Plea for better powers amid New Forest NPA demolition agreement on Lyndhurst Park Hotel
NATIONAL Park Authority members have asked for greater powers to safeguard historic buildings after demolition at a landmark Forest hotel was agreed.
Work is well under way on the site of the former Lyndhurst Park Hotel after developer Burry & Knight was given permission to build a 79-home estate in 2022.
However, one stipulation was the retention of a section designed by Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1912.
In July this year Burry & Knight asked for that condition to be dropped, arguing that structural issues made it impossible to carry out. The facade would be rebuilt with “no discernible difference between the approved scheme and that now proposed”, said agent Giles Moir.
The NPA planning committee heard at a meeting this week that the new plans would see Conan Doyle’s design elements rebuilt and reinstated. This includes returning the turret detailing to its original design, reinstating crenels and sliding sash windows, demolishing the ‘Lyndhurst Park Hotel’ sign and entrance, in favour of the original porch design, and reinstating gothic arched windows.
A report to the planning committee stated: “It is clear from the supplied structural engineer’s reports that the building is in a perilous condition, and it is their professional recommendation to demolish the existing hotel building in its entirety and rebuild, for both practical and safety reasons.”
It continued: “Consequently, the previously approved scheme which proposed the partial demolition of existing hotel and conversion of retained element is no longer a viable option and an alternative scheme is required.”
Debating the scheme, committee member Brice Stratford said as a “matter of principal” the authority must learn lessons from the application and ensure planning conditions are put in place to protect historic buildings from falling into similar states.
However, NPA director of planning Steve Avery said no application was ever “cast in stone” and it was always within the applicant’s power to come back and ask for amendments. He added: “Things do change and our role as a planning authority is to respond.”
Committee member Caroline Rackham said the façade would not be the same and using some of the original materials would help the design to be in keeping with its era. She added that, going forward, the NPA should have discussions about what provisions should be put in place to maintain historic structures.
She added: “Very old properties have been retained where people have a will to do that, and it is a shame we are where we are.”
NPA members voted five to three in favour of allowing the head of development control to grant planning permission once legal agreements have been completed.
