Pressing ahead with diocesan HQ plans
An eco-friendly office will be built in the grounds of one of Southwell’s prebendal houses if plans are approved by Newark and Sherwood District Council.
Plans for new offices at Dunham House, Westgate, the headquarters of the Southwell and Nottingham Diocese, have been submitted to the district council.
The plans include demolishing a 1960s extension to the historic prebend and restoring the building before converting it into six apartments.
Former public toilets on Westgate that form part of the boundary wall will also be demolished.
Dunham House, which is listed for protection and is in Southwell’s conservation area, has been used by the diocese since 1977 as its headquarters.
The plans, expected to cost £2m to implement, were drawn up last year and have just been submitted to the council.
The chief executive for the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, Mr Nigel Spraggins, said: “It’s very important for us to keep our offices in Southwell, close to the cathedral and the bishop’s office and all in a central location within the county.
“Our present building is not suitable for an administration centre and is also costly to run and maintain.”
He said the plans would incorporate environmentally-friendly features and improve the street-scape on Westgate.
The offices would follow the existing contours of the site creating a three-tier building that would rise with the slope of the garden and be built into the hillside.
The building would be made of natural materials including a green roof with external walls made of triple-glazed glass punctuated with timber-clad panels.
The building, with an area of 1,291 square metres, would be set back from the front of the site to reduce views of it from Westgate and the impact on the neighbouring listed buildings.
More trees would be planted to screen views from Dunham House.
Access to the site would be widened and 37 parking spaces would be provided for diocese staff and occupants of Dunham House.
Dunham House itself would be converted into five two-bedroom apartments and one one-bedroom apartment with three on each of the two floors.
A lift would be installed. Access for the disabled would be created.
The original shape of the building would be recreated using a drawing from before the 1960s extension.
The planning application said the new office building, the demolition of the 1960s building and the conversion of Dunham House would be an improvement.
It said: “In a street with many listed buildings the present view of Dunham House from Westgate, together with the redundant public lavatories, has seriously eroded the character and appearance of the conservation area at this point.
“This adverse impact also affects the setting of the nearby listed buildings in Westgate.
“The utilitarian and outdated 20th Century office extension to Dunham House is over dominant and relegates the historic part to an appendage.
“It fails to be a truly modern building of note or to be a faithful reproduction of historic forms. The overall effect is one of significant harm to the setting of the listed building.
“The opportunity now presents itself to rectify this situation with a new office building for the diocese which would satisfy the requirements of the organisation, secure their future as an employer in Southwell, and give an opportunity to preserve the special interest of the listing building, and to enhance the character of the conservation area.”