02 Feb 2024
An ongoing bid to redevelop Harpenden’s former M&Co fashion store as a pub with rooftop terrace has gone to appeal.
Pub chain Oakman Inns bought 6 High Street in autumn 2021, and unveiled ambitious plans for its redevelopment as an 80-seater restaurant, bar and a rooftop terrace.
The venue, in the heart of the town’s Conservation Area, was to be named Kingston House in recognition of the former GP Dr Francis Kingston, who occupied the site in the 1880s, and its history as a department store with the same name.
Oakman’s vision was for the front of the building to maintain its fascia, but a retractable rooftop terrace was mooted for the rear of the second floor.
Malcolm Schooling, the pubco’s property director, justified the scheme: “The introduction of a rooftop terrace would be a first for Harpenden, and would provide another dimension to the town centre, helping to attract visitors and increase the time spent in the town centre, helping to maintain its vitality and boost the local economy.”
He insisted that without the terrace the project would be unviable as there would be no outdoor space for customers.
The proposals provoked opposition from St Albans district councillors sitting on the planning committee, who felt that although the designs would improve the rear of the building, the terrace would be too dominant in the surrounding area.
SADC rejected the scheme because of the design and bulk of the second floor addition, including its interaction with the existing building and the introduction of activity at this high level.
“It is not considered that this proposal would preserve or enhance the character of the Conservation Area and would result in less than substantial harm to the character of the Conservation Area and to the locally listed building, which is not outweighed by public benefits.”
But the plans have now gone to appeal, with Michael Gove MP, the Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, set to make a decision in the spring.
Concerned parties who have not previously commented on the plans can do so at https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk using the reference APP/B1930/W/23/3329355 before March 5.
