Opposition building to ‘teletubby’ house at historic green belt site

Opposition is building against plans for a large ‘Teletubby’-style house on the green belt site of a former historic hall.

Some 70 objections have been lodged with Rochdale council over an application to create a large family home within the grounds of Bamford Old Hall, in Norden.

The original hall was built in the 16th century and replaced by a new building in 1841 which was demolished 100 years later. Two new houses were built in its place.

Plans have now been put forward for a large family home featuring a ‘sweeping green roof’ and sloping sides, which has been compared to the Teletubby house of children’s TV fame.

Documents accompanying the application – made by Mark Beswick and his wife, who own the land – say the mainly single-storey building is intended to ‘sit comfortably within the landscape’.

Mr Beswick's parents used to own Bamford Old Hall, but the house was sold in 2013 after his father died and his mother was unable to maintain it. 

Dubbed ‘Kestrel House’, it is envisaged as a ‘21st century replacement for Bamford Old Hall. The seven-acre site is a paddock boasting an historic ice house and a pond, both of which would be restored as part of the scheme.

Two previous applications have been rejected - including a 'palladian style villa' -  but the ‘total footprint’ of the latest design has been decreased due to the reduction of space at basement level.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/109115/plans-for-21st-century-palladian-style-villa-in-bamford-rejected
• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/100204/objections-to-plans-to-build-house-fifteen-times-larger-than-the-average-uk-house-on-green-belt-land

However, opposition to the scheme is mounting, with residents unconvinced it is in keeping with the character of the area and worried it could set a precedent for building on other green belt sites.

 

 

Paul Ellison, chairman of the Norden Environmental and Economic Village Association, has described the design as being akin to a ‘Teletubby house’.

Mr Ellison said he – and the majority of Norden residents – were opposed to the plans.

He said: “I know historically the old Bamford Hall could have stood on that footprint, but it got moved. If one building gets moved it doesn’t mean another goes in its place.

“It’s green belt to me, I don’t think it should be built, it would set a precedent for more people to start doing it.”

Norden councillor James Gartside said that local feeling was very much against the development going ahead.

He said: “It’s not really a replacement building, because Bamford Hall was knocked down and moved to a different place – and because it’s green belt there obviously have to be special reasons for it.

“The local residents don’t think there are special reasons for putting up this huge house on green belt land when there was not a house there before, that’s the big problem.”

Councillor Gartside adds that he is unimpressed by the distinctive design of the proposed house.

“I don’t think – and most residents don’t think – the design is outstanding enough in any way to offset the fact they’re going to be building on green belt land as a new development,” he said.

The Conservative councillor acknowledged that each planning application must ‘stand alone’ on its merits, but said there were fears of a precedent.

He said: “Others might think that if others have done it they will find similar reasons to do it. If they (the applicant) can’t do it the chances of someone else getting permission for something similar is reduced, because there’s no precedent set.”

 

 

However, in a statement provided with the application, landscape and gardens historian Ruth Thurnhill says ‘Rochdale cannot miss this opportunity of injecting some improvements into a stagnating landscape. It will win awards’.

She continued: “The proposed dwelling at Bamford Hall would not encroach upon the existing important elements of carriage-drive and lodge, landscape park, and compactness of place. The sublime picturesque valley of Norden Brook, Bamford Wood and the ice-house would not be compromised.”

She added that new building would ‘nestle into the boundary of the approach to the stable complex’ ensuring the ‘privacy of the stabling and houses is not lost’.

The original Hall was constructed perhaps as early as the 13th century. In 1951, the hall was demolished by James Berry Ltd, and the current properties on the adjacent site, Bamford Hall and Bamford Old Hall, were constructed.

The site and its surrounding are considered to be of significant historical, evidential, aesthetic and communal value, as a good example of a small country parkland developed in the 19th century by the Fenton family, who acquired the Hall in 1816.

A decision on the application will be made by Rochdale council’s planning and licensing committee.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter

Additional reporting: Michelle Kight, Rochdale Online