Friday 19 February 2016

Negative reply from Historic England re listing the camping coach park at Dawlish Warren

Another strategy is needed to save the iconic railway carriage camping park at Dawlish Warren because the attempt has failed to persuade Historic England to list it in the National Heritage List for England. We will discuss this at our meet on 9th March.

Historic England say that there is no evidence to prove that the site " possesses evident significance that makes it obviously worthy of inclusion on the National Heritage List for England". It follows then that the threat to its existence is not a consideration for Historic England.

The options open now include contacting Teignbridge,  our local historic environment records officer, and local conservation groups. Or maybe another application might be successful if it were to be worded in a better way than I did? The Great Western Railway Staff Association are actively trying to find a purchaser who will take on the carriages with the site; so that camping carriages on Dawlish Warren will continue.

Can anyone please help with any of this?

If anyone has any more suggestions about the way forward, please get in touch ASAP.
Thanks

Historic England replied today, Friday, to my application which I submitted 4 days ago. Here's what they say:

Monica Lang
Starcross History
Our Ref: 1433532
Direct Line: 0117 975 0675
EMail:
Emily.Sheen@HistoricEngland.org.uk
19 February 2016
Dear Ms Lang,
Brunel Camping Coach Park, Dawlish Warren, Dawlish
Thank you for your application for the assessment of Brunel Camping Coach Park for listing.
We appreciate your time and enthusiasm spent considering places that could be added to
the National Heritage List for England.
We have now carefully considered the contents of your application. Unfortunately, the
current circumstances of Brunel Camping Coach Park do not fall into any of the three
categories used by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to prioritise designation
resources on those sites that are most in need of protection. Those categories are:
1. Threat: any candidate for designation demonstrably under serious threat of demolition
or major alteration
2. Strategic Priority: any candidate for designation of a type that is a strategic
designation priority under the Historic England Action Plan, Historic England’s
programme of strategic work. You can find a list of this year’s projects on our website
3. Evident Significance: any building or site that possesses evident significance that
makes it obviously worthy of inclusion on the National Heritage List for England
Historic England is therefore currently unable to take your application further. Although you
mention the closure of the site in your application, at present we cannot consider the site to
be under serious threat demolition or alteration. Should the situation change, particularly with
regard to any specific threat to the building, you could submit a new application in the future.
We should also point out that on the information provided with your application, it appears
that the building is unlikely to meet the statutory criteria for listing - special architectural or
historic interest - in any event. Horizontal surfaces such as pavements and other similar
structures are listed only exceptionally, and the criteria for selection are stringent: in order to
merit consideration for designation, they must be of demonstrably early date, be undisturbed,
and form part of the curtilage of listed buildings or structures. Therefore even if the
circumstances of the site were in the future to fall into the priority categories set out above,
we would still be unlikely to recommend it for designation unless there was significant new
information supplied with the application at the time.
There are other approaches to the protection of this site that you can take. Your local
authority can advise you on the local designation options available, and you may wish to
speak to your local Historic Environment Records Officer or conservation group for advice on
such matters. Please follow the link below to download a copy of our 'Frequently Asked
Questions' document also lists the national heritage societies that have an interest in
particular types of buildings and sites. You can also consult our website for more information
at www.historicengland.org.uk.
http://services.historicengland.org.uk/webfiles/GetFiles.aspx?av=4BA63605-1430-4676-8212
-1EBF0969FB61&cn=7DA3AC92-33FE-47E2-B3A2-0EC9A95F709A
We are sorry if this is a disappointing response. Historic England administers a large number
of applications for designation on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The
Department has decided that the finite resources available for the assessment of designation
applications have to be prioritised to the categories most in need of attention. All applications
are rigorously assessed on their individual merits - please see our website for further
explanation of the criteria used to decide on designation, and for guidance on submitting
designation applications. Answers to additional questions that you may have can also be
found in the 'Frequently Asked Questions' document.
Yours sincerely
Emily Sheen
Designation Co-ordinator - West
Historic England
Designation Team West
29 Queen Square
Bristol
BS1 4ND
Data Protection Act 1998
Your personal details, along with the other information you have provided and information obtained
from other sources, will be retained by Historic England for administrative purposes and, where
applicable, for future consideration. Historic England will not release personal details to a third party if
the disclosure would contravene the Data Protection principles.
Freedom of Information
Historic England is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 which provide a general right of access to information we hold. We
may provide the information you have supplied in response to a request made under this legislation,
subject to any exemptions which apply. Historic England will consult with external parties as
necessary prior to releasing information.

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