Guest blog, by Philip Grant in a personal capacity:-
The newly renovated
listed Georgian house in Kensal Green.
A press release
issued by Brent Council on 9 February
opens with the words: ‘A threatened
historic building is now a beautiful family home thanks to Brent’s heritage
experts.’
It gives the news of
how Brent’s Heritage team worked with the new owner of this Georgian villa, on
the Harrow Road in Kensal Green, and Historic England, to retain the historic
characteristics of a building that had fallen into disrepair, and was “at
risk”. The press release ends with a link, inviting us to “Read more about Brent’s heritage assets”.
The page on the
Council’s website tells us:
‘Brent's heritage assets include a wide range of
architectural styles from Victorian Italianate, Gothic Revival, suburban 'Arts
and Crafts', ‘Tudorbethan’, ‘Old World’, Modern and Brutalist.’
‘Heritage assets make a substantial contribution to Brent's
local character and distinctiveness. They are a unique and irreplaceable
resource which justifies protection, conservation and enhancement.’
And, after describing
the various types of heritage assets, including statutory listed buildings,
locally listed buildings and registered parks and gardens, it concludes by stating:
‘Brent’s heritage is
valued as evidence of the past culture, providing a sense of belonging.’
Brent’s finest example
of the Victorian Italianate style of architecture, and a locally listed
heritage asset, is the villa at 1 Morland Gardens, originally known as
“Altamira”. It was built in 1876, as part of the original Stonebridge Park
development, by the architect Henry Kendall Jr. It is ‘a unique and
irreplaceable resource which justifies protection, conservation and
enhancement.’ And yet, its owner, Brent Council, plans to demolish it.
“Altamira” at the
entrance to Stonebridge Park in a 1906 postcard. (Source:
Brent Archives)
“Altamira”, now home to
the Brent Start adult college, in 2020.
At the first pre-application planning meeting in
March 2019, Brent’s project team were told that the Council’s Heritage Officer
believed that this heritage building should be retained. But a Planning Officer
had already (wrongly) told them that ‘not retaining the villa was acceptable.’
When Brent submitted its planning application in
2020, seeking to demolish the Victorian villa to make way for a new college
facility with an eight-storey block of flats on top of it, the Heritage
Officer’s initial comments said that the villa ‘should be considered an
important local heritage asset of high significance.’
The Heritage Officer’s final report, dismissed the
conclusions put forward in a “Heritage Statement” submitted by planning agents
on behalf of Brent Council, as the prospective developer. He referred to
evidence provided by ‘Anthony Geraghty MA PhD, Professor of the History of
Architecture at the University of York’, saying:
‘He rates Henry Edward Kendall Jr. as ‘an architect
of considerable importance whose nineteenth century villa characterises work by
an architect of genuine and lasting significance.’ This is supported by the
Victorian Society who make the point that the Stonebridge Park Estate was a
development by a Victorian ‘architect of note’ and a ‘good surviving example of
a key aspect of Kendall's small, domestic works’.’
Brent’s heritage planning policy DMP7 says:
‘Proposals for…heritage assets should…retain buildings, …where their loss would
cause harm.’ It’s Heritage Officer’s final report clearly stated that: ‘The
demolition of the building, by its very nature, must be seen as substantial
harm to the significance of the heritage asset.’
Despite the evidence of “Brent’s heritage expert”,
and the efforts of myself and other residents to get Brent’s Planning Committee
to uphold the Council’s own heritage planning promises, five of
the eight members were persuaded to accept the recommendation of Brent’s Planning Officers, and approve the
Council’s application.
I welcome the news that the privately-owned
heritage Georgian villa in Kensal Green has been restored to its former glory –
but when it comes to heritage, it does seem that there is one rule for the
Council, and another for everyone else!
-----------------------------------------------------
I’m dedicating this article to the memory of Martin
Redston. Martin was one of
many supporters of Willesden Local History Society’s campaign to “Save the
Altamira”. He’d also been a leading figure in the 2012/13 community campaign to
stop the demolition by Brent Council of another locally listed heritage asset,
the original 1894 Victorian section of Willesden Green Library.
Brent’s then Regeneration Director had said it
would be impossible to retain that building if the Council was to have a new library
centre, “for free”, as part of its proposed deal with a developer partner.
Martin provided them with this sketch, to show how it could be done.
Public pressure forced the Council to change its
mind, and Brent now boasts of its new Willesden Green Library. There is even a
photograph of it on the front of its Historic Environment Place-Making Strategy
booklet, with a caption saying that the new building: ‘returns to use the locally
listed Victorian Library blending perfectly the old and the new.’
There is still time for Brent to change its mind,
and do the same at 1 Morland Gardens, rather than demolishing a beautiful, and
still useful, heritage asset.
Philip Grant.
