A CAMPAIGNER battling to save David Hockney’s historic former school from demolition has vowed to carry on his fight despite failing in a bid to get the building listed.
Andy Chilton submitted an application to English Heritage to have the former Hutton School in Eccleshill, Bradford, given protected status.
That was rejected, but Mr Chilton is now awaiting the outcome of official complaints he has lodged with Bradford Council, heritage report authors Wardell Armstrong, and the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA).
Mr Chilton, who claims the heritage report missed several key points, started a campaign in January to save the building from demolition.
Developers Gregory Property Group (GPG) want to turn the site, which is between Cavendish Road and Victoria Road, into a housing development with 29 new homes.
Mr Chilton was not against the development, but wanted GPG to incorporate the former school building into it. His application to list the building came after the Council rejected an appeal to save it.
A spokesman for English Heritage said: “We carefully considered an application to list Hutton School in Eccleshill but we concluded that it did not have enough architectural or historic interest to merit listing at a national level.
“The decision not to list was made because later alterations to the building detract from the interest of the original school, which dates back to the late 19th century and, although the imposing gothic part facing Victoria Road makes a positive contribution to the local streetscape, its special interest is not enough to warrant listing in a national context.
“Because large numbers of late 19th century schools survive nationally, listing them is selective. However, because schools are such a central part of life in individual communities, many unlisted Victorian schools, like Hutton School, are quite understandably of great importance to local people and this community value can be taken account of in the planning process.”
Mr Chilton claims Wardell Armstrong’s appraisal failed to answer 12 checklist questions set out in an English Heritage document designed to provide guidance on assessing the contribution a heritage asset makes to the character of the surrounding area.
“There was no attempt to answer these questions or offer analysis against any of them in the Wardell Armstrong report,” said Mr Chilton. “They made no attempt to answer these and still concluded: ‘Low heritage value’.
“This is despite the Bradford conservation officer describing it as: ‘although not listed the building is considered an undesignated heritage asset’.”
Mr Chilton’s complaint to the Council is “for lack of quality of execution of process”, while his complaint to CIfA is “against Wardell Armstrong for compromising CIfA’s code of conduct”.
He added: “The building is so valued by the community there have been over 50 individual objections on the online application site directly and many other objections in petition and on social media, which is evidence of its environmental value as seen by the community.
“It is aesthetically a pleasant building and, if refurbished or converted, would maintain its landmark status and continued valued status with the community.”
A spokesman for Bradford Council said: “We have received a complaint about the way in which this planning application was considered. This will be investigated and the complainant will receive a detailed reply when the investigation is concluded.”