At last night's meeting of the Planning Committee, I was thrilled that we managed to get permission for TJ's Gravesend to develop a new two storey outrigger which will provide 6 new en-suite letting rooms, a new function room and disabled toilet facilities.
The application was recommended for refusal, but speaking alongside other Councillors and local residents I am delighted that we were able to get this application passed.
As I said to the committee:
"Pubs have suffered tremendously throughout Coivid-19 and as Councillors we have a duty to support our pubs in their quest to diversify their income sources"
In response to the call to refuse the application on heritage grounds I reminded the Committee that:
"Heritage is not simply about the preservation of the wood, bricks and mortar. Heritage has to be a journey intertwined with the future. Every great building in this nation, from Hampton Court Palace, through to Coventry Cathedral is a myriad. -A puzzle of different parts, extensions and developments. Each which tells a different story about the people that used the building at a particular moment in time. Now I know, that we are not talking here about Hampton Court, we talking about a pub is Gravesend. - Maybe less in scale, but certainly no less in culture! If we want our heritage to survive and for pubs to continue to prosper then we must look at their buildings with the realism needed to ensure their survival. And this is what we have before us tonight, a quest for relevance, a plea for survival and the ambition to continue positively contributing to our town."
In praising the pub for including new disabled toilet facilities, I stated:
"Not many pubs have such facilities and I have sadly seen on my many nights out across this borough incidents, shameful incidents, where disabled people have had to crawl through busy pubs to use the toilet. - This is something that should make us all embarrassed and it is high time that we started to make our buildings relevant to the needs and requirements of today".
I finally praised Barron Edwards Architects for their work in designing a scheme which was not only complimentary but respectful of our local heritage.
Hats off to Iris and Tom for persevering with the planning process and for wanting to further their investment in our town!