New plans for 'cheap and nasty' property close to listed north Derbyshire building criticised

Earlier this year a Government inspector rejected a developer’s appeal in his bid to build a bungalow close to the remnants of Wingerworth Hall.

The developer appealed against North East Derbyshire District Council’s decision to reject planning permission for the four-bedroomed bungalow, which featured a garage and carport.

However, new plans for the site have now been pitched with the council, which again feature a single-storey home.

Applicant Stuart Armstrong said in a letter to the council: “The design philosophy is to construct a high quality dwelling that appears to have been a former stable block/outbuilding that has been converted for residential use whilst respecting the setting of the listed building and adjoining countryside.”

The plans have again attracted criticism from Chesterfield and District Civic Society.

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Society chairman Philip Riden said: “We welcomed the local planning authority's refusal to grant permission in the latter case, and were glad (if not particularly surprised) that the planning inspector rejected the applicant's appeal.

"We had hoped that the forthright tone of the inspector's comments would have deterred the applicant from pursuing this matter further but regrettably this proves not to be the case.

“The proposed dwelling remains unacceptably close to two listed buildings, the back ranges of Wingerworth Hall of around 1698, and therefore adversely affects their setting.

"Nothing has changed in this respect since the previous application was refused.”

Mr Riden said the proposed building was ‘of no architectural merit’.

"The application states that the walls are to be clad in either natural or reconstituted sandstone to blend in with the surviving buildings of Wingerworth Hall,” he added.

"The elevational treatment is so ordinary that, whatever it was clad in, the building would continue to look cheap and nasty.”

Derbyshire County Council’s archaeologist Steve Baker said the plans, like earlier proposals, would ‘impact the setting of the neighbouring Grade I and Grade II listed buildings’.

Councillor Diana Ruff, who represents Wingerworth on North East Derbyshire District Council, said: “I still believe that this is not in keeping with a ‘moderate single storey dwelling’ and certainly not in keeping with the historic listed building.”

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