Very disappointing news regarding our listed building application, I am afraid. We heard a couple of days ago that the Listed Buildings Advisory Committee have decided not to approve our application as it stands.
It also seems that their response got lost somewhere, which is why it has taken so long for us to receive it.
The big stumbling block is the removal of the pews and the committee have stipulated that as a minimum we must retain the rearmost three rows on both sides. This will have a significant impact on the amount of space we will create in the chapel.
All of the amenity groups who responded to the consultation objected to the removal of the pews, except for the Victorian Society who simply stated that they had no comments on the application. The Georgian Society were the only ones who actually came to look at the chapel before responding. Rushcliffe Borough Council were good enough to point out in their comments that the poor quality of the pews is itself of historical significance because it tells a story of their construction. Surely a case of heads they win, tails we lose.
The BU have also objected to the TV screen in the centre above the pulpit and asked if we would consider two smaller screens either side instead.
We’ll have to think carefully about how we respond to this. It certainly is not the outcome we wanted or indeed had expected.