Campaign to save a piece of Plymouth's post-war architectural history
Last updated 12th Jan 2021
Organisations are being invited to salvage a piece of Plymouth’s post-war architectural history which is set to disappear.
A landmark wall alongside The Crescent, between Millbay Road and Notte Street, which formed the boundary of the former Westward Television studios, is set to be demolished to make way for a new hotel.
But during the planning process, comments were made about the historic significance of the blue glazed terracotta tiles, and a six-sided hexagon design, on what remains of the wall alongside the main road.
Although the structure is set to be removed, the developer has agreed to offer any interested parties the chance to arrange safe removal of the tiles.
The structure is believed to date back to the post-war construction of the television studios, which opened in 1961. They were still in use when the local ITV company Westward Television became Television South West. The offices were then taken over by solicitors Foot Anstey in the 1990s before being demolished, leaving the wall alongside the main road and part of the site in use as a car park.
The area of land, formerly known as Stray Park, has a much longer history, as it was the site of a burial ground for the Royal Naval Hospital at Stonehouse from the mid-18th century for around 60 years, and the remains of hundreds of bodies are believed to still lie below the surface.
The city council has just approved outline planning permission, with a series of conditions, for a hotel opposite the listed terrace in The Crescent, with a multi-storey car park and a block of flats, with a public walkway through the site to Derry’s Cross.
Planning officers had lengthy discussions with the applicant about the wall, following calls to consider saving it, including from Historic England. The agency’s principal inspector of historic buildings and areas, Simon Hickman, advised the city council: “You may also wish to consider whether the existing tiled walls which front Notte Street, a surviving fragment of the long-demolished Westward TV studios which formerly occupied the site, could be retained, perhaps relocated, and incorporated into the development.”
Dr Marion Gibson also asked for the tiles and decorated wall to be used in the new building. She commented: “The tiles are part of the cityscape of the post-war rebuild and they are all that is left of that era on this particular site. The building they come from would likely have been part of the city centre conservation area if it had not already been demolished. The tiles – terracotta with blue-grey glaze and an adjoining hexagonal grey patterned setting – are mostly intact and aesthetically very pleasing. At the least, they should be salvaged and reused, not destroyed.”
In the end, according to a planning report, the developer has decided that keeping the wall would limit the design of the new building, and it would cost too much to salvage the material. But an ‘informative’ statement has been included on the planning permission, publicising the offer of the tiles being made available to any interested party who wants to recover them. They should contact the application directly to make arrangements.
Plymouth amateur historian Ernie Stanton, suggested that one way to save the wall would be to apply to Historic England to get it listed, which would protect it from demolition. But he said he personally would rather see more investment on preserving older elements of the city’s past.
Mr Stanton said: “The problem is really taking the wall down, because if you damage the tiles, they lose their value.”
The planning application for the development was submitted by Plymouth-based Architects Design Group on behalf of Ritz Investments Ltd and 21 Derry’s Cross Ltd.
The estimated £30million development will fill the sloping land between Derry’s Cross and The Crescent, opposite the listed terrace dating from the 1860s.
The approved plans are for a 150-bedroom hotel opposite the historic terrace in front of a 300-space multi-storey car park, with a block of 88 flats across a public walkway through the site to Derry’s Cross, and two commercial units.
The main pedestrian access to the 11-floor hotel will be from The Crescent, with a reception, cafe and bar at street level and bedrooms on the upper levels. The car park is on the lower ground behind the hotel, with 13 levels.
The block of flats over eight floors will be in a separate building on the other side of the public walkway, parallel to Athenaeum Lane, which will widen out at Derry’s Cross into a space to be called Athenaeum Piazza fronted by shops on either side.
A previous scheme was rejected in 2019 because of the layout and lack of housing. The new plans reflected changes following discussions with planners and include 30 per cent of the one and two bedroom flats being classed as “affordable”.
The appearance and landscaping of the development will be decided in a separate detailed planning application.