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The fight for Greenside
Greenside, a grade II listed 1930s
house, was described by HR Hitchcock as "one of
the best" of Connell, Ward and Lucas's houses which
he saw as "among the most characteristic examples
of the time and the period". Now Runnymede Council
in Surrey has granted permission for its complete demolition.
They have done this against the advice of the Twentieth
Century Society, Ancient Monuments Society and English
Heritage, and against the recommendations of their own
officers. Usually when a local authority makes a decision
like this the government steps in, and says that a planning
inquiry should be held, to consider all the issues in
a thorough and open way, but in this case GOSE (the
Local Government Regional Office) has decided not to
do this.
We believe that the case would set
up an enormously damaging precedent: basically, the
committee appear to have granted the application because,
as Jonathan Glancey reported in The Guardian (4 Nov
2002), neighbours don’t like the building and the
views of it from Wentworth Golf Course. One neighbour
wrote that the house looks so incongruous that “the
shock is such that they invariably lose the hole through
fluffed chips or stabbed putts”. Certainly the
criteria in the government guidance which councils are
meant to follow (a pamphlet known as PPG15) have not
been addressed. This means that no good reasons were
put forward for demolition. The owner has not shown
that the building cannot be economically repaired, and
as a beautiful house in a great setting we feel sure
that it would find an appreciative new owner if offered
for sale at a sensible price.
We have taken legal advice from a
top planning barrister who advises us that he is "gobsmacked"
by the case and thinks that there are strong grounds
for a judicial review. If this consent is not challenged
then it will have enormous implications for all listed
buildings, not just C20th ones.
Legal action does not come cheap -
we were told that to pursue judicial review we needed
to have a fighting fund of £40,000: the amount
we would have to pay out in a worst case scenario (ie
if we lose, and if costs are awarded against us). We
are a small society, without large reserves for a fighting
fund, but as we feel this is such an important case
we launched an appeal to all our members, and indeed
to all those who like the best C20 buildings, to pledge
money to bail us out if necessary. By 6 December we
had reached our initial target, which has enabled us
to initiate action.
We have had strong press coverage
for our campaign, with supportive articles by Jonathan
Glancey in The Guardian and Giles Worsley in The Daily
Telegraph, which have also brought us new members. The
knowledge that so many people share our outrage about
the potential loss of this important building, as well
as the tremendous generosity they have shown in offering
to underwrite legal action, is extremely encouraging.
Please contact the Twentieth Century
Society office if you would like further information,
or to make a pledge.
Related links
C20 seeks judicial
review 12/2002
Casework report
5/2002
The
Telegraph 6/11/02
The
Guardian 16/11/02
Another Lucas building under threat - Noah's Boathouse
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