2/4 Station Road - Demolition
It was with great regret that the residents association learnt of the demolition of the cottages at 2-4 Station Road.
The Residents Association successfully lobbied for a spot listing which expired on the 16th January 2009 and the cottages were demolished on the next working day.
The Community Telegraph covered the story in full when the spot listing was granted.
The Residents Association will be in contact with a number of elected representatives and media outlets in the coming days to highlight the story.
The DOE were contacted and asked to outline their position:
"The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is aware that two historic buildings previously the subject of a Building Preservation Notice (BPN) were demolished early this morning. The notice which temporarily protected the buildings for six months expired on 16 January and the owner required no consent to carry out these works.
"BPNs, often referred to as 'spot listing', were introduced for the first time in 2003 to protect historic buildings which are in danger of demolition or major alteration. For a period of up to six months the buildings can be protected as listed buildings, giving the Agency time to carry out detailed research and consultation. At the end of the period NIEA must decide if the structures should be permanently listed.
"This process was carried out in regard to these buildings and following detailed research it was decided that they did not meet the test of the legislation which requires a listed building to be of 'special architectural or historic interest'.
"At the time the BPN was issued the buildings were thought to be: 'good examples of late Victorian estate lodges with unusually high quality interiors'. Further research revealed however that only one of the two had an apparently high quality interior but that this dated from the late twentieth century rather the late nineteenth. Combined with other alterations to the buildings over the years this meant that in the view of NIEA an argument that they were of special architectural interest could not be sustained.
"The buildings also had some historic interest because of their association with Gustav Wilhelm Wolff, a former MP for the area and one of the founders of the shipyard company Harland and Wolff. They were built as part of his now gone estate known as 'the Den'. However this association, though of some interest, was not sufficient grounds on which to justify listing. Annex C of PPS6 in addition states that: ' in the case of historical associations, there will generally need to be some additional quality or interest in the fabric of the building itself to justify listing. Either the building will have architectural merit in itself or it should be well preserved in a form which directly reveals its historical associations (eg because of the survival of certain particular features)'. These buildings were altered since Wolff's time and did not directly reveal such historical associations.
"The owner was informed by NIEA of the conclusion of its consideration in advance of the expiry of the Building Preservation Notice."
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