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News
Refurbishment of historic pub secured
03 September 2010
Paul Butler Associates have gained Listed Building Consent (LBC) for the sympathetic refurbishment of the grade II listed Cock O’Budwoth public house in Great Budworth, Cheshire on behalf of Manchester-based brewer Joseph Holt Ltd.
In determining the application, Cheshire West and Chester Council agreed with our view that the internal and external refurbishment works will not harm the building’s historic significance.
Welcome back James!
23 July 2010
We are very pleased to welcome James Ashford back to the practice. James undertook a one-year placement with us in 2007/08 as part of his Cardiff University degree course. Click hereto find out more about him.
Goodbye Aaron!
15 July 2010
Aaron Murphy, who has spent the past year with us as part of her Newcastle University degree course, is leaving the practice today.
She will be spending the summer travelling through South East Asia before returning to university in September.
Thank you for all your hard work this year Aaron and bon voyage!
Sarah conquers the Cop!
31 March 2010
Associate Director Sarah Smith is celebrating/recovering after successfully completing the Cheshire Cat, a 100 mile cycle-sportive around south Cheshire, on Sunday.
The route tackled several of Cheshire’s steepest hills (yes, it does have some!), including Mow Cop near Congleton which is notorious for its 1 in 4 (25%) gradient. Sarah reached the top of the Cop without stopping and was rewarded with a special medal for her efforts.
Sarah, who rides for North Cheshire Clarion, said ‘I am so pleased to have conquered Mow Cop. We had a trial ride up it a few weeks ago and I fell off my bike so I am very happy to have beaten it this time!’.
Well done Sarah!
PPS5: New government guidance on heritage
29 March 2010
Amidst the welter of new policy and advice documents which flow almost daily from central government, occasionally there comes something of real importance: the new PPS5 ‘Planning and the Historic Environment’ is that.
This is not to be confused with PPG5 (on Simplified Planning Zones – perhaps the biggest waste of time of any planning initiative, but still extant); nor with the Environment Agency’s PPG5 on Planning Pollution Guidance (classic government double speak – what they means is planning to prevent pollution); nor with Northern Ireland’s PPS5 on retailing.
It might have made more sense for it to be called PPS15, thus linking it with the old PPG15, which it replaces, alongside the old archaeological PPG16. But there we are: a new set of acronyms and numbers to deal with.
So, to the meat of the matter: the new PPS, at 18 pages, is much shorter than the combined PPG15/16 but as is the way these days, it is accompanied by an essential Planning Guidance note, which is 55 pages. The new PPS is much better than the one which was nearly foisted on to the industry last autumn; but there will be areas of uncertainty until case law throws some light on some of the less clear issues. The heritage lobby fears that there could still be a watering down of the protection for listed buildings; the development lobby thinks it might be easier to get sympathetic changes through the system, and they are probably right: there is an increased emphasis on the significance of the heritage asset, and whether change harms this significantly or not.
As ‘The Doctor’ in Private Eye might say: in case of doubt, consult a specialist in heritage matters. As such, we would be pleased to diagnose and suggest a prognosis!
Advantage taken of reduced planning fees
08 March 2010
Paul Butler Associates have taken advantage of new planning legislation and saved a client over £20,000.
Introduced at the end of February, this new legislation aims to ease the financial burden on developers and has significantly reduced the planning fees for extending existing planning permissions and for making non-material amendments.
Making use of this legislation, we submitted an application to extend an existing planning permission for a major residential development in Salford and our client was delighted that the associated planning fee was only £500.
The Government’s Planning Minister John Healey has said ‘at a time when funding for new developments is difficult, I have changed the planning rules to give developers longer to build new projects that will help drive economic recovery.
‘Now I am able to cut and cap the fee for extending existing planning permissions. As we work to secure a strong economic recovery, we need to do what we can to keep plans for new development on the table.
‘The planning system has to adapt to current economic circumstances to help homeowners, industry and developers, and we have done just that.’
If you have an existing planning permission which is about to elapse or would like to make a non-material amendment and would like to discuss your next steps, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
New use found for real tennis court
14 January 2010
An interesting client, albeit in a voluntary capacity, is the Tennis and Rackets Association (T & RA) – the governing body for the games of real tennis (the original Henry VIII variety) and rackets, the forerunner of squash. There was a boom in building such courts in the nineteenth century, often attached to grand houses. Most have fallen into disuse but some still survive – at Hatfield in Hertfordshire and Petworth in West Sussex, for example. Others have become warehouses or offices; but still have the potential to be reused. One such is at Easton Neston, a remarkable grade I Wren/Hawksmoor house near Towcester in Northamptonshire.
Paul, who is a keen real tennis player, advised the T & RA on the issues which might affect the ‘change of use’ of the building from a (disused) tennis court to an office building for the new owner. The hope, in the real tennis community, is that the new use will maintain the fabric of the old court; and that perhaps at some time in the future, this wonderful house will once again have its own real tennis court.
Best wishes for Christmas and 2010
24 December 2009
Merry Christmas to all our clients and colleagues and best wishes for a happy, successful and prosperous New Year!
Arrangements for handling heritage applications change
01 December 2009
New planning legislation aimed at reforming how heritage applications are handled in England comes into effect today.
The new legislation means that the Secretary of State will only need to be notified of applications affecting historic buildings where the local planning authority is minded to grant consent and has received written objections from English Heritage or from one of six named National Amenity Societies.
Previously, the Secretary of State was notified of all applications where the local planning authority was minded to approve proposals affecting grade l and grade II* listed buildings and for the demolition of grade II listed buildings. Click here for more information.
Application to safeguard historic mill submitted
20 November 2009
Paul Butler Associates have just completed a heritage statement, a planning statement and a design and access statement to support and justify a planning application to High Peak Borough Council to convert a designated employment site in New Mills to residential use.
The application site includes Salem Mill, one of the earliest cotton mills in New Mills, which dates from 1798. Although the building has been heavily modified over the years to accommodate new employment uses, the four storey mill remains an important reminder of the early phase of the industrial revolution when water powered mills were developed in the gorges of the fast flowing Goyt and Sett rivers.
The proposal will safeguard the historic mill and create 17 new homes - including 6 apartments and 11 mews houses arranged to form a courtyard.
Hotel and casino application approved
19 November 2009
Paul Butler Associates are delighted to have secured planning permission for the change of use of a grade II listed mid-nineteenth century former commercial warehouse in Bloom Street in Manchester’s city centre into a hotel and casino.
PPS15 to be redrafted
16 November 2009
Paul Butler Associates welcomes Planning Minister John Healey’s promise to redraft Planning Policy Statement 15 ‘Planning for the Historic Environment’ (PPS15).
Since its publication in July we, like many heritage and planning professionals, have been concerned that the loose nature of the proposed legislation could seriously undermine the historic environment and could result in the loss of protection for conservation areas and historic buildings.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Healey explained that the redraft will ‘make clear that the protection of heritage buildings will not be reduced’. Click here to read the announcement in full.
Spies in our camp!
22 October 2009
The Homes and Communities Agency and English Heritage have recently published an introduction to historic characterisation for masterplanning entitled ‘Capitalising on the Inherited Landscape’ [PDF file size: 2.38mb]. This document follows so closely on what the practice does and what should be done that we have come to the conclusion that both organisations must have had spies in our office looking at our work!
Being a bit more serious, it is an excellent publication. As Baroness Andrews states in her introduction: 'The approach we promote in this introductory brochure is a relatively new one, that of historic characterisation, [not so new for us – we have carried out several], but what is most new about our proposal is the use of this method at the very earliest stages before even masterplanning starts, and as part of a spatial planning more than a conservation approach' . We couldn’t agree more. Understanding the past in order to create 'community heritage assets of the future' – Chairman of the Homes and Communities Agency Robert Napier’s words – are fundamental to good planning.
We hope local authorities will understand this message and think hard about getting this work done; so when an upturn in development does happen, it can build on a proper understanding of our historic environment. If you would like to discuss this further, please get in touch.
Chicago Plan centenary celebrated
21 October 2009
Inspired by a recent trip to Chicago, Paul has published an article to celebrate the centenary of the city's iconic plan. Click here for more details.
Permission to host concerts at Old Trafford secured
09 October 2009
Paul Butler Associates are delighted to have secured planning permission to enable reigning Premier League champions Manchester United to host concert events at their Old Trafford stadium on seven days per year. Click here for further information.
Appeal success for Paul Butler Associates
07 October 2009
Paul Butler Associates have won a planning appeal for the construction of a covered shelter in the beer garden of the Halfway House in Droylsden on behalf of Manchester-based brewer Joseph Holt Ltd.
The Planning Inspectorate agreed that the use of the shelter by the public house’s patrons would not have an unacceptable impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents.
New practice brochure launched!
06 October 2009
We are very pleased to announce the launch of our new practice brochure - click here to find out more!
New indoor leisure facility proposed for Reddish
05 October 2009
Paul Butler Associates have submitted a planning application for the conversion of a former warehouse in Reddish, Stockport into an indoor leisure facility.
The application was submitted on behalf of Reddish Leisure Community Interest Company and includes a football pitch, a tennis court, aerobic and fitness suites, a multi-sensory and soft equipment suite, a trampoline suite, as well as changing rooms and toilets. The scheme also includes new offices for Stockport Sports Trust.
Changes to the planning system come into effect
01 October 2009
New planning legislation aimed at breathing new life into the development, property and construction industry comes into effect today.
These changes are two fold and will allow the timescales for implementing planning permissions and listed building and conservation area consents permitted before 01 October 2009 to be extended and enable minor material and non-material amendments to be made to approved, yet unimplemented, schemes.
In both cases, an application (plus a small fee) will need to be submitted to the relevant local authority and this will be subject to a period of consultation in a manner similar to a standard application.
Paul Butler Associates are already involved in extending the timescales of a number of approved schemes and would be very happy to discuss your options if you have an unimplemented permission or consent – so please get in touch.
Paul Butler Associates relaunch website
14 September 2009
Following the launch of our new logo last year, we have now redesigned our website to match!
Please explore the new site to discover more about the practice, our team and the services we offer and to learn about some of our recent projects.
We hope that you will find the new site informative and easy to use - let us know what you think!