An organisation that aims to protect Victorian and Edwardian buildings for future generations has slammed a Lancashire council's decision to alter one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architercture in the whole country.
The Victorian Society is calling for Preston City Council to refuse plans to alter The Harris Museum in the centre of the city, saying the works will gravely damage the building's architecture and integrity.
However, last week, plans to improve the accessibility and safety of the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library took a step forward as proposed internal and external changes to the building were unanimously approved by Preston City Council's Planning Committee.
The project to reimagine the Harris - called #HarrisYourPlace - is designed to conserve the Grade I listed building and ensure its future as a community hub and world-class cultural attraction for future generations.
The planned works have been informed by in-depth consultation with local people, community groups and partners, as well as Historic England.
The improvements are designed to return the building to its original splendour and reveal some of the Harris' original architectural details which have previously been hidden. #HarrisYourPlace will also make the building more accessible to an additional 100,000 visitors per year - attracting more visitors and tourists to other businesses and services in Preston.
However, the Victorian Society has slammed the damaging proposals.
Conservation adviser for the Victorian Society, Tom Taylor, said: "The Victorian Society objects in the strongest possible terms to these proposals.
"The Harris Museum is an incredibly important building — amongst the finest Greek Revival buildings in Europe.
"We must tread very carefully when altering a building of such architectural significance, and these proposals do not adequately take into account the special architectural qualities of this magnificent building.
"Preston City Council must do more to understand and protect Preston’s historic environment.
"We urge the council to seek revisions to these damaging plans."
The Grade I-listed Harris Museum in Preston was built in 1883 to the designs of local architect and former mayor of Preston, James Hibbert, who built many other buildings in Preston, but the city's council put forward plans for a £10.7m renovation project ‘Reimagining the Harris’ — intended to rejuvenate the interiors and to improve access to the building.
The Victorian Society does not object to the principle of these renovations, but questions whether the current proposals are the best way of achieving them.
The applicants have shown great concern for the interiors of the building, but have failed to apply the same care to the exteriors, where the proposed changes will cause significant harm to the building’s architectural character.
The Victorian Society argues that great civic buildings such as the Harris Museum are important not just for their function or contents, but as public works in their own right and the role they play in shaping place and local identity.
Two changes they cite for major concern are a new ‘circulation core,’ which will alter the building’s exterior to provide a new staircase and lift, giving level access to all floors, which they say will damage the building’s architecture.
The Victorian Society doubts whether the chosen location is the right one — there are several other possibilities which might prove less harmful overall. All these alternatives involve some alteration to the interior spaces of the museum, but none involve any harmful changes to the exterior.
The second major concern are alterations to the Lancaster Road entrance to widen an original bridge over the basement and remove a pair of decorative gates and stone parapets, which they say are an important part of the scheme of decorative ironwork which is characteristic of the Harris.
They argue that the removal will erode an important aspect of the building’s design yet no benefits are gained, as the entrance itself will remain its current width.
The Victorian Society has commented on the poor quality of the plans, highlighting that the application documents entirely fail to adequately articulate the architectural significance of the building, with the assessment of ‘architectural and artistic significance’ limited to just 152 words.
However, Preston City Council say the plans will accentuate the original entrance way by improving accessibility and introducing a new internal lift and staircase, replacing the aged fire exit stairs and helping visitors to move more easily between different floors and spaces.
The plans also allow much-needed conservation works to be done on the roof and basement will help to address the building's long-standing damp problem, which poses a future threat to the Harris' collections.
The alterations to the internal layout would mean that more of the Harris' extensive collections of paintings, textiles, sculpture, photography, historic books and digital art - many of which are internationally significant - can be displayed.
Cabinet member for culture and leisure services at Preston City Council, Councillor Peter Kelly, said: "Planning approval is a major step forward in this project which is important not only for the Harris building, but for Preston and Lancashire more broadly helping to bring more visitors to our city.
"We are proud custodians of the Harris Museum and we take very seriously our role to protect the building and ensure that it can be used and appreciated by generations to come.
"The Harris is a building in use and, as such, we have a duty to ensure that it can be accessed and enjoyed by all.
"We are therefore pleased to have received approval for the plans which are both sympathetic to its architecture and offer vital benefits to its accessibility, safety and suitability as a home to its precious collections."
Following approval by the planning committee, the application now requires final ratification by the Secretary of State Digital, Culture, Media and Sport - the Rt Hon Oliver Dowden.
A bid for £4.5m from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to enable delivery of the project has also been made, with a decision due in March.
An additional £3.6m of funding is already in place from Preston City Council; Lancashire County Council; the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal; Arts Council England and local supporters including members of the public and the Friends of the Harris.
If approval is gained from both the Secretary of State and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, then works will get underway in October this year.
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