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No listing for fire station
and homes The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has ruled that the buildings are not of “sufficient special architectural or historic interest to merit listing”. Listed status protects buildings from the bulldozers and at one time people living and working in the Rickergate area feared they would lose their homes and businesses under Carlisle Renaissance. One possible scheme envisaged much of that area being demolished and used for commercial purposes, including a luxury hotel. The initial request to have the fire station, the houses in Warwick Street and others in the vicinity protected came from Liberal Democrat councillor Olwyn Luckley. She said she was disappointed by the decision – but not altogether surprised. She said: “I thought the fact that changes had been made to the fire station and the homes on Warwick Street had been modernised would have an effect.” The decision not to list the fire station and homes in Warwick Street follows assessments by English Heritage’s Historic Buildings adviser Ken Robinson. The reports state that the fire station is a particularly late example of a station constructed as part of a municipal building civic complex. The building is functional in style and lacks the decorative quality found in some earlier examples of fire stations. It has undergone alteration and change of use to some of its uses. It says the former fire station houses on Warwick Street are relatively modest in terms of architectural design and innovative use of materials. Most have lost original features such as doors, windows, fireplaces and kitchens. They are neither exceptional nor outstanding examples of 20th century houses. Mrs Luckley said: “I made the application on behalf of Carlisle and the people living in those homes and I don’t regret doing it. “I don’t want to see buildings in Carlisle lost if it is deemed that they have merit – that could be architectural, historical or social.” Applications to ‘list’ other buildings within the Rickergate area, including the Civic Centre, the former police station and Adrianos’ restaurant, were also ruled against earlier this year. Listed buildings are buildings of special historic or architectural interest, which have been recorded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] ‘Carlisle Renaissance should be about
people’ says Tory leader Save Our Streets campaigners, who oppose the demolition of homes in Rickergate, will take heart from his view that ideas should come from the people, not politicians. Mr Cameron said: “Regeneration should be about people as well as bricks and mortar. “Regeneration needs to be driven by the people in Carlisle. “It’s not a good idea for politicians in Westminster to say, ‘this is how you do it’.” Mr Cameron came to Carlisle on Wednesday as part of a Cumbrian tour that also took in Kendal and Barrow. His visit coincided with the publication of a report from the Conservative-leaning think tank, Policy Exchange, which said attempts to regenerate the north have failed. It advocated that people who live her should be helped to move to the south. Mr Cameron dismissed those findings as “rubbish from start to finish”. He said: “There has been a huge regeneration in Britain’s northern cities. Conservative councils are helping in this, like here in Carlisle. “The idea that cities cannot regenerate is nonsense.” Mr Cameron met teenagers at Education and Youth Services in Victoria Place, which helps youngsters with low self-esteem – many having dropped out of mainstream schools. He said: “The number of 16-to-19 year olds not in education, training or employment has gone up in the last 10 years. “These are the people Labour said they would help and they have failed them.” The Conservative leader criticised the Government’s handling of the credit crunch and recent cost-of-living increases. He promised that a Tory government would cut tax on petrol when the price went up and would exempt almost all first-time home buyers from paying stamp duty. He accused the Government of doing nothing while the economy went to the wall. “The Labour Party is utterly divided,” Mr Cameron said. “The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary barely speak to each other. “The Conservative Party is the one that speaks for Britain.” Mr Cameron also visited Cumbrian Newspapers’ offices at Dalston Road, chatting to journalists in the news room and viewing the state-of-the-art printing press. He was accompanied by John Stevenson, the solicitor and city councillor selected as Conservative candidate for Carlisle at the next General Election. Mr Stevenson hopes that recent boundary changes will help him overturn a 5,695 Labour majority to become the city’s first Tory MP since 1964. Carlisle is 93rd on the Conservatives’ list of targets and is a seat they must win to have a majority at Westminster. Mr Cameron was upbeat about Mr Stevenson’s chances of victory. He said: “I don’t make predictions. But I know we have a very good candidate, who works hard, and a city with a Conservative council.” This was Mr Cameron’s second visit to Carlisle since becoming Conservative leader in December 2005. He called briefly to meet party workers ahead of the council elections in May 2007. He also visited during the 2005 General Election campaign when he was the Conservatives’ policy chief. Carlisle’s Labour MP, Eric Martlew, argues that Mr Cameron’s latest visit was a missed opportunity. Mr Martlew said: “I’m surprised that he didn’t visit the new university, the sites of the new academy schools or look at the new flood defences. “A lot is happening with Government money in Carlisle and it is a pity he didn’t have time to see for himself.” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] ‘What’s going on with future of
Rickergate?’ The group is opposed to proposals to bulldoze much of the area to create a plaza with shops, offices and a hotel. It welcomed comments last month from Bryan Gray, chairman of Carlisle Renaissance, who implied the scheme had been shelved. Those comments were given added weight when the new private-sector led Renaissance board announced it was concentrating on four “transformational actions”, none of which referred to Rickergate. Now Elizabeth Allnutt, secretary of Save Our Streets, has written to the Renaissance programme director, Ian McNichol, asking for clarification. She wants to know what plans there are for Rickergate and how much has been spent by the city council on drawing up a development brief. She also asks if the policy of buying up property has been dropped. And she queries what will happen to Adriano’s Restaurant and 8 Warwick Street, which have already been purchased at a cost of £900,000. Her letter says: “I would appreciate an early response. Local residents and business people are not surprisingly concerned about their future and need firm answers to these questions.” The group met Mr Gray last month and was encouraged by what he said. He also told our sister newspaper, The Cumberland News, that Renaissance schemes could go ahead only if they had a wide degree of support. Mr Gray said: “We need to take stock, pause, reflect, agree priorities and then move forward with the city’s agreement and support. “You can’t impose the kind of things we want to do. “It’s not about having votes and narrow majorities. It’s about taking people with you and doing sensible things. “Why are we arguing about something that may never happen because it’s not sensible?” Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] ‘Powerless’ fear over city vision Day-to-day control of the plan to revitalise the city has been handed to an unelected Carlisle Renaissance board. It met for the first time two weeks ago and agreed on four “transformational actions” to: Create a riverside campus for the University of Cumbria in Viaduct Estate: Maximise the potential of the ‘historic quarter’ around the castle and cathedral; Develop new sites for businesses close to the M6 junctions; Strengthen the city centre, which is likely to involve building new offices and a hotel. Now councillors are worried they have been cut out of the Renaissance process and cannot influence decisions. Renaissance director Ian McNichol told a scrutiny panel yesterday that the board would draw up an action plan. This would have to be approved by the city and county councils and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. But Michael Boaden, leader of the opposition Labour group, doubted that elected councillors would be able to exercise a veto. He said: “I was told it was an informal board meeting but it approved the most fundamental decisions relating to Carlisle Renaissance since it started. “The board, through its chairman, has a very, very clear head of steam and direction. “The notion that it [the action plan] can come to council and we can throw it out flies in the face of reality.” Botcherby Labour councillor Anne Glendinning added: “Why didn’t the board start by asking us what we thought the priorities should be? Instead they’re saying, ‘These are our priorities, what do you think?’.” The Renaissance board has 12 members – two each from the city and county councils and the NWDA. The other six are from the private sector. Chairman Bryan Gray told The Cumberland News last week that the board would seek consensus for its plans. And he hinted that the most controversial Renaissance proposal, to bulldoze much of Rickergate, would be dropped. He will be invited to address the corporate resources overview and scrutiny committee. Dalston Conservative Nicola Clarke stressed the need to speed up Renaissance, launched as a response to the 2005 flood. Taken from The News & Star / [Link] / [Back to top] |
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