Heritage Statement for the reuse of a vacant building in Hindley Town Centre Conservation Area.

A building the appraisal singles out.

The building had been a dental laboratory and was empty. The owner proposed to convert it to shared housing. Almost all the work was internal. Outside, the proposal was to take down the modern fascia sign and the roller shutters.

Because the site is in a conservation area the application needed a Heritage Statement, and the decision would be subject to s.72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. The heritage question was whether a change away from commercial use, in a town centre conservation area, could be shown to do some good.

The council’s own appraisal supplied the starting point. It lists vacant shops, roller shutters and poor signage among the things that spoil the conservation area, and it names 21 Bridge Street among a small number of historic buildings in a poor state of repair.

Dating the building and reading the appraisal.

We traced the site from the tithe map of 1837 through five Ordnance Survey editions, from the first edition published in 1849 to the map published in 1970. That fixed the date of the building to the first years of the 20th century and identified the public house it replaced. The assessment was desk-based and used photographs supplied by the owner.

We then set the proposal against the appraisal’s list of problems, item by item. A building that the appraisal identifies as vacant and in poor repair would be brought back into use, and two of the features the appraisal objects to would be removed from its front.

The Heritage Statement.

Our Heritage Statement of January 2023 described the conservation area and the building, set out the map regression, and concluded that the change of use would cause no harm to the conservation area. It found that removing the sign and shutters would enhance the street and the character and appearance of the area.

The council agreed that the scheme was an improvement.

Wigan’s conservation adviser wrote that the building “still makes a contribution to the character of the conservation area”, had no objection to removing the shutters and sign, and supported the scheme provided that the traditional fascia and cornice of the shopfront were kept.

Planning permission was granted in March 2023. The planning officer found that the existing shutters and sign themselves caused some harm, and that removing them would reveal the traditional fascia board with its decorative cornice and enhance the appearance of the building. A condition requires the sign and shutters to be removed, and the brickwork behind made good, before the building is occupied.