11/00713/F - Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk

SUPPORTING CASE
The following is taken from the applicant’s Design and Access Statement:
“In spring 2010 the Borough Council approached the owners of the Lime House and asked
them to consider purchasing and restoring London House, in a back-to-back agreement,
should the local council buy London House using a compulsory purchase order (CPO).
Following many discussions and consultation with other interested parties, the deal was
agreed in principle. From an early date it was clear that the restoration of London House was
not economically viable as a stand-alone project; for this reason the idea of recouping the
loss by gaining access to the rear of the Lime House, separating the annex from Lime House
and developing it was conceived.
The benefits arising for the borough council, the parishioners of East Rudham, Highways
and the owners of Lime House from the accomplishment of this proposal are:
� The restoration to listed building standard of London House, which is currently a high
priority on the Listed Buildings at risk list, and which the BC cannot afford to restore,
at minimal cost to the local council.
� The resolution of a long standing dispute between the residents of East Rudham with
the support of their Parish Council concerning the failure of the Borough Council to
meet its statutory requirement to preserve the building and protect the safety of
pedestrians;
� The removal of an eyesore from the centre of a conservation area;
� The additional revenue to the borough council from two dwellings, London House
and the extended annexe;
� The regulation and reduction of traffic joining and leaving the A148 from the side of
the existing shop enhancing road safety.
� The building of a well designed, energy efficient dwelling, as an extension of the
annexe, is the only way to make the project financially self-supporting.
It is our wish to retain the traditional listed buildings and restore them into good repair. The
design approach to the refurbishment of London House is to retain as much of the original
features as possible, which gives them their intrinsic value and individuality. It is proposed to
retain the external appearance of the building by repairing and redecorating areas affected
by years of neglect.
Internally the layout remains the same, with the exception of removing the stairs to the shop
end of the building. These are not required and did not form part of the original dwelling. A
new door opening has been inserted on ground floor to provide access to the old shop area,
new family room. The removal of the shop frontage aids with Highways issues and goes with
the change of use from shop to residential. This area will be infilled with brickwork. Ideally
original re-used bricks will be sourced to infill this opening, however if this is not possible a
new brick to match the existing will be sourced and agreed with the local authority. The
design and detailing needs to be carefully handled so that the intrinsic quality and
appearance of the traditional buildings is maintained. The design solution set out in this
statement recognises the constraints and the design principles which need to be respected.
In order to make the repair and conversion of London House commercially viable, it is
important the annex can be separated away from Lime House and converted into an
individual dwelling. The compulsory purchase of London House will therefore be beneficial to
all parties. Therefore conversion of London House will help to secure the continued viability
of the existing site and hence the preservation of the buildings themselves over the long
term future”.
11/00950/F Development Control Board
25 July 2011
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