Balanced perspectives

Our recent advice for restoring historic buildings while reconfiguring the internal spaces in Moseley, Birmingham and Castle Street, Wallingford are two cases where balance is important. The projects showcase this balance, as we demonstrate how development could proceed while respecting the area’s heritage value.

Internal reconfiguration

At Archway Heritage we aim to find the sweet spot between development needs and heritage conservation. The addition of an upper floor and rationalisation of floor levels to the historic building in Moseley helped to make the space more habitable.

While the main shopping area is clustered around The Green, the community prefers to retain retail provision throughout Moseley as stated in Moseley SPD. It states that “new development, redevelopment, or conversion should be located within the local centre boundary and provide services locally”.

Reinvigorating historic properties has many benefits. Improvements to the viability of individual buildings has a positive effect on the vitality of the immediate surroundings. This encourages economic growth. Where mixed use exists it is better to maintain a building’s predominantly retail function. Mixed use facilitates walkability, with all facilities within 15 minutes, which reduces the need for car travel. In this case, bespoke high quality design of traditional shop frontages adds to the tradition of Moseley’s architecture. And the redesign of shop fronts creates essential facilities for residents and staff back-of-house areas.

Minor alterations to increase useable space

Similarly, for the grade II listed property at Castle Street, Wallingford, we conducted an impact assessment to understand the full implications of the proposed development, ensuring a well-rounded understanding of the project’s effects. Our assessment found that impact on archaeological deposits was avoided due to the reuse of services and the use of the existing basement. However, impacts to the building fabric were unavoidable.

Thankfully the proposed alterations needed to increase useable space were minor. Balance was achieved by ensuring adverse impacts caused by opening new doorways into historic fabric enabled beneficial impacts of reinstating the workshop area. It also ensured improved wheelchair access and enabled its continued viable use as a dental practice. The outcome was to secure its continued ongoing use and maintenance of this listed building.

Heritage considerations are material considerations in development projects when deciding planning applications. At our consultancy we’ve honed our skills to navigate these challenges, delivering tailored solutions that balance conservation with progress.