Chichester District Council approves the demolition of Edwardian building despite objections from The Victorian Society

An application to demolish Apuldram House, in Dell Quay Road, was given the nod by members of the planning committee on Wednesday (December 6). The six-bedroom property and a former stable block which is now used as a garage, will be replaced with a six-bedroom brick and flint home and another garage. Apuldram House sits in the Dell Quay Conservation Area.

It was built by architect Temple Moore between 1900 and 1902 and is considered to be a non-designated heritage asset. This essentially means that it is recognised as having a degree of significance but does not meet the criteria to have the planning protection placed on heritage assets. In a strong objection to the council, a spokesman for The Victorian Society described Temple Moore as ‘an important architect of the late Gothic Revival’ and the house itself as ‘a significant historic building’.

They added: “In light of the building’s clear historic and architectural interest, we would strongly urge the council to serve a Building Preservation Notice on its owner. This would safeguard the building from any alteration until such time as Historic England is able to consider whether it merits inclusion on the national list.”

But the house had few champions at the meeting. Officers recommended that the application to demolish it and the garage be permitted, stating: “The significance, character and appearance of the house and former stable block as a grouping has been harmed by unfortunate and inappropriate alterations, some of which are not readily reversible.

“These, along with its assertive appearance in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and within views from the Fishbourne Channel are considered to be detrimental to the character of the conservation area andhave reduced the quality of the building in terms of its visual contribution as an non-designated heritage asset.”

A statement from leader Adrian Moss said the design of the new house would be ‘much more in keeping with the harbour and would be less intrusive in the landscape’.

Pointing to the applicant’s desire to reduce the carbon footprint on their land, he added: “On balance, the cost of decarbonising this house would not be viable and a new development that will considerably reduce the visibility of the property and enable a highly environmental design with a reduced carbon footprint property to be developed is important.”

The application was approved by six votes to four.

To view the application, log on to publicaccess.chichester.gov.uk and search for 22/03196/FUL.