Newbury "Summer Pavilion" given thumbs up

Plans approved despite town council concerns

PLANS to construct a wooden pavilion in the grounds of a historic Newbury building have been approved by West Berkshire Council, despite strong objections from neighbouring residents.

The application is to build a ‘summer pavilion’ in the back garden of the Grade II-listed Goldwell House in Old Bath Road.

The four-storey Georgian building is currently used as offices by web company NJW Ltd, and the new 4.3m x 4.3m wooden structure is intended to be used by staff for recreation.

West Berkshire Council officers had recommended that the plans, for what they say is a “modest” structure, should be approved, stating the new pavilion was “not considered to impact on the setting of the listed building”.

Residents, however, had objected to the application, claiming that the structure would not be in keeping with the existing building – with some claiming it would resemble a garden shed – and would ruin the Jesmond Dene street scene to the rear of the property.

Concerns were also raised over potential noise from staff using the pavilion over the summer.

Newbury Town Council had also raised objections, saying the plans were not in harmony with the landmark building.

However, following the decision to approve the plans at a meeting last week,the chairman of West Berkshire Council western area planning committee, Paul Bryant, said he was confident the councillors had made the right decision.

He said: “I have got an 1865 map of Newbury and it shows Goldwell House and in front of it there’s no buildings at all, so what you would have seen is a house on parkland. It would have been fantastic.

“Now if you look at it, you’ve got a car park in the front garden, the back garden is like a postage stamp and around you’ve got modern houses, which has ruined its context, ruined its setting.

“For setting purposes the damage has already been done, so I don’t think this ‘shed’ is going to make much difference at all.

“The other issues that the residents are worried about is that there will be parties – but so could the residents in the houses around it.

“There is legislation to prevent that, and, in any case, it’s not really a planning matter so we didn’t think that point held much water.

“On the whole, I think we made the right decision but I do think it’s sad to see the house in its current setting.”