After 1 ½ hours and super presentations by all, planning permission was granted.
Subject to funding this is how our new Memorial Hall will look.
The first item on the Agenda was a rebuild of the village hall at Over Haddon, which was approved unanimously by the Committee. They are currently also going for the same Big Lottery Fund grant as we are. Then came Parwich Memorial Hall. Between 45 and 50 people from Alsop, Parwich, etc attended the meeting, ranging from the very young to the more mature, and a very enthusiastic bunch we were to. The Chair of the Planning Committee had to request that we did not clap after a spontaneous burst of applause followed the first speaker.
The Planning Officers tabled a supplementary report including the representations on the amended plans and recommending that approval be granted with the following conditions:
- Adopt amended plans
- Minor design details
- Comply with District Council requirements
- Comply with Highway Authority requirements
- Submission of landscaping scheme
- Restricted use of the land adjacent to Shaw Lane House
- Restrict hours of operation between 6-30am and 12pm
- Building only to be used for local community purposes within Class D2
Some five people spoke on behalf of the application (representing distinct organisations or groups of people) including our Architect, the Chair of Parwich Parish Council and Parwich Primary School’s Headteacher; all spoke enthusiastically for the scheme stating the advantages to the Pre-School, the School and the community. A real positive was that the design grew out of an extensive local consultation and that considerable thought had gone into the parking and traffic issues, the new site layout providing a much safer pedestrian link between the Hall and the School. The problems of the current building (including disabled access) were raised as well as the dramatic reduction in our carbon footprint of the new Hall. Also if the School is to meet the full requirements of the National Curriculum by 2010, the new Hall is essential.
Two people spoke against the application: one raising concerns about parking and road safety on a stretch of road that sits between two blind bends; and the other arguing that the current building was still fit for purpose and the new build would result in prohibitively higher rental charges. Committee members questioned all the speakers on a range of issues but particularly in relation to parking and road safety. They concluded that the proposed new Hall would not significantly alter the current situation, but that they would write to the County Council raising the general issue of road safety in this central part of Parwich.
The Committee indicated that rental charges was not a planning issue, but expressed the hope that every effort would be made to ensure local groups could afford the hire. (It should be noted that the running costs of the new hall will be lower and that the Lottery bid is based on the assumption that hire charges will be the same or in some cases lower than at present.)
There was extensive discussion of the sustainability issues, mainly focusing on what was the proper role of planning conditions in this situation and how they might be appropriately worded. (It should be noted that the application included information on sustainability issues and Lottery Funding will be contingent on them being put in place.) It was decided to include an additional condition to be worded by the Senior Planning Officer ensuring the build would contain appropriate environmental/sustainability features.
There was also discussion of the carbide shed and the decision already agreed is that the new electricity sub-station building would re-use the stone and tiles from this existing shed.
The Chair of the Authority and Members of the Committee spoke enthusiastically about the local consultation process and commended the overall design on an awkward site. They commended the community’s aspirations to create an exciting modern design using traditional and modern materials that harmonised with the surrounding buildings and would enhance the Conservation Area. It was also stressed that this was a golden opportunity to show how the Authority can work together with communities to develop exciting new designs that help sustain those communities.
The Committee voted unanimously to pass the application with the above conditions including the Police recommendations, the reuse of material from the carbide shed and the sustainability issues. Fortunately the next item Conservation Area approval for the demolition of the existing Memorial Hall was passed rapidly and unanimously.
Well done to Parwich Parish Council, the Memorial Management Committee and particularly the Design & Planning Group for all the hard work that has got us so far, and for sticking to their guns when the Planning Officers tried to get us to remove the storage elements and reduce the size of the Hall.
Thank you to those that wrote to Peak Park Planners and those who attended the meeting today. Well done everybody. Now we can sit back and …. oops, sorry, now we have to work like mad to complete the Lottery Fund application and identify other sources of sponsorship and matched funding.
Perhaps there are two things we need to take away from this meeting:
- Firstly we should not to let the general issue of traffic and parking in Parwich be forgotten, though the Parish Council have already considered in detail the traffic survey undertaken as part of the planning for the new Hall, and are in discussion with the County Council on these issues. The challenge is to find a solution suitable to our rural setting that does not import inappropriate urban features.
- Secondly we need to ensure that all, including those who will feel a very real sense of loss about the demolition of the old Memorial Hall, feel able to be part of moving forward.
PARWICH.ORG 
Congratulations to all who worked so hard for this. It is an absolutely key hurdle in the process, and will surely give all of those who are so selflessly giving so much a real boost to help drive the BLF bid over the line.
Seeing the dedication and effort of these people at close quarters I am truly in awe of their drive to ensure that generations to come have a lasting and sustainable facility and focal point for the community.
Following a year when there has been a real sense that the fabric of our village is diminishing, this decision gives me a great feeling of hope that something positive is happening to build and reinforce our community spirit. I would like to express my thanks to the people who have worked so hard to achieve this milestone. I am very aware that the process has been difficult and stressful at times and would like you to know that there is a great deal of gratitude in the village for your commitment to this project – even if it is sometimes not expressed openly.
I would also like to say that we must empathise with the points made in the objections and do what we can to address them.
It gave me great satisfaction to help with Lynette’s planning battle for her garden room; then with the planning application for the Hall, both eventually successful, .
I’m hugely impressed with the power of your group, and delighted that you and our immediate neighbour, Over Haddon, got unanimous approvals for your new halls -and praise – from the PDNPA membership and certain officers.
As chairman of Sustainable Yougrave and a member of Youlgrave’s Parish Plan team, I’m encouraged by the resurgence of community power as a political force. Also by your application(s) to major capital funds.
We have capital and carbon ambitions too, and can carry on planning with greater confidence. Thank you for that.
This note is personal and hasn’t been agreed by SY or the PP team.
As relative newcomers who have moved to the village we feel incredibly lucky and proud to be in Parwich. One of the things we were looking for when choosing a village to move to (which will be our final resting point) was a sense of community with a range of activities going on, a school, a church, a pub, a shop & a village hall. The last five requirements can easily be ticked (they are either present or they are not) but how do you measure a “sense of community”. Well, being present at the Planning Committee Meeting at Bakewell yesterday proved yet again that Parwich has “it”. The professionalism and dedication from all those that have been involved in endless meetings over the past 8 years, the willingness of many to write to Peak Park and then the fantastic attendance of almost 50 individuals at the meeting was almost overwhelming (we certainly dominated the room). In a small community there will always be a mix of opinions and that is healthy. It is through this mix of views over the years that we have ended up with planning permission for a dynamic, user-friendly and probably the most amazing feature a “contemporary” Memorial Hall worthy of 21st century design in a National Park. Well done to everyone. Good luck and thank you to those who still have days of work ahead of them preparing the bid for the Big Lottery.
Maybe we need to have some form of event to acknowledge the achievement so far and to celebrate the community of Parwich.
Having, albeit on the periphery, been involved with the work done to get us to this point, I can not but echo the previous thanks for the incredible hard work and commitment that the Committee, the various sub-groups and other volunteers have put in so far. People have not just given the odd hour or day of their time, but over the last eight and more years given weeks and months of their time.
It has not always been easy, and the objections and disagreements are an important part of the process. The time and thought put in by those unhappy with the scheme are equally valuable in ensuring we have the best possible Memorial Hall.
We have ‘Project Parwich’, but perhaps it should be ‘Celebration Parwich’.
I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the people who have contributed to the success of our planning application and the work to date on the Big Lottery application.
It was a real morale booster to see so many faces in the audience and hear their positive comments. The demonstration of community determination was most apparent and beneficial not only to our project but that of Over Haddon, a smaller village than ours,but faced with all the same issues of sustaining a vibrant living working rural community in which village halls play such an active and necessary part.
I applaud the web team who have written such a commendable report on the process and outcome. The steering group welcomes and is indeed aided by your comments and suggestions for improvements. The Big Lottery Grant decision will focus on community involvement and engagement in addition to a clear indication that we have the skills, knowledge and resources to deliver this project. The acknowledgement by Peak District National Park Authority members of our professionalism and vision in putting forward a sensitive contemporary design solution in a conservation area is something of which we should be immensely proud.
A Note of Dissent on the Village Hall
Originally, the Peak park Planners robustly opposed this planning application, and rightly so. They gave a detailed, eloquent and forthright professional assessment, as follows.
The proposed development
– is not an appropriate design
– would use inappropriate materials
– is of inappropriate scale for its location.
– is contrary to Peak Park policies 4,10,30, and 31.
– runs contrary to the Structure Plan policies GS1, C3, and C4
– runs foul of Local policies LC4 and LC5
– is contrary to Supplementary Planning Documents and advice in PPS1, PPS7 and PPG15
– would fail to preserve or enhance a designated Conservation area.
– would have an unacceptable adverse impact on the residential amenities of neighbouring properties.
– provides inadequate provision of parking spaces, so compromising the safety of other highways users.
– would result in harm to the amenity of the local area and
– would put users with mobility difficulties at a relative disadvantage contrary to Structure Plan policies C15, T1, T8 and Local plan policies LC4 LT10 and LT22.
How’s about this for just one of the many quotes from their appraisal that are profoundly critical:
…there are serious flaws with the design approach taken in this case that gives rise to the Authority’s objections on design grounds….. any approval for the new hall would result in the introduction of a discordant and alien feature to the centre of the village.
We agree. We especially wish to defend our trees on this site from being destroyed so that we can see this proposed abomination with greater ease.
In the summary of their case, these were just a few of Peak Park’s points:
– The current application is contrary to general strategy, spatial conservation policies and an extensive range of detailed policies relevant to the proposal.
– The current application is considered to be incompatible with transport policies in the
Development Plan because of inadequate provision of parking spaces.
– The current application is open to substantial objections on grounds of unacceptable adverse impact on the residential amenity of neighbouring properties.
– The current application is open to substantial objections on the grounds of unacceptable
adverse impact on the character and appearance of the designated Conservation Area.
– The current application is open to substantial objections on design grounds.
– The proposed replacement village hall is not in keeping with the fundamental principles of the local building tradition and does not address issues of inclusivity, legibility and accessibility which are fundamental attributes of a successful public building.
In the face of this devastating critique, how was the Peak Park recomendation of refusal of planning permission so miraculously reversed at the last moment? Its a mystery to me.
The result is that a Coach and Horses has been driven through the entirety of Peak Park Strategic, Local and Conservation Policy, and in my opionion, has left the Peak Park’s planning integrity in tatters. The Planning Committee should be ashamed of themselves for letting down their planners so badly when the recommendation of rejection of the application was so comprehensive, thorough-going and wide-ranging.
When it came to the Planning Committee meeting on 15th August, two objectors were humiliated by being given just ninety seconds each to make verbal comment, while the proponents of the scheme were given four slots of three minutes each! Is this fair? Had the Committee decided before it ever sat down? Does it suggest the whole process had been fixed somehow? Was it a charade? Is this what’s called ‘Democracy’? Should the Hall committe be quite so smug?
As one village resident commented after the meeting “This is a stitch up”. And I agree.
The truth is – this Village Hall initiative is simply not supported by a significant section of the community. They would prefer refurbishment of the Hall at much less expense, or for a new Hall to be relocated on a site with adequate car parking so that Hall provision is not lost until the new Hall is ready.
I wonder if Parwich.org has space for opposition to the Party line?