Homes plan approved on site of B-listed building

May 28 2009 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

Homes plan approved on site of B-listed building

OUTLINE plans to build two houses on green belt land next to Hamilton’s B-listed Old Toll House were this week given the go-ahead.

Councillors on South Lanarkshire’s planning committee approved Townfield Construction’s scheme despite four letters of objection

Officials had pointed out that while the scheme was contrary to the South Lanarkshire Local plan, a departure was justified on the grounds that the homes would act as an “enabling development” to secure funding for the restoration of the Old Toll House, which has been vacant and derelict for a number of years.

Townsfield Construction’s plans also include the renovation, extension, and partial demolition of a double garage at the Old Toll House.

It was also stressed that the houses would be designed in a sensitive manner to take account of the green belt location and the setting of the nearby A-listed Avon Bridge.

Opponents’ concerns included the impact any extension to the Old Toll House would have on the building, built in 1820 by Thomas Telford.

There were also worries that the two houses proposed would have a “grave” impact on flora and fauna in the Avon gorge, and look “completely out of place.”

However, the Council’s executive director (enterprise resources) Iain Urquhart explained that proceeds from the sale of plots A and B would be used to offset the costs of the renovation of the Old Toll House.

Mr Urquhart told councillors in a document that “material considerations” associated with the proposal justified a departure from the Development Plan.

“The adjacent Toll House has remained vacant and in a derelict condition for a number of years and is included in a Scottish Civic Trust National Register of Buildings at Risk,” he said.

“It is accepted that there is an urgent need to restore the listed building, and that some form of enabling development is required to fund the proposed restoration project for heritage reasons.

“It is my opinion that the need to restore the listed building would justify a departure from the Development Plan to enable the development of a sensitively designed low-impact scheme on the site.”