Herringswell Manor
Herringswell, SuffolkResidential conversion in rural area
The site at Herringswell Manor was formerly occupied by the Shi-Tennoji Japanese Boarding School until it was vacated in 2001 and was purchased by City & Country Residential Limited. Herringswell Manor is a Grade II Listed Elizabethan Mansion with curtilage listed outbuildings and planning permission for residential conversion was granted in 2003. JB Planning Associates were brought in to handle three planning appeals increasing the number of residential units on the site from 29 to 52.
The appeal proposals involved the residential conversion of the former Archery Court building, Japanese temple and two dormitory blocks.
Given the site’s rural location, the Council argued at the Inquiry that the principle of residential development was contrary to the policies of achieving sustainable development and that there would be an adverse impact on the setting of the listed mansion
JB Planning Associates presented expert evidence at the Inquiry on the setting of the Listed Building, arguing that the re-use of existing buildings was a fundamental principle of achieving sustainable development notwithstanding the appeal site’s remote rural location.
The appeal inspector agreed with these arguments and allowed all three appeals. The development is completed and fully occupied and has won several Design Awards for the high quality of the development.
