Heritage of utmost importance in historic Newbury building conversion

STRUCTURAL changes planned for one of Newbury’s most historic buildings were refused last week in the hope that a ‘more sympathetic’ proposal was submitted.

French restaurant chain Côte Brasserie is seeking permission to convert the Grade II-listed building at 102/103 Northbrook Street into a 152-seater restaurant.
The building was recently discovered to date back to 1497, the reign of Henry VIII, making it one of the five oldest buildings in the town, and even older than St Nicolas Church, which was constructed in the early 1500s.
Members of Newbury Town Council’s planning and highways committee voted in favour of the building’s change of use, but argued that a decision on the structural changes should be refused until more sympathetic and detailed design and heritage statements were submitted.
Ward member David Allen (Lib Dem) said: “I do support this. The building has been empty for a time now. “I appreciate it’s another restaurant, but it’s a high-quality chain and it’s new to this area. “But the heritage and design statement does not reflect that the building is 300 years older than it was thought to be. “The statement needs to be changed so that it reflects its history. It’s an incredible building for Newbury.”
Councillors also posed no objection to the plans to convert the current Robert Dyas shop, on Northbrook Street, into a two-floor restaurant. The application has been submitted by wealth management and investment firm Rathbone Trust Co. However no information as to what style of restaurant it might be or of its possible tenants have been confirmed.
Decisions are due on both applications by West Berkshire Council planners by September 18 and September 29 respectively.