e-mail: civic@salisburycivicsociety.org.uk

Market Place Planning Application - the Society's Response
(this is slightly condensed and the full version can be found on the Wiltshire Council website)

            The Society maintains its long-held position of supporting the general objective of improving the Market Place, for which there is plenty of scope, but has expressed serious concern about some specific aspects of the proposals contained in the planning application.

1. Trees          The Society accepts the application's contention that, due to the condition of some of the trees, and the disruption they are causing to surfaces, it makes sense to remove the existing trees and start again from scratch. This will inevitably create a somewhat barren look in the early years of the new scheme, but we are prepared to accept this if the long-term effect justifies it. Our concern is that the current proposals will not create such a long-term effect, and that the consequence will be a market place whose character is downgraded for a generation or more. We believe this will result both from the species of replacement tree chosen, and the proposed number of them.

            The tree in question is a pear, Pyrus calleryana 'chanticleer', which has a constrained conical form, non-spreading and entirely different from the present Lime and Plane trees. A market place with 17 Pyrus trees, as opposed to the present total of 34 trees, will be a place with a vastly reduced amount of greenery, and one that takes on an entirely unnecessary degree of formality. With the exception of the overgrown plane trees along Oatmeal Row, on the west side of the Market Place, we feel that the current verdant character of the planting adds a welcome element to the space, and that its loss for the foreseeable future will be highly regrettable.

            The avenue along Blue Boar Row, at present rather haphazard in layout but very attractive, will be replaced by 11 Pyrus trees, spaced at 11 metre intervals along each row, which will mean a lot of space and not a great deal of tree, leaving something which can hardly be called an avenue at all. Spacings for the remaining 6 trees proposed for elsewhere in the Market Place are not greatly different.

            Apart from a completely unconvincing reference to CCTV coverage and the advantage of removing 'shadier corners', no real reasons are given for the change of character entailed in the tree proposals, and the increasingly real benefits of shade as summers get hotter are not referred to.

            The Society proposes a significantly different approach to tree replanting. Specifically, we suggest that:

1) Along Oatmeal Row, at the Library end of the Market Place, the Pyrus may be acceptable, but eight trees, rather than the four proposed, are needed here.

2) Along Blue Boar Row, the number of trees needs to be increased, to allow for 11 metre separation in each row rather than 22. This would probably allow space for an additional 9 trees, and even then the Pyrus would still be inappropriate. We suggest Lime or Plane trees, as in the Market Place at present, or possibly forms of Norway Maple or of Ash.

3) Along Queen Street, at the eastern end of the Market Place, we would like to see the existing lime trees retained if possible, since they have a longer projected lifespan and are causing less damage to surfaces than trees elsewhere. The proposed relocation of the war memorial to this end of the Market Place, and the proposed new access at the Queen Street/Blue Boar Row corner, will mean some losses are inevitable, though they would be reduced if the memorial could be sited further westwards than as proposed. If the existing trees cannot be retained, any new planting should be of Lime or Plane, not Pyrus.

2. New buildings       Two new buildings are proposed along Blue Boar Row, one a bin store and the other a combined bin/store disabled toilet, and their design is of great concern to the Society. In form they are mundane boxes, not redeemed by being clad in stone, which could in fact make them look worse unless the stonework is very well executed. The Society looked at similar types of buildings from elsewhere, which clearly show that it is possible to design such structures in an imaginative, distinctive and attractive way, which would add something positive to the Market Place rather than detracting from it, which is the likely effect of the buildings proposed.

3. Surfaces     The Society's original response to the rival market place designs, which were the subject of a public exhibition in 2008, advocated a 'two space' approach, with some recognition, probably through trees, of the separate identity of the Guildhall square. However an intention to open out the whole space has been a key feature of the redesign exercise since a choice of architects was made, and the Society is now pressing for some recognition of the importance of the Guildhall through a change in the paving pattern at this end of the space, to a greater extent than a change in colour which is in the current proposals. The Society is not opposed to the overall concept of granite setts in the central part of the space, surrounded by York stone paving.

The Society has also put in comments on aspects of the lighting, and is concerned about the lack of any details of the street furniture, which will make an important contribution to the overall effect. However its main focus has been on the trees and the new buildings, areas where it feels significant changes need to be made if the project is to have a successful outcome. Its views have been submitted both to the planners, and directly to the director of the Vision project.

Current Issues as at May 2011

Wilton Road - The Old Manor site.      The Old Manor Hospital site comprises two areas of land, separated by the Wilton Road. By far the largest is that on the south side of the road, which contains three listed buildings and a listed fountain. The part on the north side contains a further two listed buildings, and all the site is within the Salisbury conservation area. In the 1920s and 30s the Old Manor Hospital was, according to one account, the largest private mental hospital in Europe. It was taken over by the state in 1954, at which time it had 672 beds, though this had reduced to 288 beds by 1978. Since then, of course, approaches to mental health care have radically altered, and the current facilities are very different. On the south side of the road, completion in 2003 of three new mental health care buildings on the eastern side has left land on the western side surplus to the original NHS requirements for the site. This includes the main former hospital building, the Grade II listed Finch House, and other buildings which deserve to be retained.
            A design brief was produced in 2000 to direct the future of the whole site, driven by the expectation that the primary use of any surplus land or buildings would be residential, and the Society made the point, then and subsequently, that any such development needed to be of the highest possible design standards. The conservation area designation for the site theoretically gives the Council the power to require this, though of course views may differ as to what constitutes good design, and the planning system is in any case not an ideal tool for achieving it, particularly given the key role almost invariably given to the profit motive. Since 2000 an interminable process has seen the southern side of the site, the most sensitive parts of which are in the ownership of the Wiltshire Primary Care Trust, subjected to various changes of mind as to what its future should be, and what mechanisms should be in place to create that future. During 2009 planning consultants were finally appointed to procure a new building. This is intended to house two Salisbury GP practices, both of which feel their current premises to be unsatisfactory, possibly together with space for the Primary Care Trust, though this is now nearing the end of its life due to the government's intentions for changes to the way the NHS is managed. For over a decade nothing has been done to guarantee the future of any of the existing buildings, for which some sort of action is urgently needed. They are boarded up and decaying, including the listed ones, and the whole site has a derelict and forlorn appearance. At the eastern end of the site, near St Paul's roundabout, the listed Kennet Lodge for many years shared that appearance, but has now been rescued and opened as a Quaker Meeting House. The work to the building received an award in the Civic Society's 2010 Buildings Awards Scheme.
            In 2006 the Society identified one of the currently unlisted buildings on the southern side of the Old Manor site, the ballroom, as being worthy of particular protection, and asked English Heritage to consider it for listing. The ballroom was built in 1868/9, and is remarkable for the purely Georgian style of its main features, when one much more typical of the mid-Victorian period might have been expected for a building of this type. The English Heritage assessment ignored this aspect of the ballroom, identified it as a fairly commonplace example of a not especially rare building type, and recommended that it should not be listed. Its conservation area location gives it some protection, for instance requiring an application before demolition could be carried out, but not the same scale of protection that listing would have conferred. The ballroom is included in the site selected for the new GP practice premises, and it remains unclear how it will be affected by proposals for this.
                        Surplus land and buildings to the north of the Wilton Road have been in different ownership, that of the Salisbury Foundation NHS Trust, but have now been sold on. The two listed Paragon buildings, fronting the Wilton Road, will repaired and returned to their original residential use, though permission for flats immediately to their west was refused and an appeal against this has been lodged. To their north is the unlisted house known as Llangarren, with a similar date of 1840-50, and clearly built as part of a group with the Paragon pair. The Civic Society also proposed to English Heritage that Llangarren deserved listed status, but as with the ballroom the request was denied, on the grounds that the house had been too greatly changed, and that its relationship to the Paragon buildings had been too compromised to make listing justified. A fire in 2009 gutted the building and made its future even unclearer, but a recent upturn in its fortunes has seen permission granted for a new care home use, which will retain the original house but demolish an unattractive 1930s extension.  
While the northern part of the Old Manor site is finally seeing action which should rescue it from its long-term derelict appearance, the southern part remains a disgrace to the city, particularly given how long it has been in its current state, and a speedy resolution is urgently needed. Wiltshire Council have produced a report, dated April 2011, which states that acquisition of the site would 'provide the Council with a suitable site for the development of a specialist care home for older people with dementia and extra care housing in order to meet the needs of an increasing elderly population. Affordable general needs accommodation could also be delivered on the remainder of the site.' The financing of such a project is unclear, but it seems likely that it would depend on the land being passed over by the Primary Care Trust for a minimal price. The PCT's formal response to the idea is awaited. 

Local government reorganisation - impact on planning and conservation.     Although early fears that the disappearance of all the district councils in Wiltshire in 2009 and their replacement by one body, the new Wiltshire Council, would mean a centralisation and consequent remoteness of planning and conservation services proved to be largely groundless, general disquiet about the loss of local control and an imposition of uniformity across the county has never gone away. In 2010 the situation was significantly worsened by cost-cutting measures, which led to a reduction in the number of conservation officer in south Wiltshire from three to two. Inevitably this has meant that the scope of work carried out by the conservation team has been drastically reduced.
            From the Society's viewpoint, one of the most serious consequences of the new drive for uniformity has been the loss of the former Design Forum, which under the previous District Council had brought together local architects, giving their time voluntarily, and other interested parties to give their views on the design elements of planning applications, or pre-application approaches. Those attending included a non-architect representative from the Society, and the Design Forum was widely seen as a valuable resource. The decision to abolish it, on the grounds that the establishment of similar bodies in the other parts of the county could not be justified, and that it would be anomalous to leaving it just existing in the south, was seen as highly deplorable. Although the loss was accompanied by a promise that equivalent other means would be found to try to ensure high design standards, it is entirely unclear what these measures are. 

Conservation area appraisals   Wiltshire Council has a statutory obligation to carry out appraisals of all the 70 conservation areas in the south of the county, resulting in documents which will set out the particular characteristics and merits of each of them, and provide a framework for new development which will meet the required criterion of 'preserving or enhancing' their character. This includes the Salisbury conservation area, whose scale had discouraged work on an appraisal, until the city's Vision project made the need for it difficult to ignore. Consultants engaged by the former District Council undertook the work, leading to a document which was the subject of consultation in 2010. The final version is now essentially completed, but reductions in council staffing have delayed its progress through its final stages towards adoption. There is a commitment from the council that all the work put in so far will not be wasted, but the finished appraisal is not yet in place.
            Meanwhile nine village conservation area appraisals have already been through a consultation process and are now formally adopted, and should be referred to when relevant planning proposals come up. The villages are Dinton, Hindon, Amesbury, Steeple Langford, Tisbury, Downton, Durrington, Wylye and Broad Chalke. With what amounts to something like a 37% cut in conservation staffing and an emphasis on what is regarded as 'essential' work, it is difficult to see at present how the 60 conservation areas not yet tackled will ever be covered by an appraisal.

Housing estate design.        Salisbury continues to grow, and the most obvious growth points are the housing estates round its outskirts, which are seldom acclaimed as shining examples of good design. More housing sites are being allocated under the Core Strategy, the key planning document under the current planning framework, and the Society is concerned that despite a reduction in housing targets following a changed approach from the government, the outcome will be further areas of bland suburban housing, which neither respond to the city's historic architecture nor add anything innovative or interesting. With limited resources, the Society finds it difficult to assess and comment as fully as it would like on the copious documentation which accompanies the planning applications for such estates, but it did hold a very successful open meeting towards the end of 2009, which showed ways in which housing needs can be met with far more positive outcomes than have been witnessed locally. In the light of this, the Society  attempts to look as early and as fully as possible at further housing estate proposals, in the recognition that they make a fundamental contribution to the city's overall character, one which to date could hardly be described as matching the achievements of earlier periods.