning & Design Practice Ltd are delighted to be working on the ambitious transformation project, having been appointed as Heritage Planning Consultants for the scheme earlier in the year.

Planning & Design Practice Ltd recognise the importance of the built heritage in our towns, villages and rural areas. We have worked on numerous schemes affecting Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and within the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and Derby City Centre, with clients including John Smedleys Ltd, Meadowview Homes, and Staton Young Group.

For more information on this project or for a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your project or property, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 01332 347371 to find out how we can help.

Heritage project update – April 2021

19th June 20231st April 2021 by Gary Stringer

Jon Millhouse, both a Chartered Town Planner and a Full Member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation, with a specialist interest in Historic Building Conservation gives an update on a number of interesting heritage projects that Planning & Design Practice Ltd are currently engaged with.

We are delighted to have been appointed heritage planning consultants by Derbyshire County Council for their ambitious Elvaston Castle restoration project. The £35 million scheme aims to restore and find new uses for the Castle and many of the historic buildings on the 321-acre estate, as well as a new access drive and car park, to deliver a sustainable future for one of Britain’s oldest country parks. We look forward to contributing to this exciting project.

Last week we obtained planning and listed building consent for a sensitively designed extension at Derwent Valley vets, a grade two listed former public house just off the A6 South of Matlock. We are pleased to support the expansion of this popular local business.

It is great to see work nearing completion on Chase Farm, Ambergate. Chevin Homes are developing the former farmstead, which overlooks the River Derwent in the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site, in accordance with the scheme originally devised and secured by Planning Design Practice. The scheme included both the conversion of historic Hurt estate buildings and the insertion of new contextually appropriate modern architecture. It is great to see the development taking shape and pleasing to note that the new homes have sold extremely well.

Highfield Farm, Holbrook, the grade two listed former Strutt estate farm where we obtained consent for conversion and restoration, is nearing completion. The owners have done a sterling job rescuing and restoring these lovely buildings and we are pleased to have helped them along the way.

New agricultural buildings are taking shape at Wakebridge Farm, Crich, the first step towards our consented scheme for the redevelopment, restoration and long-term economic future for the grade two listed farmstead and site of a mediaeval Manor house in the World Heritage site buffer zone.

We were delighted to hear that Derbyshire Dales District Council planning committee unanimously voted to approve the extension and redevelopment of Ashbourne Methodist Church earlier this month. We prepared a planning and heritage report to support the church committees planning and listed building applications and advised them through the application process. We wish the committee the best of luck with this extremely worthwhile project.

Finally, it is pleasing to see works commence on the redevelopment and restoration of grade two listed Callow Hall hotel, near Ashbourne, where we have provided planning consultancy support for numerous applications to help deliver a viable long-term future for this historic country house.

For more information on on all things planning and architecture related, plus national news, projects we have worked on as well as expert advice and opinion, sign up to receive our free Monthly Newsletter.

Jon Millhouse, Director, Planning & Design Practice Ltd

Preserving the past – planning a sustainable future for Elvaston Castle

29th November 202217th March 2021 by Gary Stringer

Following the recent release of plans detailing the future of Elvaston Castle and Country Park, Planning & Design Practice Ltd are pleased to announce that they have been appointed as Heritage Planning Consultants for the ambitious redevelopment project. The proposed £35 million restoration and transformation of the in the 321-acre Derbyshire estate by Elvaston Castle and Garden Trust, in partnership with Derbyshire County Council will include its many listed buildings and historic features.

Our team includes Director Jon Millhouse, a member of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC) who specialises in heritage planning and our architectural team leader Lindsay Cruddas who is a registered Specialist Conservation Architect, of which there are only of which there are currently only 130 in the country.

Jon Millhouse said, “We are pleased to have been invited to contribute to this exciting and worthwhile project, which seeks to secure a sustainable future for one of Derbyshire’s most valuable heritage sites.”

The regeneration of the site, which will remain a free at the point of entry country park, will help to create more than 170 new jobs and is expected to increase the number of visitors from its current 240,000 a year.

The funding for the project will come from a mix of public and private investment, including bids to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and substantial investment from the county council itself.

Elvaston Castle, a gothic revival masterpiece lies at the heart of approximately 321 acres of open parkland, woodland and more formal historical gardens. Designed by James Wyatt in the early 1800s and based on the original house dating back to 1633, it was once the home of the Earls of Harrington. However, the Stanhope family left after the end of the Second World War, and Derbyshire County Council then rescued the site in the 1960s, saving it from development for mining and in 1970 the estate was opened as one of the first country parks in England.

Today both the buildings and gardens are registered (Grade 2 and Grade 2*) as being of special architectural and historical interest. Within the estate, structures such as the recently renovated golden gates, Moorish temple and ha-ha wall provide fascinating insights into the past.

Subject to planning permission, the proposed developments include bringing many of the historic buildings back into use as retail, office and workshop space or holiday cottages.

The upper floor of the castle itself would be turned into suites, with the potential to be hired out for weddings and other events. Other upgrades include a new main cafe, adventure playground and improved camping facilities.

The potential for repurposing these heritage assets to make them commercially viable for the 21st century and beyond, whilst retaining their unique character is something with which Planning & Design has great experience.

The county council intends that the day-to-day running of the estate will be managed by the Elvaston Castle and Gardens Trust (ECGT).

Trust chairman Dr Peter Robinson said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity and the thoughts and ideas contributed by locals and the wider Derbyshire community have been invaluable in shaping this plan.

“Like many people, I love Elvaston and visit frequently with family and friends.

“We have five years of hard work in front of us, but we’re determined to bring the castle, gardens and wider parkland back to life.”

Heritage Project Update – Spring 2022

The benefits of heritage conservation

2021 – a year in review: Looking ahead to 2022

Plans for Elvaston Castle transformation to be submitted

Heritage project update – April 2021

Preserving the past – planning a sustainable future for Elvaston Castle

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