Yahoo News Cheltenham Lidl and Dowty House extension winners of 'ugliest' new building award
Cheltenham’s Cirencester Road Lidl supermarket and the Dowty House extension in the town centre have been named the “ugliest” new buildings at this year’s Civic Society awards. Dozens of people attended this year’s Cheltenham Civic Society (CCS) awards at St Paul’s Church last night (May 7).
The Civic Society organises the biennial awards in conjunction with Cheltenham Borough Council to celebrate the buildings and places that represent the best recent examples of good architecture and design. But for the first time this year, CCS has added a category of ‘UnCivic’ awards for buildings that are of particularly poor design or execution.
They say this is because some shockingly bad designs still manage to slip through the planning process. The public were invited to nominate what they considered to be the worst new buildings.
MORE NEWS: Full list of Gloucester City Council councillors as voters say 'yes to Lib Dems and no to Tories'
And the Lidl in Cirencester Road and the Dowty House extension in Monson Avenue were deemed bad enough to win the UnCivic award. However, while these two buildings were deemed of poor design, a total of seven won the Civic Award which celebrates good design.
The Yard in Upper Park Street and Dolder House in Painswick Road were both winners of the new build category. And 54 Tivoli Street, Abbeyholme Stables in Lansdown Crescent Lane and St Phillip and St James’ Church won the Civic award in the renovation and refurbishment category.
The reinstatement of the railings at Imperial Gardens was the sole winner of the environmental scheme award. Below are all the award winners by category with extracts from the judges’ comments for each one.
The UnCivic Awards
The following ‘UnCivic’ Awards were announced at last night’s Civic Awards ceremony.
UnCivic Award: Lidl, Cirencester Road
“An example of where a much-needed local supermarket amenity could have done so much more for the local architectural landscape if it were more motivated by community and less by the need to shout about its brand.
"This is not a site where you need 3-metre square signage at a high level, from every vantage point to announce the store. The massive brick façade extensions and tower serve only one purpose – to accommodate highly lit and intrusive signage in relation to everything that surrounds it, destroying a gateway to the town in the process.”
UnCivic Award: Dowty House extension, Monson Avenue
“This fails on every possible count. It is neither in keeping with the original building, nor does it represent contemporary architecture that could juxtapose with the original to bring positive attention to both. It uses an austere brick that has no relevance or place within the context of the original building and has no redeeming quality with its surroundings. It has also been laid badly such that it is stained white. It adds nothing positive to the street and even the scrappy Black & White car park is blighted by its mass and inappropriateness.
“The design seems to make no reference at all to the Victorian gothic Dowty House nor to the pleasant Edwardian houses opposite. Windows and doors in Dowty House have been damaged by unsympathetic alterations. The gable tops to the St Margaret Road frontage are embarrassing. This is a scheme which frankly is best described as a carbuncle and fails in any way to engage with the original building. From all directions, it is a blot on the landscape whilst the original frontage has been ruined by UPVC doors and windows of inappropriate designs.”
“Whilst we congratulate the winners of the Civic Awards this year for their excellent designs and attention to detail, it is worth reminding ourselves that the ‘UnCivic’ buildings were also developed with the consent of the local planning authority, in sensitive locations for which clear planning guidance exists,” said Civic Society Chair, Andrew Booton.
“The lessons we must learn from the UnCivic awards are extensive. We need stronger policies and principles to favour beauty and harmony and to refuse ugliness and inappropriateness, and the will to stand up for beauty and harmony. Cheltenham is a beautiful town. We must defend its legacy and reputation for beauty in the public interest and not succumb to ugliness in the interests of anybody’s bigger bank balance.”
The Civic Awards
The following Civic Awards were presented to those new builds or renovations which showcase the best design and execution.
New build: The Yard, Upper Park Street
“A truly pretty addition to the street. It shows how well a new-build can be integrated into a street without necessarily following the exact architectural palette as the rest of the street. Beautifully proportioned openings and lovely brick choice. Great attention to detail has added and enhanced the street scene.”
New build: Dolder House, 104 Painswick Road
“Dolder House is a low-slung, contemporary solution to a prominent but small triangular site. Almost hidden behind the exterior brick wall, Dolder House takes advantage of many energy sustainability features which cannot be seen from the road. The brick choice is light and mellow and the choice of a complementary guttering and capping colour also enhances the visual quality. Sensitive planting around the perimeter helps to soften the scheme and settle the contemporary property in this corner position.”
Renovation and refurbishment: 54 Tivoli Street
“Some of you might remember 53/54 Tivoli Street as a quirky clock repair shop attached to the owner’s house. Consent was granted to divide this unlisted building into 2 dwellings – a 2 bedroom and a one-bedroom house. The judges felt that this was a very tidy renovation which returns a residential property to this street of neat Cheltenham cottages.”
Renovation and refurbishment: Abbeyholme Stables, 73 Lansdown Cresent Lane
“The judges agreed that sensitive detailing delivered a smart and well balanced residential building from a previous working space that brought life back to a delightful row of buildings whilst retaining their original features. It is a successful restoration that offers a far better approach to the street. Interestingly, it includes upvc windows that have been well designed, proving that the appropriateness of the window pattern is as important as the base materials.”
Renovation and refurbishment: St Phillip & St James’ Church
“The conversion transformed a dark, formal, heavy-Victorian parish church into a bright, warm, welcoming community space that is full of delightful design details and thoughtful touches. This is exemplary at every level. Immaculate attention to detail at every point in the renovation. The thought and consideration brought to each element, each detail and addition is a lesson in how to evolve a historic building without compromise.”
Renovation and refurbishment: 77 Albion Street
“The judges were pleased to see a previously run-down corner property being returned to full residential use in the town centre. A simple yet commendable effort to improve the street. A superb renovation of this lovely house, back to its former glory in this high-profile location. With the restoration of its former external detailing, the reinstatement of the railings, and soft landscaping to the front replacing tarmac and car-parking, the building enjoys a proper setting and really does contribute hugely to the street scene.”
Environmental scheme: Railings, Imperial Gardens
“It is brilliant to see the reinstatement of the railings around Cheltenham’s most iconic and beautiful square. Courtesy of a generous legacy, the Friends of Imperial Square are to be congratulated on delivering this wonderful enhancement, using high-quality materials and local craftsmanship and replicating the original design.”
Civic Society chairman Andrew Booton spoke at the awards ceremony of what can be learnt form the introduction of the new Uncivic awards. He said there is much distrust in the planning system and polls show it is perceived as favouring big developers and profits, not local public interests.
“I remind you that planning should be done with us not to us," he said. “We entrust local planning authorities with overseeing development in our town and the authority entrusts planning officers to manage that on a day to day basis.
“They work for the public in the public’s interest. The lessons we must learn from the uncivic awards are extensive.
"We need stronger policies and principles to favour beauty and harmony and to refuse ugliness and inappropriateness, and the will to stand up for beauty and harmony.
“Cheltenham is a beautiful town. We must defend its legacy and reputation for beauty in the public interest and not succumb to ugliness in the interests of a bigger bank balance.”
Want the latest Gloucestershire breaking news and top stories first? Click here to join our WhatsApp group. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
