Agenda item

Alteration and refurbishment to accommodate Bailiffgate Museum. Install external access ramp. Remove escape stairs. New main entrance to North with new stair, new flatform lift and glazed infills to enclose the arched openings. Install of a Mezzanine including stair access and lift. Raising of chandeliers. Refurbishment of second floor to create meeting/storage area. Redecorate original entrance.

Northumberland Hall, Market Street, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1SS

Alteration and refurbishment to accommodate Bailiffgate Museum. Install external access ramp. Remove escape stairs. New main entrance to North with new stair, new platform lift and glazed infills to enclose the arched openings. Installation of a Mezzanine including stair access and lift. Raising of chandeliers. Refurbishment of second floor to create meeting/storage area. Redecorate original entrance.

Northumberland Hall, Market Street, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 1SS

J. Sharp – Senior Planning Officer, introduced the application with the aid of a PowerPoint Presentation and gave the following update:

·       The removal of conditions 4 and 6 from the recommendation.

J. Humphrys spoke in support of the application and gave the committee the following information:

·       The Bailiffgate Museum had around 10,000 visitors each year, they ran an education programme providing loan boxes and talks for schools and community groups from Berwick to Gateshead and had a strong outreach programme to capture the history and heritage of Alnwick and the districts around the town.

·       The museum had outgrown its current building.

·       The ambition was to create a dynamic and inclusive cultural and creative hub in the heart of Alnwick, building on local skills, pride, and confidence and to provide a catalyst for the regeneration of the town.

·       The aim was to retain the significant historical features of the building, ensuring that it complied with modern standards and take a sensitive approach to make minimum intervention.

·       Ramps and lifts would make the building accessible to all.

·       Refitting and glazing the “fish market portico” would give the building a highly visible entrance and a space in which to show museum exhibits.

·       The inclusion of a lightweight mezzanine floor, which could be removed with minimal hard to the building.

·       The applicant would re-use materials where possible and would keep the integrity of its Grade I listing.

·       There would be a retail unit available on the ground floor and a meeting space to rent on the third floor to provide a regular income.

·       The proposals provided the opportunity to give the building a long term, sustainable future through a new use that would bring more people into the building each day.

·       The fabric of the building would be made good, and its energy efficiency improved.

·       The application site would be flexible to allow for a range of purposes for the community and visitors.

Following questions from members to the planning officers, the following information was provided:

·       The public were still able to access the public toilets on the other side of the building.

Councillor Watson proposed to accept the officers recommendation to grant the application including the removal of conditions 4 and 6, and the inclusion of an informative or condition in respect of the cover for the cycle rack not being required, with the exact wording to be delegated to the Director of Planning, this was seconded by Councillor Bridgett.

A vote was taken as follows: FOR; 9, AGAINST; 0, ABSTAIN; 1.

RESOLVED that the application was GRANTED subject to the conditions outlined in the report and the removal of conditions 4 and 6 and the inclusion of an informative in respect of the cover for the cycle rack not being required.

Councillor Bridgett left the meeting.