March 2007 - An Application Goes To NDDC

The Campaign So Far ... The publicity campaign last year was a stunning success - over 1700 people signed the petition and the application was accompanied by letters of support from individuals and organisations from across the town. North Dorset District Council have been left in no doubt as to the weight of public opinion behind the Vision of replacing the building. So what happened in September...? The initial application which was taken to NDDC was only for the demolition of the building - with a promise that no work would take place until plans for a replacement building had been approved. The Church believed that this was a viable approach but NDDC ruled that they could not go ahead without actual plans being approved. However, there was tremendous support for the idea from the Members of the Planning Committee and the Church was encouraged to go away with this encouragement and return with formal plans.

What has happened since...? The Church has had to respect the fact that the Officers and Members of the Planning Committee have rules and guidelines to which they must adhere and that any replacement building must fall in line with these. Over the past six months, the Church and the Architect have worked with NDDC to address each of the areas where there is a need to fulfil the legal requirements which apply. These have included ... Ensuring that the argument to demolish fulfils the requirements of the Government document PPG15 which lays down the terms under which a Grade II Listed building can be demolished. Ensuring that the design fulfils the need to meet the requirements of being situated in a conservation are fulfilled. This has been done by producing a building whose lines are almost identical to those of the existing hall. Ensuring proper respect has been given to the surrounding wall, which is also Listed. This has been achieved by incorporating a red brick section of wall into the front of the proposed hall. Ensuring that the well-established trees in the grounds would not be damaged by a new building. This has been ensured by proposing to use a form of construction which uses "piles" that go between the tree roots, thus protecting them. This construction even allows for rainwater to flow down the piles and water the trees !

So What Now ...?

Discussions with NDDC have informed the development of the application so that both parties understand the issues involved and the way they have been addressed in the application itself. As those charged with the responsibility of protecting Listed Buildings, the NDDC Planning Officers do not often agree to proposals such as this, but by directly addressing the concerns of the Officers, the Church hopes this might be one such occasion.

The Church has now put forward an application which, it is honestly believed, answers all of the concerns of NDDC.