LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Transcription

1 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT PERCY STREET AND UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET LIVERPOOL CITY CENTRE HERITAGE ASSESSMENT GARRY MILLER Historic Building Consultancy

2 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 2 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT40-50 Percy Street and Upper Parliament Street LIVERPOOL city centre Heritage assessment may 2017 GARRY MILLER Historic Building Consultancy Crosby House, 412 Prescot Road, Eccleston Hill, St Helens, Lancashire WA10 3BT Telephone: garrymillerhbc@gmail.com Garry Miller 2017

3 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 3 Contents 1: Executive Summary 4 2: The Site 5 3: The Proposal/Scope of this Report 7 4: Historical Context 9 5: The Listed Buildings 11 6: Assessment of Significance 20 7: Policy Context 21 8: Impact of the Proposal 24 Appendix: Garry Miller Historic Building Consultancy 25

4 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 4 1: executive summary This report supports proposed development at numbers Percy Street and Upper Parliament Street, which are located in Liverpool City Centre s Georgian Quarter. The buildings are a block of late Georgian town houses dating from the midlate 1840s and Grade II listed. They stand within the Canning Street Conservation Area. The properties were converted into flats in the late 1970s/early 1980s but have been disused since Applications for planning and listed buildings consent are now being submitted to Liverpool City Council for their conversion to six four-bedroom town houses and 12 one-bedroom apartments. The principal heritage issue arising is the impact upon the significance (i.e. heritage interest and value) of the listed buildings. The scope and purpose of this report is to describe this significance and to assess the impact of the proposal upon it. Percy Street was laid out in the late 1820s as part of a new suburb centred on Canning Street and forming an extension of the prestigious new residential quarter first established in the early 1780s at Rodney Street and further developed around Abercromby Square from Percy Street was a prestigious address within this suburb and the earliest development, at the north end, was of quite individual character, with stone-fronted terraces, including some of Gothic design. The application buildings, located at the south end, were among the last houses built on the street and follow a more conventional Liverpool appearance. They form an L-shaped block which originally comprised six houses to Percy Street with a return of two houses in the return to Upper Parliament Street. The Grade II designation of the listed buildings denotes they are of national importance for their special architectural and historic interest. This intrinsic special interest is the basis of this significance, the properties being good examples of late Georgian town houses built for Liverpool s affluent middle classes within the extensive residential suburb developed between the late 18 th and mid-19 th centuries. Owing to extensive and unsympathetic interior alteration during their conversion to flats, this significance now overwhelmingly resides in the external form, appearance and features of the listed buildings along with their streetscene presence. This also forms the basis of their contribution to the Canning Street Conservation Area. The proposal will secure the future of the listed buildings by returning them to viable use, while a programme of refurbishment will enhance their intrinsic significance along with their contribution to the conservation area. Internally, further enhancement will derive from the restoring the configuration of the Percy Street block to that of six town houses whose interior layout is close to the original. By providing these enhancements, the proposals meet the requirements laid down by national planning guidance and the local development plan, and therefore planning and listed building consents should be granted.

5 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 5 2: THE SITE The application buildings are numbers Percy Street and Upper Parliament Street, which are located within the Georgian Quarter on the eastern fringe of Liverpool City Centre. Percy Street was one of the principal addresses in the early 19 th century expansion of this centre and extends south from Canning Street to Upper Parliament Street. The application buildings form an L-shaped block at the junction with the latter and are a prominent feature of the immediate streetscene. Built as eight terraced townhouses in the 1840s comprising six houses to Percy Street and two in the return to Upper Parliament Street the buildings were converted into flats in the late 1970s/early 1980s. They have been disused since 2008 and their condition has consequently deteriorated. Map 1. Wider location of the application buildings

6 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 6 Figure 1. Location and numbering of the application buildings 1. The application buildings, looking north from the Upper Parliament Street junction

7 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 7 3: THE PROPOSAL/SCOPE OF THIS REPORT 3.1 Designations The application buildings are designated at Grade II under a single listing, and therefore are considered to be of special architectural and historic interest in the national context. The site also lies within the Canning Street Conservation Area, which is within the Buffer Zone of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage Site. 3.2 Present status Latterly used as bedsits, the buildings have been vacant since Proposed development Applications for planning and listed building consents are being submitted to Liverpool City Council for conversion of the listed buildings to six four-bedroom town houses and 12 one-bedroom apartments. 3.4 Heritage impact The heritage issue raised by the proposal is its impact upon the significance (i.e. heritage interest and value) of the listed buildings. 3.5 Scope and purpose of this report Paragraph 128 of the National Planning Policy Framework states local planning authorities should require an applicant to describe the significance of the heritage assets affected, including the contribution made by their setting. The scope and purpose of this report is therefore to describe the significance of the listed buildings and to evaluate the impact of the proposal upon it. It is considered the level of detail employed is proportionate to this significance and to the scale of the impact. The report is to be read in conjunction with other documentation supporting the application.

8 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Report structure This is as follows: 1. A short summary of the historical background relating to the site (Section 4) 2. Brief analysis of the listed buildings (Section 5) 3. Evaluation of their heritage significance (Section 6) 4. A review of the relevant planning policies against which the application will be assessed (Section 7) 5. Evaluation within this policy context of the impact of the proposal upon the significance of the listed buildings (Section 8).

9 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 9 4: historical context 4.1 Background Percy Street was laid out in the late 1820s amid the expansion of the prestigious Georgian residential quarter first established first around Rodney Street in the early 1780s. The first stage of this expansion came in 1816 with the development of Abercromby Square to the east, on land in the ownership of Liverpool Corporation. From 1825 onwards a second phase of expansion, again on Corporation land, took place to the south, centred on Canning Street. Percy Street was a prestigious address within this suburb and the earliest development, at the north end, was of quite individual character with stone-fronted terraces, including some of Gothic design a rarity in Liverpool. The application buildings followed almost two decades later and were among the last houses to be built on the street. 4.2 Date of the buildings The properties were built in the mid-late 1840s. The site is shown vacant on Bennison s 1836 map of Liverpool and also the map in Slater s Liverpool Directory of The buildings are however present on the six-inch OS mapping surveyed between 1845 and A straight joint between numbers 44 and 46 and 48 and 50 indicates the Percy Street block was built in two stages. Map 2. The vacant site as depicted by Bennison s map of 1836

10 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 10 Map 3. Slater s Directory map of 1844 shows the site was still undeveloped Map 4. The buildings existed by the mid-late 1840s as the OS six-inch mapping of demonstrates

11 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 11 5: THE listed buildings 5.1 Overview A prominent L-shaped block typical of the later phases of development in Liverpool s Georgian quarter. Of interest primarily for their external qualities and presence owing to extensive and unsympathetic internal alterations of the 1970s-1980s. 2. The application buildings, looking north from Upper Parliament Street 5.2 List description The buildings were first listed on March 23, The National Heritage List for England description was compiled in June 1985, and at that time identified the buildings as Flats 1 to 27 (consecutive) Fir Grove. The text is particularly brief and describes the front elevation only, with no mention of the rear or the interior. It reads: Terrace of 8 houses, 2 on return to Upper Parliament Street, now block of 27 flats. 1830's. Brick with stone dressings, slate roof. 3 storeys with basement, 2 bays to

12 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 12 each house. Basement lintel bands; 1st floor sill bands; top frieze and cornice. Windows have wedge lintels and are sashed with glazing bars. Entrances have angle pilasters and entablatures; most doors have 4 panels. Iron railings to areas and steps have decorative heads, 10-bay return to Upper Parliament Street (formerly Nos. 55 and 57 with 3 bays to No. 53). End bay has 1st floor canted bay window. 5.3 Further analysis: exterior In their appearance, the buildings are typical of later development in Liverpool s Georgian quarter, characterised by doorcases flanked by pilasters supporting an entablature. Essentially this is the only feature that distinguishes them from their late 18 th century predecessors, in which pedimented or fanlighted doorcases were the norm. The facades possess the typical restraint of the period, with the three-storey-plus basement configuration imparting strong vertical proportions while the evenly-spaced sash windows with their wedge lintels provide horizontal emphasis. The bay window to the corner house breaks from this pattern and appears to be a later addition. All basement windows have been blocked. The rear elevations are flat and unremarkable, punctuated by sash windows for the principal rooms and smaller openings for the secondary spaces. The exception is numbers Upper Parliament Street, where there is a two-storey outrigger. Enclosed by security fencing and with their doorways and windows boarded up, the buildings have taken on an air of neglect and deterioration which detracts from their obvious intrinsic merits. 3. The Percy Street elevation, originally six town houses

13 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page The return to Upper Parliament Street, which originally contained two houses 5. Looking along the Percy Street frontage showing stepped entrances flanked by basement railings

14 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Strong vertyical emphasis is typical of the buildings 7. Rear of the buildings is somewhat unremarkable

15 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Rear windows of the Percy Street block have a have regular rhythm 9. Outrigger at the rear of Percy Street

16 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Further analysis: interior a. Overview. Of little interest. The room arrangement was altered and most original features ripped out during the 1970s/1980s flats conversion. Numbers Upper Parliament Street could not be accessed but given the alteration of the rest of the block, they are not expected to contain anything of note. b. Layout. The original configuration of the Percy Street houses was typical of town houses of this period, with narrow entrance hall and drawing room to the front, offset central stairwell and dining room at the rear. This pattern would have been repeated on the first and second floors, while the kitchens, following the Liverpool tradition, would have been in the basement. The flats conversion destroyed this arrangement by introducing shared access, punching openings in party walls and removing staircases in three of the six Percy Street dwellings to create further living space. The original layout of the Upper Parliament Street houses differed from the Percy Street properties and cannot be exactly ascertained. c. Features. The principal remaining features are the three surviving staircases in the Percy Street houses; that of has been altered. A basement fireplace and flag floor remains in All doors are modern and no cornices survive. The internal appearance is now overwhelmingly that of the 1970s/1980s conversion. Figure 2. Existing internal layout of the buildings, showing shared access and staircases. Highlighted areas indicate where stairs are known to have been removed

17 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Typical room appearance: front room of number Staircase in number 40

18 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Basement fireplace in number Basement kitchen in 44

19 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page Setting/group value The buildings occupy a prominent location at the Percy Street/Upper Parliament Street junction where they form part of a late Georgian suburb of high quality. Consequently the buildings are a positive element of the Canning Street Conservation Area, owing to their streetscene presence and group value with the other terraces. However this contribution is compromised by the boarded-up appearance and long disuse of the buildings. Map 5. Location of the listed buildings within Canning Street Conservation Area 14. Part of the Georgian townscape: the application buildings on right of this view

20 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 20 6: ASSESSMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 6.1 Rationale Paragraph 129 of the National Planning Policy Framework states local planning authorities should identify and assess the particular significance of a heritage asset, including its setting, and take this into account when considering the impact of a proposal in order to avoid or minimize conflict between the asset s conservation and any aspect of the proposal. Significance is defined in the NPPF Glossary as: The value of a heritage asset to this and future generations because of its heritage interest. That interest may be archaeological, architectural, artistic or historic. Significance derives not only from a heritage asset's physical presence, but also from its setting. The Glossary defines setting as: The surroundings in which a heritage asset is experienced. Its extent is not fixed and may change as the asset and its surroundings evolve. Elements of a setting may make a positive or negative contribution to the significance of an asset, may affect the ability to appreciate that significance or may be neutral. 6.2 Significance of the listed buildings The Grade II designation of the listed buildings denotes they are of national importance for their special architectural and historic interest. This intrinsic special interest is the basis of their significance, the properties representing good examples of late Georgian town houses built for Liverpool s affluent middle classes during the port s commercial heyday amid the extensive suburb established on the city s southeast fringe between the late 18 th and mid-19 th centuries. Owing to the extensive and unsympathetic interior alteration during their conversion to flats, this significance now overwhelmingly resides in the external form, appearance and features of the buildings, along with their streetscene presence and relationship to their suburban setting. These qualities also form the basis of their contribution to the Canning Street Conservation Area. However on both an intrinsic and wider level, the qualities of the buildings are compromised by the deterioration resulting from almost a decade of disuse.

21 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 21 7: POLICY CONTEXT 7.1 Statutory duties Section 66 (1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 require local planning authorities to give special regard to the desirability of preserving a listed building or its setting or any features of special architectural or historic interest. In respect of conservation areas, Section 72 (1) states that LPAs must pay special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character of that area. 7.2 Relevant polices The relevant national guidance is established by Section 12 of the National Planning Policy Framework (Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment, March 2012). Paragraph 131 states that in determining applications, local planning authorities should take account of: The desirability of sustaining and enhancing the significance of heritage assets, and putting them to viable uses consistent with their conservation The positive contribution that the conservation of heritage assets can make to sustainable communities including their economic vitality, and The desirability of new development making a positive contribution to local character and distinctiveness Paragraph 132 states that great weight should be given to the conservation of a designated heritage asset, and the more important the asset, the greater that weight should be; that significance can be lost through development within its setting; and that as heritage assets are irreplaceable, any harm or loss should require clear and convincing justification. Substantial harm to, or loss of, a Grade II listed building should be exceptional; substantial harm to or loss of designated heritage assets of the highest significance, including Grade II* buildings, wholly exceptional. Paragraph 133 states that where a proposal will lead to substantial harm to, or total loss of, the significance of a designated heritage asset, consent should be refused unless it can be demonstrated that the substantial harm is necessary to achieve substantial public benefits that outweigh that harm or loss, or all of the following apply: The nature of the heritage asset prevents all reasonable uses of the site; and No viable use of the heritage asset itself can be found in the medium term through appropriate marketing that will enable its conservation; and Conservation by grant-funding or some form of charitable or public ownership is demonstrably not possible; and

22 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 22 The harm or loss is outweighed by the benefits of bringing the site back into use. Paragraph 134 states that where a development proposal will lead to less than substantial harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset, this harm should be weighed against the public benefits of the proposal, including securing its optimum viable use. Locally, the relevant heritage policies are those saved from the 2002 Liverpool Unitary Development Plan: Policy GEN3 (Heritage and Design in the Built Environment), which states that the UDP aims to protect and enhance the built environment of the City by encouraging a high standard of design and landscaping in developments and creating an attractive environment which is safe and secure both day and night. Policy HD1 (Listed Buildings), which states that the city council will take positive action to secure the retention, repair, maintenance and continued use of listed buildings. The City Council will relax planning and other City Council policies in order to secure the retention of a building of special architectural or historic interest. Policy HD4 (Alterations of Listed Buildings), which states that any extension, external or internal alterations to, or the change of use of, or any other works to a listed building that would adversely affect its architectural or historical character will not be consented. The policy also states that consent will not be granted if any works are not of a high standard of design in terms of form, scale, detailing and materials. Policy HD7 (Conservation Areas), which states that Conservation Areas provide attractive places to live and work, and contribute to the quality of life for local people. These areas will be given special consideration, and the character and appearance of these areas will be enhanced and preserved. Policy HD8 (Preservation and Enhancement of Conservation Areas), which states the City Council will take positive action to secure the preservation or enhancement of conservation areas and will: i. Seek support and funding from all available sources for the repair of buildings and environmental improvements; ii. Prepare action plans for priority areas; iii. Use its available powers to secure the removal of features which significantly detract from the character of the area; and iv. Provide planning guidance and advice to owners and developers. Policy HD11 (New Development in Conservation Areas), which states that planning permission will not be granted for development in a conservation area which fails to preserve or enhance its character. The policy further states that proposals for new development will be permitted having regard to the following criteria: - the development is of a high standard of design and materials, appropriate to their setting and context, which respect the character and appearance of the conservation area - the development pays special attention to conserving the essential elements which combine to give the area its special character and does not introduce changes which would detract from the character or appearance of the area

23 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 23 - the proposal protects important views and vistas within, into and out of the conservation area the proposal does not lead to the loss of open space or landscape features (trees and hedges) important to the character or appearance of the area - the development does not generate levels of traffic, parking, noise or environmental problems which would be detrimental to the character or appearance of the area - the proposal has a satisfactory means of access and provides for car parking in a way which is sympathetic to the appearance of the conservation area.

24 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 24 8: Impact of the proposal 8.1 The principle of the proposal The listed buildings have been disused for close to a decade and have deteriorated during this time, compromising their intrinsic significance and their contribution to the Canning Street Conservation Area. The proposal will secure their future by returning them to viable use and will generate a programme of refurbishment works which will enhance this significance. 8.2 Summary of the works a. Exterior. External alterations will be minimal, preserving their qualities that are the basis of the listed buildings significance. These changes are limited to reinstatement and enlargement of the blocked basement windows, which is necessary to give sufficient light to the rooms at this level. The impact of these alterations is low and outweighed by the wider public benefit of securing the future of the listed building. b. Interior. The partitions introduced during the 1970s-1980s conversion are to be removed and the interiors remodelled to suit the proposed new use. In the case of the Percy Street block, the original arrangement of six individual town houses will be reinstated and the openings introduced between the properties during the flats conversion will be closed. The layout of the individual houses will be close to the original, with entrance hall and rooms to the front and rear separated by a stairwell. Consequently, the three removed staircases in the block will be reinstated. Nonoriginal partitions will also be removed in the Upper Parliament Street block to facilitate its conversion to apartments. 8.3 Conclusion This report has demonstrated that the significance of the listed buildings lies intrinsically in their external form and appearance and also in their streetscene presence and contribution to the Canning Street Conservation Area. The proposal will enhance this significance via a programme of refurbishment, while a further enhancement will derive from the restoring the configuration of the Percy Street block to that of six town houses with an interior layout close to the original. By providing these enhancements, the proposals meet the requirements laid down by national planning guidance and the local development plan, and therefore planning and listed building consents should be granted.

25 40-50 PERCY STREET& UPPER PARLIAMENT STREET, LIVERPOOL: HERITAGE ASSESSMENT Page 25 APPENDIX: Garry Miller HISTORIC BUILDING CONSULTANCY Garry Miller is an architectural historian who has spent more than 35 years studying buildings of town and countryside, in particular those of North West England. His career as a consultant began in the mid-1980s with the Preston-based Nigel Morgan Historic Building Consultancy, of which he became a partner in 1992 upon its rebranding as Datestone. In 1997 he was commissioned by the Heritage Trust for the North West, a buildings preservation trust based at Barrowford, Lancashire, to produce an in-depth regional study of vernacular houses in southwest Lancashire: the result, Historic Houses in Lancashire: The Douglas Valley, was published in Among the many positive reviews, it was described as scholarship as its best by Country Life (June 2003), and well analysed and presented in Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society (Vol 48, 2004); the work was extensively cited in the revised Buildings of England volume on Liverpool and Southwest Lancashire (2006). Research on the houses of Georgian and Regency Liverpool has also been undertaken, with a view to future publication. Following the success of his Douglas Valley book, Garry Miller has established his own consultancy, producing analytical and interpretive reports on historic buildings. His specialism are the heritage assessments required to support planning applications affecting the historic environment, and his area of operation extends throughout the North West, Midlands, North Wales and parts of Cumbri and West and North Yorkshire. Projects range from the 40m Wolstenholme Square development in central Liverpool and the Grade I Barkisland Hall, Ripponden, West Yorkshire, to cottage extensions and barn conversions. Several local authorities have cited his assessments as examples of best practice, and on average reports on more than 100 buildings or sites are produced annually.