Council to spend £167,000 on Shaw House car park revamp

District council to make a range of improvements to historic building

WEST Berkshire Council will spend £167,000 on improving the car parks outside Shaw House.

The council, which owns and maintains the 16th century Grade I-listed building, will remove the parking area from the front of the historic house and return the area to lawn.

The overflow car park will be improved to form the main parking area, while a vehicular ramp will be constructed to connect the two areas of the overflow car park.

Vehicular access to the new car park will be gained from the existing access from Church Lane, while pedestrian access to Shaw House from the lower area will be gained via new steps which will replace the ‘uneven’ existing steps.

The proposals will also provide 106 parking spaces over the two levels, which will be connected by a two-way ramp, as well as three parking bays and a drop-off point for disabled visitors immediately adjacent to the house.

A bound surface will be applied to the car park to improve accessibility and will enable the car park bays to be delineated. A 1.2m pedestrian walkway along the rear of the bays on the west side will also be delineated.

The lower area is currently used as an overflow car park for visitors.

The upper area, formerly a tennis court and building, is currently unused. There is no vehicular access between the two and access to the upper area was historically gained from Love Lane.

A gated access is in place however there is no planning permission in place to use the access at present.

The council says the changes are needed because Shaw House currently has no delineation of parking bays, poor accessibility standards and no facilities for disabled parking.

Shaw House is a Grade I listed manor house built in 1581. In 2005 a £6m restoration was undertaken following grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Vodafone and English Heritage.

The building was opened to the public for the first time in 2008. The council has spent more than £1m on the upkeep and maintenance.