Mill Hall, Lancaster
Ref APP/A2335/Y/23/3320199 Mill Hall, Lancaster (dismissed)
This appeal relates to the refusal of a front extension on a listed Lancaster mill for student accommodation which would link the building to another. The building is within a conservation area and adjacent to a canal. Although it was underoccupied and the application related to modernisation of the accommodation to seek optimal viable use by altering the interior and reducing the number of units, the inspector dismissed the appeal on the basis that harm would not be outweighed.
This article originally appeared in the Institute of Historic Building Conservation’s (IHBC’s) Context 179, published in March 2024. It was written by Alexandra Fairclough, conservation officer for Cheshire East, a lecturer and a member of the IHBC legal panel. A former planning inspector, she was called to the Bar in 2009, and before that was IHBC law and practice coordinator.
--Institute of Historic Building Conservation
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