Birnbeck Conservation Group

Birnbeck Conservation Group (BCG) was formed in June 2021 following publication of new proposals for a tower block on the site of the former Royal Pier Hotel in the Birnbeck area of Weston-super-Mare.

Royal Pier Hotel Site 01

The Royal Pier Hotel site is hatched in orange above

BCG are highly concerned that the period Victorian heritage of this older part of the town may now be coming under increasing threat from insensitive, overbearing, unsympathetic and poorly-considered redevelopment, thereby damaging the town’s future economic prospects and the quality of life available to its residents and the wider outside community.

About us

We are a group of residents, businesses, visitors and admirers of the town who wish to see it thrive whilst properly preserving its traditional character.

We look to work alongside the many established groups, societies and trusts who share a love for this town and see its heritage as a crucial economic advantage as well as a vitally important social asset to the local community.

The Birnbeck Conservation Area

Birnbeck is situated within both the Great Weston Conservation Area and the associated Seafront Character area, which were formally recognised by North Somerset Council in December 2018. Birnbeck was previously recognised and designated (in 1984) in its own right as a unique conservation area in this part of Weston, being set as it is between the North Somerset shoreline, Weston Woods and the Hillside. This older area includes Birnbeck Pier, Birnbeck Island and Prince Consort Gardens along with the sweeping terraces of fine Victorian buildings surrounding them, some of which are formally listed.

CONSERVATION AREAS IN WESTON-SUPER-MARE
(Link to North Somerset Council website)

The proposals for the former Royal Pier Hotel site

Of immediate concern is the revised proposal first announced in April 2021 by CNM Estates (the same developer that has allowed Birnbeck Pier to further deteriorate since taking possession of this neighbouring site in 2014) to build a multi-storey apartment building adjacent to Prince Consort Gardens, on the site of the old Royal Pier Hotel (RPH) which was demolished following two fires in 2009 and in 2010.

This is the second time that plans for the site have been presented by CNM Estates to North Somerset Council (NSC). The first occasion was in January 2011. No development subsequently occurred, with receivers later being appointed before the land was reacquired by a CNM Estates-related and co-directed company, Birnbeck Investments Ltd.

Please see here for more details of the earlier Royal Pier Hotel site proposals.

A large tower block on the site would dominate the heritage settings in the Birnbeck conservation area including the Town Green-status Prince Consort Gardens, as well as comprehensively ruin the majestic outlook toward the Bristol Channel, Steep Holm Island and Brean Down.


Prince Consort Gardens – artist’s impression as seen at present	Developer’s own artist impression of the proposed new tower block as published in April 2021

PLEASE SEE HERE FOR CNM ESTATES FORMAL PLANNING APPLICATION AS PUBLISHED ON 1 DECEMBER 2021: (Link to NSC website)

Our objections to the proposals

BCG and its supporters object to excessive redevelopment of the site to a height which is greater than the former hotel lost to fire. Whilst the developer claims its proposal will bring economic regeneration to the area, the truth is that a sympathetic low-rise development could equally achieve the same end – and without despoiling the beautiful landscape & seascape which is itself an economic asset to Weston.

We hold that unsympathetic or overbearing development, as exemplified by the current proposals, damages some of the town’s major economic assets, including its visual appeal and hugely important heritage value, and along with these attributes the quality of life of its wider community.

We also hold that defined conservation areas such as the Birnbeck area should be considered to be safe from such developments, given moreover the pre-eminent heritage assets and their settings that lie within the area, which include Birnbeck Pier and its Island as well as Prince Consort Gardens.

As Historic England state in Planning Note 3 of their December 2017 document ‘The Setting of Heritage Assets, Second Edition‘:

“Sustainable development under the National Planning Policy Framework can have important positive impacts on heritage assets and their settings, for example by bringing an abandoned building back into use or giving a heritage asset further life. However, the economic viability of a heritage asset can be reduced if the contribution made by its setting is diminished by badly designed or insensitively located development.“ [Our emphasis]

Our initial set of objections to CNM Estates’ Royal Pier Hotel site planning application as first published on 1 December 2021 were formally submitted to North Somerset Council on 22 December 2021, and were duly published on its Planning Portal website on the same day.

OUR MAJOR GROUNDS FOR OPPOSITION TO CNM ESTATES’ FORMAL PLANNING APPLICATION CAN BE READ HERE

We then submitted a supplemental objection to NSC’s planning department on 8 March 2022 following the publication of a further three documents during the previous month, these being:

A. Visuals & Views as supplied for CNM by NPA Visuals – dated 11.2.2022
B. Accompanying document from the Applicant’s Architect – dated 11.2.2022
C. Design West North Somerset Design Review – dated 23.2.2022

THIS ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION CAN BE READ HERE

Our petition

This calls upon the statutory planning & conservation authorities to limit the height of any redevelopment of the Royal Pier Hotel site to that of the former hotel lost to fire, and we ask all residents and friends of Weston to please sign the petition:

STOP THE TOWER BLOCK – SAVE BIRNBECK & PRINCE CONSORT GARDENS – PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION

Please click here to read the public comments from the petition

Other objections to CNM’s Royal Pier Hotel plans:

Please see here for a summary of these objections

North Somerset Council’s Local Plan 2038

North Somerset Local Plan 2038 Preferred Options

Short Guide to the Preferred Options Local Plan March 2022

The Local Plan is the principal planning document for the North Somerset area and has to be prepared with an objective of directing the achievement of sustainable development and be consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework. A consultation period concerning preferred options for this plan ended on 29 April 2022.

Our response to NSC’s Consultation on the Draft of the
North Somerset Local Plan April 2022

We see this as an opportunity to ensure that the substantial contribution the Birnbeck area’s conservation heritage can make to prolonged sustainability and the benefits that derive to the local economy are fully recognised.