Keswick Conservation Area - The English Lake District WHS

Shucks! ....... very happy to get these responses to my Keswick Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan on behalf of the Lake District National Park Authority.  It's all about making reports accessible to all.

From a member of the public .....

"My wife and I recently visited the Moot Hall to take a look at the plans in hardcopy form. 

I just wanted you to know that we were both extremely impressed with the quality of the planning document.

It is a masterly piece of work - conducted at the most painstaking level of detail.  Brilliant !!

In fact, I would love to get hold of a hardcopy to keep in the house.

Clearly it has been produced for a very serious purpose, but once it has served that purpose you really ought to consider its intrinsic value - - It documents extensively the architecture of Keswick with reference to historical and cultural links and is, to my knowledge, far and away the best document to do so.

Do you have plans at some point in the future to publish it and offer it for sale to the general public ?  I for one would be very prepared to pay quite a high price for a copy

Congratulations again"

and from the National Trust .....

"Thank you so much for inviting me to feedback on the draft Keswick Conservation Area assessment.  I have spent some time looking at the document this morning and think it really is an excellent example of its type. 

I haven’t attempted to read it all from cover to cover, and have instead dipped into areas where I thought I might be able to add value, such as the description of Crow Park as one of the extension areas.  However, even within these areas which I like to think I understand I haven’t been able to improve upon the original.  It is very strong throughout."

Greenbank Hall wins Chester Civic Trust Award

The refurbishment of Greenbank Hall in Handbridge, Chester has been awarded a Civic Trust Award by Chester Civic Trust in the 2017 list. Mel Morris Conservation acted as conservation consultant to the project, preparing a detailed analysis of the development of the building and its setting, which informed its repair, and a Conservation Management Plan in 2015. Judges were particularly impressed with the houses built on the site, designed by Owen Ellis Architects, which were said to be 'excellent examples' of modern high quality design and construction.  A sensitive solution to providing new development within the setting of a major Georgian mansion.

Conservation Plan - Standard Works Birmingham Jewellery Quarter

Described by English Heritage as "one of the best examples of a flatted factory," work starts this month on the development of a Conservation Plan for Standard Works, in the heart of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter for the Ruskin Mill Land Trust.  I shall be working closely with the architect at Purcell to identify how best to preserve the significance of the 1879 building and reveal its hidden history.  This builds upon our work last year for Nexus Heritage, funded by the Architectural Heritage Fund, to produce a detailed analysis of the building. 

Unusual cast-iron ground floor window bays with integral
massive cast-iron pilasters decorated to simulate joinery

Basement with cast iron columns and iron beams supporting load-bearing engineered brick
walls and open courtyards above. Much of the jack-arched construction to the courtyard bays
was removed during 20th century adaptation  

Greenbank Hall - Chester

Many thanks to Neil Hutchinson of Owen Ellis Architects for the latest photograph of the finished Greenbank, complete with newly-planted pleached hornbeams.  The Conservation Management Plan we produced has been used by the developer in conjunction with their legal team to scope out individual leases.