We have submitted comments to East Herts Council following a planning application to convert 45 Port Hill to residential use.
As this building is not an existing community facility and has not operated as a commercial business for approximately two years, the proposed change of use to residential is not in breach of community and business policies in the Neighbourhood Plan. As such, we support the proposal for a change of use to residential.
Neighbourhood Plan Policy HBC2: Listed Buildings and Structures says ‘development proposals which affect designated heritage assets in the Neighbourhood Plan Area, including listed buildings and structures, will be permitted provided that they preserve or enhance the significance of the asset and its setting’. The policy also supports proposals to bring empty
listed buildings back into appropriate use in line with Historic England’s guidelines, when the benefits of development outweigh the disadvantages.
Although we’re not convinced that the new front boundary wall will be a positive aesthetic addition, the proposed alterations and additions to the building, as outlined in the Heritage and Design and Access Statements, are presented as sympathetic to the building’s heritage, and we look forward to seeing this empty listed building being brought back into use.