Plans to revive historic Sidmouth hotel rejected

Historic England opposed plans for Richmond Hotel

Plans to revive the fortunes of a historic Sidmouth hotel have been unanimously rejected mainly because of concerns about protecting heritage.

The scheme for the Grade II* listed Richmond Hotel, in Elysian Fields, included plans to split the site into residential accommodation while using the remainder as a wedding and music concert venue.

The applicant, Richmond Estates Sidmouth, wanted to sell the residential properties to help fund renovation works in the more historically significant parts of the building, including the music room.

But East Devon District Council’s planning committee this week noted the unusually firm and unambiguous objection from Historic England, which stated that if the scheme was approved, it would refer the matter to the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.

Interestingly, the scheme has public support, with a spokesperson for the applicant saying 63 ocal residents had supported a petition in favour of the scheme. One of those attended the planning meeting to give their backing too.

The hotel is steeped in history, and overlooks the town. Its main building, officially called Sidholme, was originally constructed in 1823 in a tradition called orné , as is another building on the site, Cumberland Cottage.

The ballroom, now referred to as the music room, was constructed by the 6th Earl of Buckinghamshire, Augustus Edward Hobart-Hampden, who died in 1885, and an annexe to the north of the house was built as a laboratory early in the last century by the engineer Frederick Lindemann, who became Winston Churchill’s key scientific adviser during World War II.

“I have sympathy with the applicant, but we can’t go against not only our officers, even though we sometimes do, and then go against Homes England too, who are the experts, when they are so adamant in their letter,” Cllr Ian Barlow (Independent, Sidmouth Town) said.

He acknowledged that the Sidmouth community wanted the building saved, but also had concerns about the “problems of a wedding venue being next to residential housing” proposed as part of the scheme.

“I’m not convinced it wouldn’t cause problems,” he added.

Suzanne Jenkins, from Richmond Estates Sidmouth, said she and her colleague Mel (Melanye Luscombe), found themselves between “a rock and a very hard place.

“We’ve spent the past year trying to find the £4.5 million needed to repair the years of neglect”, she said.

“It is now in a perilous predicament with dry rot, untreated woodworm, leaks from the roof and damp ingress are taking hold.

“We have explored every option that could feasibly be conceived for the building but  none can provide the funding it needs, and we were laughed at when we applied for grants.

“We consider this application a last chance for the building before the repairs become even more uneconomical.”

Ms Jenkins said she had no issue with a condition being imposed that mandated repairs alongside sales, meaning once income had been secured from residential transactions, the cash would prompt the next stage of repairs.

However, the committee unanimously voted against the scheme.