‘Ironic’ 131 Promenade precedent being used for Pittville Pump Room cafe plans
When Julian Dunkerton used he expertise to win planning consent for a giant pergola outside his No 131 restaurant, little did he know he would be accused of setting a precident to be used by others.
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An “ironic” precedent set by Cheltenham planners in approving plans for a pergola outside 131 The Promenade is now being used for another development outside what is possibly the spa town’s most iconic building.
The Cheltenham Trust, a charity set up by the borough council to manage cultural and leisure venues in the spa town, wants permission to change the use of the land outside the grade I listed 1830 Pittville Pump Room building to allow for a temporary cafe to serve hot and cold food and drink.
The scheme includes keeping the portable toilets and storage containers which have been there since the temporary Orangery cafe was installed there during the coronavirus pandemic.
The trust wants to place something similar to an Airstream trailer to serve the food and drink.
And as part of the application they cite the approval earlier this year of entrepreneur Julian Dunkerton’s plans for outdoor dining outside at 131 Promenade restaurant, bar and boutique hotel.
Conservationists raised concerns over the impact those proposals would have on the nearby listed buildings and their setting.
Cheltenham Civic Society say they feared at the time of the approval that such a precedent could be used in future by anyone to justify “all sorts of structures alongside existing buildings”.
“Despite the warning, the councillors went against their officers’ recommendations and the precedent was set. We thought it was only a matter of time before someone used the 131 decision to justify their own scheme.
“But little did we expect that it would be Cheltenham Borough Council (CBC) itself to be the first to do it, and only a matter of weeks after its own approval of the 131 structure!”
Civic Society chairman Andrew Booton believes the poor quality debate and lack of rigorous challenge by the committee on the 131 scheme has “ironically” allowed the “unwelcome” precedent to be set.
“Now we see it being used to threaten the setting of our town’s finest grade-I building, Pittville Pump Room.
“We acknowledge that Cheltenham Trust (CT) is tasked to raise funds, but that must be balanced with its duty to safeguard the town’s significant heritage buildings it is entrusted with.
“There is not a clear enough distinction between CBC and CT and there’s too much emphasis on income generation rather than longer-term heritage management.
“The proposed temporary café is also not really temporary at all. It follows on from the previous café, which was in place for some four years. Now CT is seeking consent for the new café until 2029, when coincidentally, its own lease will end.
“Meanwhile, Cheltenham Trust has been doing almost nothing to address the permanent improvement of the Pump Room’s setting and facilities – despite offers from CCS and others to help them find solutions.
“CT’s new American ‘Rockabilly’ approach featuring a converted Airstream trailer for the café’s servery demonstrates their lack of understanding of the site’s heritage and especially its quintessential English Regency period importance.
“This lack of understanding of heritage management is also exemplified by their disappointing proposal to disguise both the toilet and storage containers with cheap timber ‘hit-and-miss’ cladding.
“This is yet another missed opportunity to look at the Pump Room’s whole setting and fulfill their responsibility to preserve and enhance it instead of make do and mend.”
Cheltenham Borough Council and the Cheltenham Trust have been approached for comment.
By Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter for Gloucestershire. carmelo.garcia@reachplc.com