The Wall along Union Lane, Lane Ulverston

The SLDC planning department is considering altering the condition regarding the rebuilding of this wall  that runs along much of the length of Union Lane.

The main point of the amendment is to enable Persimmons to leave the wall that has already been built at 1.5 metres rather than the height, specified in the present condition, of the previous wall which was 2.95 metres.

Your views are sought.
Some of these have already been put on the SLDC website. (My letter is still in draft form as this is quite a complicated issue  - this will be put here later today)

To access this section of the planning department:
(Sadly this part of the website is frequently out of action- keep trying)
http://applications.southlakeland.gov.uk/planningapplications/welcome.asp
Fill the number in the box
SL/2013/0551
Click
Search and View Current Application and follow the instructions

The letter that I sent in is here:

 

The original condition reads 

Reason: To protect the character and appearance of the Conservation Area

No Development shall be commenced until the precise construction details of the new boundary wall along Union Lane have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning Authority. For the avoidance of doubt, the wall shall be constructed to match the form, height and appearance of the existing wall, incorporating as much of the original stonework as practicable.

I was at the original meeting of the planning committee and spoke against the proposal using my limited time time to focus on the increase in traffic along Stanley Street joined many others including Cllr Colin Hodgson who attended to support local residents , spoke against its approval along the lines that that permission would destroy the character and appearance of the Conservation Area, a valuable amenity not only to the lane but the town itself. This carried a lot of weight with the councillors at that meeting and became the main reason that councillors felt they should reject the application. By contrast there was a concern that Ulverston desperately needed more Affordable Houses built for local  residents where young people, in particular are finding it increasingly difficult to buy homes and face the prospect of being unable to live in the town they grew up in.

In the end as a result of a passionate speech by one of our own District Councillors for the need for Affordable Housing, followed by a counter statement from another Councillor that the form, appearance and height of the existing wall should be preserved,  for the permission was granted.

The views of the councillors in favour of conservation where then preserved in the form of a strongly worded condition - the one stated above. This is reflected by the use of the words "For the avoidance of doubt"

What has happened since then ?

The present builders have not complied with nearly every aspect of this condition.

We are told by Kate Lawson for  SLDC in an email to me that the requirement that  "the precise construction details of the new boundary wall along Union Lane have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning Authority", has not been fulfilled. She states on 10 June 2013 

"Just to clarify, Graham Darlington has not agreed to a reduction in the height of the replacement wall with Persimmon. As far as the Council is concerned, you are quite correct in that there remains a requirement to comply with the condition attached to the planning permission as it stands."

The builders have gone ahead regardless and built a wall that does not comply with SLDC requirements of height. They are therefore applying retrospectively for the wall that they have already built.

Next the condition states :

No Development shall be commenced until the precise construction details of the new boundary wall along Union Lane have been submitted to and approved in writing by the planning Authority

Yet the building of houses has already commenced

The next statement has also been completely disregarded  For the avoidance of doubt, the wall shall be constructed to match the form, height and appearance of the existing wall,

What has in fact been built is a very attractive modern wall at 1. 5 meters high out of stone using modern building techniques involving the use of stone. This in no way satisfies the requirement regarding the wall.

It can be seen from the following photos that the appearance and form of the old wall show no similarity to the original as totally different building techniques were used : using lime mortar, the use of throughs and the use of random rendering.

It is clear that the height is totally different in that over the section beyond the telephone pole at number 3 Union Lane the height was 2.95 meters high.

Reasons why the wall should be rebuilt and conform with the original wording:

First The aim of preserving the conservation area is clearly stated.

There are many reasons why this is important :

The wall surrounded the original work house that had major historical interest , it's height is significant because it prevented the public being able to see into the work house. The height of the wall became a distinctive feature of an old lane close to the town centre.

The  history and appearance of old parts of Ulverston are essential to the appeal of the town from a tourist viewpoint. This aspect of a valuable commercial industry is extremely important and can be quickly lost if it is eroded bit by bit all over the town. We have recently won the battle to get our cobbles down Market street preserved so that it can support the description " a cobbled market town for the foreseeable future. Tourists with considerable money to spend who come for instance  to Printfest are impressed by the quirky and unusual features in the town and are attracted to revisit and explore these. A survey of the number of people attending our Market days shows approximately 40% are tourists and provide valuable funds to our restaurants, cafes shops and accommodation.

Preserving unusual features  within easy reach of the town centre are thus important to the town's future.

Secondly the preservation of a high wall will be important to the protection, privacy of the National Health and related buildings (Gill Rise).

The previous wall at 2.95 metres gave substantial privacy to the people using Gill Rise. A unit of the NHS used to provide treatment to vulnerable people. It enabled them to move freely in the ground outside without being observed. Gill Rise could hopefully return to being used when unobserved activity could be important.

Furthermore the height of 1.5 meters is easily scaled by the average teenager rendering easy access to these buildings from and through the new Persimmons estate which can in turn be easily accessed along its westerly boundary along Gill Banks. The original wall not only continued along the boundary of Union Lane but went round the corner to join the old high wall that still remains.

Thirdly a 2.95 metre high wall as previously existed ensures the privacy of houses in the lane from being overlooked by whatever properties exist or could be built in the future on the land at present owned by the NHS - from Gill Rise on the one hand to the Heath Centre on Union lane.

The high wall will also protect the same houses from the possible noise that could come from the present area of Gill Rise should this area be greatly used in the future in connection with the NHS Health centre with wide access from Stanley Street. Furthermore these houses already experience noise from the legitimate use of the NHS site but more seriously form illegal use by cars and young people in the evening and early hours going on as late as 3 o'clock in the morning. Activities of this nature consist of doing tricks involving skid turns at speed  and activity is increasing all over Ulverston. Alternately young people come and play football, skateboarding, cycling tricks creating noise that will be greatly reduced by a high wall.

Fourthly one has to consider the possibility that in the future,  the land of Gill Rise could have a completely new use. This land with its access from Star Street could be sold by the NHS and have a total change of use to for instance blocks of flats matching in height the Health Centre resulting in over looking of the properties in Union lane. A wall of 2.95 metres would help preserve privacy and reduce noise transmission.

Fifth, the high wall ensures an environment where the original houses in Union lane such as the Coach House and those further up the lane are not overlooked by the new estate

Other reasons given in favour of the lower 1.5 metre wall:

First Sight lines of traffic affected by a high wall: This will have been considered by Cumbria Highways Dept and was not considered to be a problem.

Second Loss of light in houses along the lane. This will be surely minor in view of the fact that the wall is to the north. This absence if it exists was present originally and thus what was present is unaffected if the high wall is maintained.

Third that the new wall is attractive is irrelevant. What has been built is a modern wall using cement and stone. It thus does nothing to comply with condition11.